Captains' Guidelines

Team captains play a vital role in the administration and smooth operation of the league and in the overall enjoyment of the sport by the players on their teams. The following guidelines have been developed to inform captains of their responsibilities in these areas.

Captains

• are responsible for reporting game scores and answering the spirit questionnaire in LeagueRunner within 24 hours of the completion of the game. Failure to do so will result in a forfeit of the game.
• are responsible for attending, or sending a representative to, the captains' meeting held prior to the start of the season
• are responsible for attending the Annual General Meeting and any special meetings called by the Board of Directors. These meetings may involve voting on specific league issues. In the capacity of Team Representative, it is the captains' responsibility to stay informed of these issues to the best of their ability and, where possible, to solicit their teammates' opinions. If a captain is unable or unwilling to cast a vote, serious consideration should be given to assigning the team's proxy to an appropriate alternate.
• are the team liaison with WODS and the league coordinator and must pass information between the league and their players
• are responsible for maintaining an adequate roster throughout the season
• are responsible for having sufficient players at the field and ready to play at the official start time for each game
• are responsible for minimizing, containing and immediately addressing any incidents of taunting or dangerous play on their team
• are responsible for knowing all the UPA 11th edition and any league-specific rules
• are responsible for field setup PRIOR to game start time if they are the home team
• are responsible for demonstrating, encouraging and promoting Spirit Of The Game to their team
• During playoffs, captains are responsible for ensuring that their players meet the eligibility requirements (i.e. have signed waivers, are WODS members, etc.)
• must be pro-active in stopping play if the fields are too wet, have standing water or are being torn up due to play. If a field is found in poor or unplayable condition before a game, or the field is damaged during a game, the captain is expected to inform the League Coordinator.

Players' Guidelines

Ultimate is a sport based on respect for one's opponent, for one's teammates and oneself. As such, no officials are present during games. This means that all players must take responsibility for their own actions on the field. The following guidelines have been developed to inform players of their responsibilities.

Players

• must wear footwear that will allow them to play the sport in a safe fashion. Plastic or rubber cleats are permitted. Metal cleats/spikes are not permitted. While non-cleated footwear (i.e. running shoes) are permitted, they are not recommended for grass fields as they may lead to injury.
• are expected to be on time and to prevent delays in starting a game
• are expected to play with due caution on the field and to try to prevent any collisions or harmful physical contact with other players
• are expected to minimize incidents of taunting and dangerous play both for themselves and their teammates
• For extreme or repeated violations of either of the two previous points, a player may face disciplinary action
• are expected to know all the current 11th edition and league-specific rules
• must complete a WODS liability waiver form prior to the start of the season
• are expected to be pro-active in stopping play if the fields are too wet, have standing water or are being torn up due to play
• are responsible for demonstrating, encouraging and promoting Spirit Of The Game to their team

Spirit Survey

Each category is ranked between 0 and 2 with the final score as the sum of all categories.

poor = 0      average = 1      exceptional = 2

As a guideline, the average of the scores you give out over the season should be around 8 to 10 and scores of 16 should be reserved for the very best spirited game you will have all season. The descriptions for each category below are guidelines, not check-lists.

• Respect
  • They communicated objectively and without aggressive language. They were willing to believe calls were made in good faith. Were on time. Kept to time limits for discussions, time-outs, between points, etc.
• Fair-Mindedness
  • Players pointed out their own fouls. They corrected their own team player calls. In an important situation they admitted that the opponent was probably right. Avoided frequently calling non-obvious travels and picks
• Positive Attitude
  • They introduced themselves to the opponent. They complimented the opponent for good plays. Left a positive impression in an after-the-game Spirit Circle, etc.
• Emotional Management
  • Their reaction towards disagreements, successes, and mistakes was appropriately mature
• Avoiding Body Contact
  • They were aware of other players’ body location and movement and avoided dangerous plays
• Avoiding Violations and Fouls
  • They tried to avoid fouls and violations. Their marks were legal. They did not commit off side violations, etc.
• Knowledge of the Rules
  • They knew the rules and/or had the willingness to learn and teach them. They did not make unjustified calls
• Encouraging Enjoyment of the Game
  • They played the game in a way that made the game enjoyable for all those involved.

Adapted from the WFDF and BULA Spirit of the Game Rating System.

WODS Specific Rules for Ultimate

Rules may be modified with the approval of both team captains prior to the start of the game (provided the modifications do not pose a safety concern).  Any disagreements on the applications of the rules which can not be settled by the players involved should be should be settled by the team captains.  Requests for clarifications and/or changes to the rules listed below should be directed to the League Coordinator or to the Leagues Director.

Winter League

UPA 11th edition rules with the following exceptions:

• Following a goal, the opposite end zone will be considered out of bounds.  Upon the completion of one throw by the offense, normal boundary designations resume.  (ie completed throws from end zone to end zone following immediately after a goal result in a turnover.)

Courtesy of the Association De Ultimate De Montreal (http://www.montrealultimate.ca/irules.htm):

• Games are timed to 50 minutes (2 halves of 25 min) with an additional 3-minute half-time.  The end of a game is determined by time, not by the score. Games can end even if the score is tied.
• The 10-second stall count is replaced by an 8-second stall count. In every situation where the stall count usually goes back to 5 (ex. contested foul), the stall count will go back to 4.
• There is no pull after a point. When a team scores, the player who has possession of the disc PLACES IT GENTLY on the ground at the first point of contact where the goal was scored. Also, the player acknowledges that he/she has scored a goal by raising the disc over his/her head. The offensive team has 8 seconds to take possession of the disc and cannot walk the disc up to the front of the goal line. They must put the disc into play from the first point of contact where the goal was scored. When the offensive team takes possession of the disc, the defensive team may initiate a stall count on 0 (as in every other situation, the player on defense must be within 3 metres to initiate a stall count). If the team on offense does not take possession of the disc within the time allotted (8 seconds) they will be assessed a timeout. If they have no timeouts left, the defensive team gains possession of the disc on the goal line.
• Players sub on the fly. Each player exiting the field must “high five” the player who will be replacing her before she can exit the field, and the player entering the field cannot do so until she has “high fived” the player exiting the field. This obviously does not apply during injury substitutions. If a substitution results in too many players, of either gender, on the field, the result is an automatic turnover and the defensive team takes possession of the disc at the area of the stoppage of play due to the violation.
• If a pull lands out of bounds, a brick may be taken to the middle point of the front line of the end zone. If the pull lands in bounds, it will be played from where it lands. If a pull lands in bounds and rolls out, it will be played from the closest point on the field (including the end zone) to where it rolled out.
• If a team gains possession in the end zone which it is defending following a turnover, the player taking possession may bring the disc to the front of the end zone. If the player who picks up the disc establishes a pivot foot, however, he/she may not then decide to walk the disc up to the front, as per UPA 11th Edition rules.
• Two 30-second timeouts are allowed per game. Regardless of how many timeouts a team has, no team is allowed to call time outs in the last 5 minutes of the game. A team will suffer a loss of possession of the disc if they call a timeout when they have already used their 2 available timeouts. Injury substitutions do not constitute a timeout.
• If a team is not ready to play at the official start time the other team may immediately assess 1 point if they have all their players on the line ready to play. They may assess an additional point at 2 minute intervals.
• To be legal, a team must have at least 3 players on the playing surface, although, they cannot have more than 3 men at the same time.

Summer League

UPA 11th edition rules with the following specifications:

• Games are to 15
• By default, foot blocks are considered a foul unless captains from both competing teams decide to allow them
• Soft cap will be applied at 1 hour and 50 minutes of play
• Hard cap is applied at the scheduled end of play (typically 8:30 pm) or at nightfall, which ever comes first.
• In reference to the UPA 11th edition rules VIII.A.1 (Start of game)

“Representatives of the two teams fairly determine which team chooses to
a) receive or throw the initial pull; or
b) which end zone they wish to initially defend.”

The “fair determining” method (FDM) will be a tally of the number of motorized vehicles used to get to the game by either team (electric scooters and gas vehicles which get over 80 mpg count as half a vehicle.)  The team with the lowest tally chooses first.  This replaces the traditional disc flip or rock paper scissors determination methods.

Tournaments

Rules are at the discretion of the tournament coordinator and will be specified in the tournament description but are typically the UPA 11th edition rules

Fall League
UPA 11th edition rules with the following exceptions and specifications:

• Foot blocks are not permitted by default but may be reintroduced into the game if agreed upon by the captains of both teams
• A 30 minute warm-up and training period will precede each game
• Games are played to 1.5 hours in length; the end of a game is determined by time, not by the score. Games can end even if the score is tied.

Last Updated May 12, 2009

WODS Field Layouts

Kiwanis Park:

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Budd Park:

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Comdev Dome:

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Woodside Park:

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Carlisle Park:

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Fisher Park:

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Kaufman Park:

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Lions Park:

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St. Mary's High School:

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About the Pyramid Ladder System

The "Pyramid" ladder system is designed to allow free team movement up and down within a division, with the goal of providing closely-matched competition.

In this system, teams are seeded by the coordinator into different levels or rungs of the ladder. Each level can hold more than one team, and will usually hold several.

Games are scheduled by first selecting a team, and then selecting an opponent for that team from amongst the other teams at or near the same level on the ladder. If an opponent has been played too recently (i.e. within the last four games), it will not be selected. This is to ensure a variety of opponents.

Movement on the ladder occurs after a game is complete. The winning team moves up one rung on the ladder, and the losing team stays put. If a team is already at the top of the ladder, a new level above it is created for it.

Example

In a division of 8 teams, the initial seeding might look something like this:

A B C D
E F G H

From this, we select a team for A to play from amongst B, C and D, since they are at the same level. If we select C, that leaves us with B and D in that level, who are then matched up. In the next level, we do the same thing, first choosing E and picking an opponent, F, and then matching up the remaining teams, G and H.

For this example, using those matchups, we select a winner for the games:

• A vs C, A wins
• B vs D, D wins
• E vs F, F wins
• G vs H, G wins

From these results, the moves would be that A and D move up to a new level, F and G move up one level, and B, C, E, and H stay where they are. This adjusts the ladder to look like:

A D
B C F G
E H

Next, for week two, we select opponents in the same manner as above:

• A vs D, A wins
• B vs F, B wins
• C vs G, G wins
• E vs H, E wins

which moves A, B, G and E up, giving us:

A
D B G
C F E
H

After a few games, charting the teams and their levels looks like a pyramid (given enough games, it should eventually resemble a standard distribution curve, but "pyramid" is easier to say and describe), hence the name. The top levels of the ladder will have a few teams, widening out to a large number of average teams, and narrowing back down to a few teams near the bottom.

Disciplinary Guidelines

Overview

This document details the formal guidelines on how incident reports filed against a team or player shall be investigated and dealt with.

A Note on Confidentiality

The names of those involved in, or witness to, an incident will not be released to the public. Some information regarding incidents may be released, and names may be given to League Coordinators and Captains if required by the Disciplinary Guidelines detailed below. However, no information will be released by WODS that would enable the general public to determine the identity of the individuals involved in a specific incident. It must be noted that any and all information regarding a specific incident will be made available to appropriate authorities where WODS is required, by law, to provide it.

Incident Investigation Process

The following shall be the process for investigating and ruling on incidents reported by members:

1. Incident reports should be forwarded to the League Coordinator immediately responsible for the game where the incident occurred. Should the incident not be related to a scheduled league game, the incident report shall be forwarded directly to the WODS Board of Directors and the process will skip to Step #5.
2. The Coordinator will solicit reports from the parties directly involved with the incident, the captains of the teams involved with the incident, and any relevant witnesses to the incident. The identities of all of these individuals must be made available to the Coordinator upon request. Failure to do so may result in further disciplinary action.
3. Upon reviewing the reports, the Coordinator shall make a ruling according to the Disciplinary Guidelines defined below. The original incident report and the Coordinator's ruling shall be filed with the WODS Board of Directors.
4. Should the Coordinator be unable to make a ruling on the matter, either due to the restrictions of the Disciplinary Guidelines or for any other reason, or should the parties involved not be satisfied with the Coordinator's ruling, the matter may be referred to the WODS Board of Directors for further review or appeal.
5. The WODS Board of Directors will review all reports forwarded by the Coordinator and/or will solicit reports from the parties directly involved with the incident, the captains of the teams involved with the incident, and any relevant witnesses to the incident. The identities of all of these individuals shall be made available to the WODS Board of Directors upon request. Failure to do so may result in further disciplinary action.
6. Upon reviewing the reports, the WODS Board of Directors shall make a final ruling according to the Disciplinary Guidelines defined below.

Disciplinary Guidelines

The following are the guidelines for disciplinary rulings stemming from the Incident Investigation Process outlined above:

Conflict of Interest

Should there be a conflict of interest, or the appearance of a conflict of interest, for anyone charged with investigating and ruling on an incident, the incident shall automatically be referred to the next level of investigation. For instance, a Coordinator shall refer to the Board of Directors if there is a conflict. Should there be a conflict of interest for a Board member, that Board member shall excuse him/herself and another Board member shall take over the investigation.

Possible Disciplinary Actions

WODS is not a legal body. It is not in a position to detail all manner of potential incidents and assign corresponding disciplinary actions. It is felt that the judgment of those investigating and ruling on a given incident, and the appeal process provided, will prevent disciplinary actions that are out of proportion to an incident. However, it should be noted that the disciplinary actions taken against an individual or team by WODS may include, but are not limited to:

• no action
• official warnings
• alteration of win/loss records for a team
• suspension of an individual or team
• expulsion of an individual or team

Any of these actions may be taken based on the severity of a single incident or documented history of incidents.

Disciplinary Authority

As per the Incident Investigation Process outlined above, various individuals or groups are empowered to impose disciplinary actions. The following outlines the actions each of these individuals or groups are authorized to impose upon an individual or team.

Coordinator

• The Coordinator is authorized to impose sanctions up to and including the suspension of an individual for as many as five games.

Board of Directors

• The League Management Cell of the Board of Directors is authorized to impose sanctions up to and including the permanent expulsion of any individual or team from WODS. However, any ruling involving permanent expulsion would require approval from the majority of members of the entire Board of Directors.

Suspensions

Due to the fact that individuals may play on multiple teams, suspensions of individuals will include any and all teams for which the individual plays. This includes teams not involved in incidents that warranted the suspension. Games for which an entire team is suspended may be counted as defaults. As such, a team that is suspended for multiple games may come up for review by the Board of Directors for removal from the league.

Enforcement

The sport of Ultimate is based on the premise of Spirit of the Game. It is written into our rules that no player shall intentionally break the rules for gain. As such, players and their captains are entrusted to adhere to the rulings imposed by the league. However, in the event of a suspension, additional measures must be taken to ensure compliance with the ruling. If an individual or team is suspended for any number of games, the captains of their scheduled opponents for the duration of the suspension will be notified as will the coordinators directly responsible for those games.

For suspension of an individual, the Captain's Rule may not be used to allow the suspended player to play.

If a player or team is found to be playing in defiance of a suspension, additional and more serious disciplinary actions will be taken against the player. Also, actions may be taken against the team captain as an individual, or the team as a whole.

Lightning and Adverse Weather

In case of extreme weather, games may be cancelled on location through captains' agreement. Safety should always come first. WODS considers visible lightning in the area to be extreme weather, resulting in the immediate suspension of play. For other conditions (i.e. wind, rain, hail, etc.), captains should use their best judgment, with safety being the priority. A game that has been suspended due to lightning or adverse weather may only be resumed by captains' agreement if the conditions have passed. In the event of lightning or other adverse weather, we encourage teams to take safe shelter for a reasonable period (at least 20 minutes) to see if the conditions pass and the game may be resumed. Again, this will be a decision to be agreed between the captains.

If you are caught in the open by a sudden storm, get to safe shelter as quickly as possible. Do not remain in open, exposed areas. Remember that lightning is attracted to conductive material like metal, and to tall objects like trees, poles, etc. Stay well clear of such items. If you are unable to reach shelter, then assuming the 'lightning safety position' is the best alternative. Squat to lower your profile and touch your heels together, in order to direct any charge away from vital organs to your legs. Cover your ears to avoid damage from thunder. Never lie on the ground, as lightning can travel along wet ground and, by lying down, you have exposed your heart to the possibility of close contact with a ground-traveling strike. If your body hair stands up, a lightning strike may be imminent--immediately assume the safety position or get to cover.

Games may be cancelled in advance by agreement between the captains. However, we encourage teams not to use this option lightly. The best way to determine the weather conditions is to show up at the field at game time.

In the event of adverse weather interrupting a game, the game is considered completed where either team has reached a minimum score of 8. The appropriate scores should then be entered on the WODS site. If a game is called with neither team reaching 8 points, the game is a nullity.

Privacy Policy

The registration information collected here is for the exclusive use of the Waterloo Organization of Disc Sports (WODS), and is required for the administration of the association and its business. WODS recognizes the private nature of this information, and is committed to ensuring its security. It is the policy of WODS that individual members' personal information will NEVER be sold or released to any other organization. Demographic information (such as the number of players in the league, the average age of players, geographical distribution of players, etc.) will be used by the league to help guide future endeavors such as (but not limited to) expansion, location of fields, sponsorship and advertising. Any demographic data released in these or any other situations will be limited to aggregate statistics only, and in no instance will identifying information, phone lists, or mailing lists be released without consent.

The associated member directory on this site is for the express use of WODS and its members. Phone and e-mail contact information (henceforth referred to as "contact information") for individual members is available on an individual lookup basis only. Individual members are entitled to block access to this information through their personal settings. For the purposes of efficiently running the league, the following exceptions to this entitlement exist:

1. Contact information for team captains and assistant captains is visible to other members. This is to allow contact with other teams in the event of scheduling conflicts, etc.
2. Team captains and assistant captains can see the contact information of all the members of their team, for the purposes of administrating that team.
3. Members occupying administrative positions will have their contact information made visible in order to ensure their availability to the membership.

If you have any further concerns regarding this policy, please contact the WODS Board of Directors.

Incident Report Guide

Please send an incident report to our Leagues Director to let us know about any unusual incidents which occurred in conjunction with your game. In particular, you should report poor field conditions, injuries, dangerous play, fights, instructions from facility staff, and the use of our fields by non-WODS organizations.

In your incident report, please include the following:

• On what date did the incident take place?
• Where (park & field) did the incident occur?
• Your name, team name, opposing team name, and contact information.
• The type of incident such as injury, field problem, spirit problem or other unsportsmanlike conduct
• 0ther issue (please specify)
• Please provide as much detail as possible about the incident, the action taken at the time, and any other applicable details.

You should receive a reply from the League Coordinator to notify you that the report has been received and what further action will be taken.