2018 NATIONAL TOURNAMENT REVIEW

Transcription

1 2018 NATIONAL TOURNAMENT REVIEW DISCUSSION DOCUMENT National Tournament Review New Zealand Ultimate is reviewing the structure of the National Tournament programme and this discussion document has been put together to help the Ultimate community provide input, submissions and feedback into that process. Review and Reasons for It New Zealand Ultimate undertook a full review of the National Tournament structure in 2015 following calls at successive AGMs for doing things differently. That community feedback was focused on providing more of a season for clubs to play rather than just a one-off National Championships Tournament. However the hosting of National Championships events by NZU was also proving difficult and a review of the hosting arrangements and financial arrangements were incorporated into the review. The NZU Board adopted all of the NTRG recommendations, which resulted in the creation of two new tournaments (Welly Wind Up and Chalice City Classic) and the incorporation of those events, along with Twin Harbour Classic into an NZU Summer Series. The financial and hosting arrangements were changed so that NZU partnered with local clubs to deliver many of the national championships. And the two major national championship events were put on a three-year hosting cycle. We now near the end of the first three-year cycle of major national events and things have changed quickly over the three years. There was a quick spike in the number of teams at nationals immediately after the National Tournament Review was completed, with 18 teams at 2015 NZMUC and 26 teams at 2016 NZMUC. Similarly 19 teams attended 2015 NZU, while 25 teams attended 2016 NZUC. This quick growth has put pressure on the capacity of the national tournaments. NZMUC currently has to be held over two venues and the Wellington venue struggles to accommodate more than 20 teams on quality fields. It should be noted that NZUC has settled down to 20 teams in 2018, with the Australia Division 2 Ultimate Championships offering another option to Australian teams (who didn t attend the 2018 event) and possibly the effect of the NZU series, where teams don t feel they have to attend nationals they can just play at their local series event. So with clubs having had 2 full seasons of the NZU series and the new format for other events, and with the capacity pressures expected at all events as well as feedback from some in the community that the current structure could be improved, New Zealand Ultimate are again reviewing the national tournament structure.

2 Current Situation New Zealand Ultimate currently run 5 national championship tournaments and links three other events together to form the NZU Summer Series. The details of these events are listed below. NZU Summer Series (Open and Women s Division) The NZU Summer Series is a series of three events run over the early part of the year in which points gained at each event contribute to an overall series winner. The series has two goals: 1) To provide a full season of tournaments for the top and the keen teams to build their season around. 2) To ensure each region (north, central and south) has at least one tournament annually in their region, to drive regional development. Welly Wind Up (mid-january), Twin Harbour Classic (mid-february), Chalice City Classic (mid-march) Welly Wind Up (Wellington), Twin Harbour Classic (Auckland), Chalice City Classic (Christchurch) Local clubs own and organise the event, usually with assistance from NZU and the Regional Ultimate Organisation. Local clubs deal with all finances (collect entry fees, pay expenses). NZU receives the standard player levy. NZU liaises with all organisers to try and maintain a consistent entry fee across all events and ensure the entry fees and surpluses from the events are reasonable. NZ Ultimate Championships (Open and Women s Divisions) Held on the last weekend of March, subject to field availability and must not clash with Easter. Three-year policy allocated on a bid system. Currently hosted at Awa Kairangi Park in Upper Hutt. NZU owns the event and partners with a local club who form the Tournament Organising Committee and recruit the Tournament Director and volunteers. NZU and the local club agree on a budget for the event. The event is budgeted to break even, including a hosting fee for the club of $50 per team and the NZU levy. Any surplus from the event over and above the hosting fee is taken by New Zealand Ultimate.

3 NZ Secondary School Ultimate Championships (Open and Girl s Divisions) Held on Monday and Tuesday during Summer Tournament Week as set by the New Zealand Secondary School Sports Council (generally in mid-late March). Held annually in Taupo. NZU organises the event, appointing tournament directors, the tournament organising committee and other volunteers. Due to the small playing population in Taupo, these people tend to be from Auckland or Wellington. Auckland Ultimate and Wellington Disc Sports often assist with gear. NZU takes all entry fees, pays all costs associated with the event and retains any surplus. NZ Youth Ultimate Championships (Boy s and Girl s divisions) Has been held bi-annually (2013, 2015, 2017) during the April school holidays. First two events were held in Taupo was in New Plymouth. Based around accessibility of accommodation. NZU organises the event, the National Youth High Performance Manager or Executive Officer has generally organised the event and acted as the TD with help from the Regional Youth Coordinators and other volunteers. Due to the small playing population in Taupo and New Plymouth, these people tend to be from Auckland or Wellington. Auckland Ultimate and Wellington Disc Sports often assist with gear. NZU takes all entry fees, pays all costs associated with the event and retains any surplus. The event is completely cost-shared amongst all participants. NZ University Ultimate Championships (Mixed division) Held at a time during inter-semester break common to as many Universities as possible, during semester 2. Rotated annually using a bid system. NZU owns the events and it is now sanctioned by University and Tertiary Sport New Zealand. NZU partners with a local club who form the Tournament Organising Committee and recruit the Tournament Director and volunteers. NZU and the local club agree on a budget for the event. The event is budgeted to break even, including a hosting fee for the club of $50 per team and the NZU levy. Any surplus from the event over and above the hosting fee is taken by New Zealand Ultimate.

4 NZ Mixed Ultimate Championships (Mixed Division) Held on the third weekend of November (generally avoiding Canterbury Anniversary weekend and at the end of University examinations) Three-year policy allocated on a bid system. Currently hosted at Gower Park in Hamilton. NZU owns the event and partners with a local club who form the Tournament Organising Committee and recruit the Tournament Director and volunteers. NZU and the local club agree on a budget for the event. The event is budgeted to break even, including a hosting fee for the club of $50 per team and the NZU levy. Any surplus from the event over and above the hosting fee is taken by New Zealand Ultimate. Summary of the current calendar. Mid-January Welly Wind Up Wellington NZU Summer Series Mid-February Twin Harbour Classic Auckland NZU Summer Series Mid-March Chalice City Classic Christchurch NZU Summer Series March NZ Secondary School Championships Taupo NZSSSC Tournament Week End-March NZ Ultimate Championships Wellington 3-year cycle April NZ Youth Ultimate Championships New Plymouth Bi-annual event September NZ Tertiary Ultimate Championships Various Annual bid system Late November NZ Mixed Ultimate Championships Hamilton 3-year cycle SWOT Analysis of Current System (mainly outlined through National Ultimate Conference) Strengths Women s and Men s season provides opportunities to develop a squad over a series/play consistent national level ultimate NZMUC aligns well with NZ Tertiary Ultimate Championships Three years in the same place builds capability in that region. Gives long term planning opportunities. Allows Women s, Men s and Mixed clubs to co-exist Access for players to a high level event locally (through the NZU Series) Stability and Consistency for clubs to plan around Series events like CCC, THC and Welly Wind up help develop minor regions and smaller/newer teams. Series events are good as warm-up/trials events for nationals Weaknesses Regions/Clubs focused on Mixed end their season in November (nothing over Summer) Players either have 2 x short seasons or no focus on Mixed Series has different foci is it development or elite? Clubs treating events differently some send A/B, some send X/Y No clear interaction between NZU Series and NZUC No Off-season Cost attending all events is expensive No competitive lead up to NZMUC All teams in same division so lots of disparity between teams -> less competitive Not accessible for players from smaller regions (who don t have enough players for a team) who are capable of playing at that level and improving. Organisational burden on regional areas most people organising already volunteer for other projects. Having Two Major Events NZUC and NZMUC means one region (North, Central, South) will be without a major event for three years.

5 Opportunities There could be more mixed tournaments/warm up tournaments for NZMUC Define purpose better More opportunity to promote sport at a regional level NZ Barbarians for regions that can t field full teams. Better billeting Events for small regions 5-a-side, no top teams 2:1 North v South Island tournament ratio Split Nationals into Div 1 and others to create more equal games Moving calendar to reflect equal importance of both types of ultimate Threats Player attrition from many events with no off-season injuries, burnout Stagnation of regions with poor access to or lack of funds to get to tournaments Small regions can feel overpowered at events leading to lack on enjoyment of the event Capacity of venues means both Series and National may be limited Losing Mixed as a popular/legitimate version of the sport as the season is SO focused on Women/Men division Small regions don t have numbers for WaM season disengage 3 year cycle tough on organisers Increased club season reduces league numbers locally Why we have National Tournaments The national tournaments provide the highest level of competition available in New Zealand and are the key opportunities for athletes at the Perform stage of the player pathway in their various age groups. National tournaments are run to crown a National Champion and they are also used to determine qualification and seeding to international events such as the World Ultimate Club Championships, Australian Ultimate Championships, Australian Mixed Ultimate Champions and the Asia-Oceania Ultimate Club Championships. National tournament can also be a key part of selection to the Excel pathway, with the NZ Secondary School and NZ Youth Ultimate Championships in particular being used as selection events to the New Zealand U20 National teams. At the end of this review, New Zealand Ultimate aims to create a sustainable and clear national competition structure that serves the needs of athletes in the Perform pathway with clear guidelines as to the timing, venue, hosting and financial arrangements of the tournaments. National Strategies The National Tournament Structure must fit in with, and will ideally strengthen, the Whole of Sport Plan released in 2017 with particular reference to the Coach Player Pathway outlined below.

6 Other key documents: NZU Whole of Sport Framework (link) NZU National Tournament Review Group Terms of Reference (link) National Tournament Review Group In order to facilitate the review, New Zealand Ultimate has put together a National Tournament Review Group (NTRG) who will engage with the New Zealand Ultimate Community to gather submissions, ideas and feedback before working together to produce a recommendation to be considered by the NZU Board. The recommendations will be open to a second round of community feedback before the NZU Board takes any decisions and develops the National Tournaments Policy. The National Tournament Review Group is: Andrew Ivory David Jackson Chris Carr Hana Christenson Heather Hickey Bel Fraser Iain Stewart The National Tournament Review Group can be contacted at nzu.ntrg@gmail.com

7 Submissions The purpose of the NTRG is to conduct a review and prepare recommendations to NZU regarding the structure, location and timing of national tournaments, in order to inform the NZU National Tournaments Policy. Members of the Ultimate community are encouraged to have input into this review. This can be done by: Talking with one of the members of the NTRG, Written submission Completing surveys as released Attending any forum that may be organised locally to you. Submissions can focus on one, some or all of the following principles and one, some or all of the events listed above, in relation to the national tournament structure: Number and type of events Timing of events Location of Events Hosting arrangements/organisation of events Financial arrangements related to the events We encourage the community to be creative in their thinking with regards to ideas for a national championship event and not be constrained to the concepts that we currently have. Feel free to look outside our region or our sport could we run a league like the English Premier League. What about a franchise system like Australia s A league, or the NFL? What about regional rep teams like many other New Zealand sports? Hybrid models like Netball New Zealand s premier competition? Or a single massive tournament with a qualifying series like USA Ultimate s Nationals. Timeline 31 May 2018 National Tournament Review Group finalised Mid-June 2018 Discussion document for community published. Brainstorming Phase begins 15 September 2018 Submissions to the Brainstorming Phase close 29 September 2018 National Tournament Review Group Meeting 27 October 2018 Options paper published. Feedback Phase begins. 9 November 2018 Submissions to the Feedback Phase close 16 November 2018 Final Report submitted to the Board 30 November 2018 National Tournament Structure Announced Questions If you have any queries, please feel free to contact Iain Stewart at nzu.eo@ultimate.org.nz.