Effective the Fall / Winter season of 2009, all participants in Bay Area Disc Association events are required to sign and submit the new Bay Area Disc Association liability waiver. If you are younger than 18 years old, you must also submit a Medical Authorization Form which must be signed by your parent or guardian. Procedures for submitting these forms are included with the Account Statement that you'll see during registration.
The new waiver that we’re asking you to sign and submit to us is tied to the fact that we now no longer require you to join the Ultimate Players Association (UPA) to play in our leagues, hat tournaments, or clinics. This change is made possible primarily by our new status as a fiscally-sponsored project of Community Initiatives, who now underwrites the insurance we need to rent fields. Read about fiscal sponsorship if you are curious to learn more about it.
We realize that the lifting of UPA membership requirements is a big departure from how all of our leagues in San Francisco, the East Bay, and Marin operated for many, many years in the past. Please look over this brief FAQ if you need any clarification.
Q: I already completed a UPA waiver for the current year. In fact, I am also a fully-paid UPA member for this year. Am I covered for the league or hat tournament I just signed up for, or do I still have to submit the new Bay Area Disc Association waiver?
A: No, you are not covered. Yes, you must sign and submit the new waiver. Effective Fall 2009 League (i.e., SF Rec Fall 2009 League), all records of past UPA waivers and memberships are wiped clean. Please follow the instructions on your Account Statement for submitting the new Bay Area Disc Association liability waiver to us. Nothing you submitted during any of our Summer 2009 Leagues or prior will count. Being current with the UPA does not count. Remember, all we’re asking you to do is sign and submit the new waiver.
Q: If I am no longer paying for a UPA membership, does that mean it will cost me more to play in your leagues?
A: League fees are not affected at all. For instance, the SF Rec League is once again able to offer a full season of play on Sunday afternoons this fall for $50. If you plan to play in either the SF Winter League 2009-10 or the East Bay Winter League 2009-10, you'll find that the pricing of both events to be similar to what you paid in past years. While future fluctuations in any of our league fees are possible, they will not be related to the fact that we no longer rely on the UPA for sanctioning.
Q: I like being a UPA member. Should I still renew for the coming year?
A: That's totally up to you. The UPA's role in an Ultimate player's life does not change at all if you plan to play club or college tournaments. Most tournaments in the state and in the country continue to be sanctioned by UPA, so basically you’ll have no choice about joining or renewing memberships with the UPA if that level of play is something you seek.
Not having to join the UPA any longer works out great if you only play Ultimate in our leagues, and allows you the choice save your annual UPA membership dues to spend on something else. As a general rule, we at Bay Area Disc Association would still consider the annual renewal of your UPA membership to be a great show of support for the sport of Ultimate; all that’s changed is that we no longer require you to be a UPA member, nor will we ask for proof of membership or collect UPA waivers.
Q: Even though UPA membership is no longer required, does being a UPA member give me priority or affect whether or not I get into your league?
A: No. Being a UPA member gives you no advantages in our sign-up procedures. But you’ll earn street cred by having a cool membership card and glossy magazine to show to your friends, though.
Q: Will I have to sign and submit a new waiver every year like I did for the UPA?
A: No. Our current plan for the paper-based waiver is that it never expires and remains on file permanently with our fiscal sponsor, Community Initiatives, for the duration of our relationship with them. Eventually, we would like to dispose of the paper form altogether and move to an electronic 'Terms and Conditions' page that you would click during event registrations. However, we are not ready to pursue this electronic page right now.
Q: Is the league going to run things completely on its own without any outside influence from the rest of the Ultimate community? What about stuff like rules - are we going to ignore the UPA 11th Edition Rules and come up with our own?
A: We will continue playing by the UPA 11th Edition Rules. Just because we will not rely on UPA sanctioning for insurance reasons does not mean we are going to reinvent the wheel. If anything, the formation of Bay Area Disc Association strengthens our local ties with our good friends in Colorado.
In case your questions about the changes to UPA requirements are not answered here, please write us at info (at) bayareadiscassociation (dot) org.