Code of Conduct

Ultimate Players League of Austin Code of Conduct

Introduction

The Ultimate Players League of Austin (UPLA) is an organization intended to help promote, organize, and grow the sport of Ultimate within the Austin, Texas, community. This document describes both the manner in which the UPLA expects members to conduct themselves and the processes to resolve incidents of inappropriate conduct. It is anticipated that the vast majority of issues may be resolved directly by the persons or teams involved. The primary purpose of this code is to help facilitate appropriate behavior at UPLA events. It is the hope of the UPLA that this code serve as guideline with limited actual application; in only the most severe cases should the UPLA board become involved in resolving a misconduct issue.

Entities Governing Conduct Violations

For the purposes of appropriate and expeditious resolution of conduct violations, the UPLA distinguishes two different, though not necessarily distinct, entities with the ability to enforce this code of conduct.

Acting Disciplinary Authority

At any UPLA-sponsored event, be it disc-related or otherwise, there shall be person or group of persons who shall listen and respond to conduct complaints made at that event. Any person granted this authority shall be called an Acting Disciplinary Authority. This person enforces the rules of conduct detailed below in the "Conduct" section. An Acting Disciplinary Authority may be a tournament director, head observer, event coordinator, member of the UPLA board acting in an official capacity, or other person appointed by the UPLA. An Acting Disciplinary Authority has the ability to make immediate decisions on conduct at the designated UPLA event and any decisions made are final. An example is that the tournament director of a UPLA-sponsored event may eject a player who behaves inappropriately.

The purpose of having one or more Acting Disciplinary Authorities at any UPLA event is to ensure that conduct violations are efficiently and swiftly resolved to limit the impact of any transgressions upon the actual event. Further sanctions may be enforced should a conduct violation be written into a formal complaint for review by the UPLA board. Any disciplinary decision by the Acting Disciplinary Authority shall only impact the affected event and carries no ramifications for future UPLA events.

UPLA Board and Complaint Resolution

The UPLA board serves as the oversight committee to pass judgments and impose sanctions for conduct violations related to UPLA events. Just like the Acting Disciplinary Authority, the board enforces the rules of behavior outlined in the "Conduct" section below. The purpose of the board is to hear complaints, discuss those complaints, and make rulings on those complaints. Following the ruling on a complaint, the concerned party may appeal the complaint with any clarifications or new information the party deems appropriate. The dispute resolution process is described below in the section titled "Judicial Process."

Conduct

The code of conduct described here applies to all participants in any UPLA-related activity. Note that at events organized by parties beyond just UPLA, the UPLA code of conduct defers to that code used by other organizations. For example, if UPLA is tasked with helping to run Ultimate Players Association (UPA) College Sectionals, then the UPA's code of any code of conduct supersedes that of the UPLA. If an incident occurs that is not covered by the UPA code of conduct, then the applicable UPLA code is applied. Also, it is important to recognize that within the context of an Ultimate game or other activity at a UPLA event there is a difference between game-related penalties and misconduct penalties. Showing up late to a game requires that the offending team be penalized one or more points, but such an event would not imply a conduct violation.

On-Field Conduct

"On-field conduct" refers specifically to a participant's actions and behavior during a UPLA-sponsored Ultimate event. It is the expectation that all participants adhere to the rules of Ultimate, be respectful towards others, behave within the guidelines of any site regulations, and not impinge upon the safety and well-being of others.

A conduct violation occurs when a person fails to follow these guidelines. Examples of on-field conduct violations include, but are not limited to, spiking the disc on an opponent, reckless and dangerous play, excessive heckling or taunting, cheating, damage or destruction of a field site's property, and violence towards other participants.

Off-Field Conduct

"Off-field conduct" refers to a participant's actions at any UPLA-sponsored event not directly related to playing Ultimate. An example of such an event would be a Summer League party held at a site different than that at which the tournament and season took place. Conduct violations may include, but are not limited to, destruction of site property, consuming alcohol when prohibited by the site, violence towards other participants or non-participants, excessively disorderly or disruptive behavior, failure to leave the site in a timely manner, and disrespectful behavior towards participants or non-participants.

Conduct Enforcement Systems

It is typical for Ultimate tournaments to use either a "card" system or a "team misconduct" system for enforcing Ultimate-related penalties. Penalties applied through these systems do not necessarily imply a conduct violation. However, where warranted, these systems may be used in filing a formal complaint and are then resolved through this code's judiciary process.

Judicial Process:

Complaints to Acting Disciplinary Authority

A complaint made to an Acting Disciplinary Authority does not require any formal documentation. The aggrieved party contacts the Acting Disciplinary Authority directly, who then makes a ruling. There is no appeal process associated with decisions made by the Acting Disciplinary Authority.

Complaints to the UPLA Board

Formal complaints to the UPLA board requesting further sanctions and conflict resolution must be submitted in writing to a member of the UPLA board. The UPLA board takes any complaint and then meets to discuss and rule on the complaint. Any complaint must be submitted within 30 days of the incident. The UPLA board will return a ruling on a complaint within 30 days of receipt. Multiple complaints on the same incident may be considered a single complaint.

If the UPLA board decides that a complaint requires sanctions, then the board will inform the offending party of this and ask for a written defense. If necessary, the defendant may see the board in person and defend him or herself there.

Following a ruling and the imposition of sanctions by the UPLA board, the defendant may file an appeal with the board given that there is new information related to the case. The board will vote on whether the appeal merits review, and if a majority vote affirms that review is appropriate, and then the board may revise sanctions as necessary.

Sanctions

The Acting Disciplinary Authority may impose sanctions only insofar as they apply to the affected event. This action may include, but is not limited to, ejection from the tournament, removal from the event grounds, and removal from one or more games.

The UPLA board may impose sanctions for one or more events spanning a time period not exceeding one year. These sanctions may include, but are not limited to, exclusion from UPLA leagues, exclusion from UPLA events or clinics, and completion of service to the UPLA community.

Conclusion

This document is intended to give UPLA a set of defined guidelines to manage misconduct within the organization. This document provides broad descriptions and specific examples of potential misconduct violations at UPLA-sponsored events. It provides a means for an aggrieved party to file a complaint and see that appropriate penalties are applied to the defendant, where deemed necessary. It also provides a means for the defendant to defend his or her actions, and in the case that his or her defense is overruled, appeal any imposed sanctions.

The expectation of the UPLA is that participants will almost always treat each other with respect and avoid conflict. In the cases where conflict arises it is hoped that the participants will be able to amicably resolve the situation. This document only applies in those cases where the participants are unable to reach a resolution.