The History of UPLA

“It was a rainy day at Patterson Pickup [...]” remembers Gary Breaux, one of the founding members of Ultimate Players League of Austin (UPLA), as he reflects on the origins of the organization. The weather caused turnout to be low, so Gary ended up talking to local players Paul Normandin and Wayne Wight the whole time.

What Austin Ultimate needed, they decided, was some organization to focus the energy, connect all the different Ultimate groups, and get lighted fields to allow games to continue year round. Wayne broke out his laptop and immediately started jotting ideas.

Once they had their mission, they started to brainstorm names of people who should be involved to represent each sector of the Ultimate scene. One of the names that immediately came to mind was Skip Hobbie (“Skizip”).

Coincidentally, there was a fundraiser at the Ritz on 6th Street and Skizip was involved. When he was approached about the organization, he was very enthusiastic; it quickly became apparent that he had already given this a lot of thought.

Gathering some momentum behind the idea, the group started to hold meetings every two weeks. They began to work on their bylaws from the beginning, struggling to define the structure and purpose of the organization. They began to look at other candidates and contacted Bill Marriott, who was involved with youth ultimate, followed soon after by Tina Woodings for UT Ultimate, and Paul Normandin for Riverside.

Once current President Tina Woodings got involved, Gary recalls, things really started to solidify. While Paul had been involved early, he could not make a larger commitment because of other conflicts.  Though now (several years later) Paul has come back strong and currently serves the role of UPLA President.

In the beginning, they understood the importance of staying small, not to be exclusive, but to stay agile enough to make progress while still representing all the constituents.

The meetings were held in coffee shops, at EZ’s, and at Wahoo’s, with various notable Austin ultimate players in Austin Ultimate attending to share their input. Among them were Showdown co-captain Cara Crouch as well as former Doublewide captains Scotty Berens and Michael "Tank" Natenburg. Mary McDowell also attended a meeting to share her experience with non-profits.

Once the bylaws were finished after a grueling six months, the as-yet-nameless began to recruit other people to represent the greater community. They brainstormed on the name, with Wayne contributing quite a few suggestions, with “Ultimate Players League of Austin” (no apostrophe, abbreviated “UPLA” and pronounced “you-play”) winning out.

They invited people to come up with a logo. Grace Kao’s design, currently in use, won hands down. “We wanted to tell people what this organization is for and why it is important,” explains Gary.

The early meetings continued to be about how to become a non-profit. About six weeks into the meetings, they sought the assistance of Barry Silverberg, who has a non-profit himself that help non-profits get incorporated. UPLA got state non-profit status, but federal 501(c)3 status is still pending.

The idea of forming an ultimate organization in Austin has come up quite a few times and there were prior attempts as far back as a dozen years ago that did not come to pass. The original goals were largely the same as they are now, including putting together a new website.

As with any other non-profit, the question of money was always on the table. It came as a pleasant surprise that, thanks to efficient leagues run by Gary Breaux, UPLA did not start completely from scratch – there was money already ear-marked for use in the general ultimate community. This helped give UPLA a little more substance than previous attempts.

In the spring of 2008, UPLA recruited other Austin players to fill the remaining board member slots for its current incarnation. To keep the organization dynamic and representative of the Austin community, the positions are designed to be turned over to other capable candidates and volunteers after a few years.

Looking forward, UPLA hopes to continue to serve the needs of the greater Austin ultimate community. With multiple leagues, indoor and outdoor tournaments, Regionals, this new website to mark the debut of the organization, UPLA has given Austin a taste of what it brings to the table.

Although the organization itself is small, UPLA’s history has included a large number of key players from a variety of different backgrounds. UPLA would like to remind you that there are numerous volunteer opportunities for you to get involved and provide suggestions that bolster Austin ultimate, along with serving on the Board in the future.