Fresh Faces
By Gary Breaux
Read it. Don't skim it. Don't glance at it. Don't read it while driving (and texting). Really read it. The future of Austin Ultimate depends on it.
Hey folks. Gary here. I’ve been around Austin Ultimate quite a while and working as much as anyone to see Austin Ultimate grow and flourish. Mostly I do it because I love playing Ultimate and I selfishly want more opportunities to get my game on. But I also do it because I know that following my own interest (selfish though they may be) creates reverberations to a much wider circle of people and enhances the total cosmic goodness for all...or whatever.
Thankfully, I am not alone. I am just one of a many major and minor contributors to Austin Ultimate. One vehicle for making it all happen is UPLA (Ultimate Players League of Austin).
UPLA is Austin’s attempt at bringing some organization and forethought to the Austin Ultimate community so that players of all levels can get more quality game, more of the time. UPLA has been around for just a couple-a-few years. In that time, we have revamped the website, added leagues and tournaments left and right, revitalized the Celebración tournament, published a monthly newsletter....BISH-BAM-BOOM! We be rockin’ no doubt!
And now we need some of YOU to step into the fray. People move away (like UPLA’s webmaster- Spike) or take jobs that cause them to travel for months at a time. People have kids, get married (in that order), or face other life changes that lessen their ability to contribute. When this happens, fresh faces must emerge to carry on the good works of those that have come before.
UPLA Board positions rotate every one to two years. Below is a list of open positions for the next term. Please look them over, take a deep breath, and raise your hand up high enough to be seen...even if you have only the mildest interest in contributing to any of these roles. Email your interest to uplayupla@gmail.com
Let’s hear from you!! It’s your turn to make a positive difference.
Descriptions of Open UPLA Board Positions
League Coordinator:
The League Coordinator oversees all of Austin Ultimate’s leagues and works to ensure each league maintains quality standards Austin players have come to expect. This is accomplished by working with individual league coordinators who will directly run and manage each league. The League Director manages the bidding process used to identify which local team will run each league. The League Director simultaneously pursues continued league development and potential new leagues. The League Coordinator will maintain the Leagues section of the website.
Tournament Coordinator:
The Tournament Coordinator oversees the running of local Ultimate tournaments by working with individual Tournament Directors and providing knowledge and resources to ensure quality events. The Coordinator will work with the Fields Director and League Director in order to secure fields and set tournament dates that compliment other scheduled events. Tournament Coordinator will maintain the Tournaments section of the website.
Co-Webmaster:
The Co-Webmaster works in partnership with their Co-Webmaster counterpart to proactively maintain and update UPLA’s web site as needed. Responsibilities include coordinating with all content contributors regarding images and articles to be published, overseeing UPLA’s electronic commerce activities, maintaining a calendar of events, managing the UPLA list-serve, and monitoring all of UPLA’s technology needs and initiatives. [The current website platform is Drupal.]
Director of Community Outreach and Education:
The Director of Community Outreach and Education coordinates UPLA’s effort to publicize disc sports, to inform the public about UPLA and its events, to increase the involvement of community businesses in disc sports and to give back to the community through service projects. They coordinate press releases for the league seasons and tournaments and UPLA’s community service projects.
Treasurer:
The Treasurer prepares an annual budget for UPLA based on input from the UPLA Board Members, maintains balances and holds UPLA’s checkbook, writes checks for approved expenses, and keeps records of all purchases. In addition, the Treasurer oversees the preparation of statements of revenues and expenses for major events, including tournaments and UPLA’s leagues, and maintains non-profit tax organization status.
Sponsorship Coordinator:
The Sponsorship Coordinator works to obtain sponsors for Austin leagues, tournaments, teams or other UPLA events. They work closely with the Treasurer, Tournament and League Directors to ensure that UPLA monetary needs are met. The Sponsorship Coordinator prepares sponsorship materials to be given to local businesses that may be interested in sponsoring Austin Ultimate.
Volunteer Coordinator:
The Volunteer Coordinator acts as UPLA’s principle agent for obtaining, organizing (herding), and maintaining a motivated pool of volunteers for the purpose of assisting in UPLA sponsored leagues, tournaments and other Ultimate-related activities.
