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2026

Masters
Guidelines

Table of Contents

I. Overview

The Masters Division – which includes the following divisions: Great Grand Masters Men’s, Great Grand Masters Women’s, Grand Masters Men’s, Grand Masters Mixed, Grand Masters Women’s, Masters Men’s, Masters Mixed and Masters Women’s – will have specific competition, eligibility and geographic guidelines. USA Ultimate recognizes that each division has unique differences at this time and will adjust guidelines to best fit each division. As the sport of ultimate continues to grow, the Masters Division will need to continue to evolve to accommodate new age divisions.

For 2026, the following changes will be in effect for the Series.

  • 2026-2027 rules will be in effect.
  • Bid allocation will follow a classic proportional method.

For 2027, the following changes will be in effect for the Series.

  • Roster limits will be reduced to 26 players in all divisions to match WFDF roster limits.

USA Ultimate is considering additional changes for future Masters Division seasons. The following will NOT be in effect for 2026, but are being considered for 2027 and beyond.

  • Grand Masters Women’s out of region roster limits may be reduced to seven players.
  • Great Grand Masters Women’s out of region roster limits may be set at ten players.
  • If a Super-Qualifier event has fewer than four teams, we may require migration to an adjacent qualifying event to promote quality events and competition for impacted teams.

II. Masters Series Event Dates

  1. Nationals – The 2026 USA Ultimate Masters Championships will be held in Aurora, CO, on July 17-20, 2026 at the Aurora Sports Complex.
    1. Masters Women’s, Masters Men’s, Masters Mixed, and Grand Masters Men’s, National Championships will be held on July 17-19, 2026 (Friday – Sunday)
    2. Grand Masters Women’s, Grand Masters Mixed, Great Grand Masters Women’s and Great Grand Masters Men’s National Championships will be held on July 18-20, 2026 (Saturday – Monday)
  2. Regionals – Regional events will be held the weekends of June 6-7, 13-14, and 20-21.

III. Age Requirements

The minimum age for the 2026 USA Ultimate Masters Championships are as follows (age as of 12/31/26).

  • Great Grand Masters: 48 for men, 45 for women, non-binary and players who prefer to self-report their gender identity
  • Grand Masters: 40 for men, 37 for women, non-binary and players who prefer to self-report their gender identity
  • Masters: 33 for men; 30 for women, non-binary and players who prefer to self-report their gender identity

IV. USA Ultimate Masters Division Registration

All teams will be required to adhere to the same registration deadlines in 2026.

  1. Masters Series Registration

    1. Team Registration Deadline – Friday, March 27, 2026. (by 5pm MDT/7pm EDT)
      1. To be eligible to participate in the USA Ultimate Masters Series, teams must be created via the online rostering system and registered for their appropriate regional event with a valid event roster (10-player minimum) by Friday, March 27 at 5pm MDT/7pm EDT. Teams that fail to meet the Team Registration Deadline may be subject to late registration fines or denied participation in the Series.
      2. Instructions for creating a team and building an event roster can be found using the links below:
        1. How to Create a Team
        2. Register for an event and create an event roster
      3. After the Team Registration Deadline, team managers may edit and add up to a maximum of 28 players to their USA Ultimate Masters Series event roster until the Final Event Roster Deadline (see below).
    2. Final Event Roster Deadline
      1. To participate in the USA Ultimate Masters Series (Regionals and/or Nationals), players must be on a team’s Regional Championships Event Roster by the Final Event Roster Deadline.
        2. Regionals Weekend Final Event Roster Deadline for the Masters Series:
        June 6-7 Wednesday, June 3 (5pm MDT)
        June 13-14 Wednesday, June 10 (5pm MDT)
        June 20-21 Wednesday, June 17 (5pm MDT)

  2. Championships Deadline

    1. Final event rosters for the 2026 Masters Championships are due on the following:
      1. If a team is playing in a qualifying regional event, their final Event Roster is due on the Wednesday preceding their regional event at 5pm MDT/7pm EDT.
      2. If a team has received an automatic bye to the USA Ultimate Masters Championships, their final event roster is due June 17, 5pm MDT/7pm EDT (the Wednesday preceding the final weekend of regional events).

    2. Teams participating in the USA Ultimate Masters Championships will receive a qualifiers’ packet with information relating to the Championship Event. Teams competing in the Championship Event must submit all required paperwork and player fees by the schedule outlined in their qualifiers’ packet.

      After a team accepts a bid to the Masters Championships, USA Ultimate staff will use the event management system to rollover the team (including the team’s event roster) to register the team for the Masters Championships.

  3. Team Requirements

    1. Registration Clarification and Exceptions
      1. Event Roster Changes
        1. All series players must be on a team’s Regional Championships Event Roster prior to the Final Event Roster Deadline.*
        2. Players may not be rostered on more than one team in the Masters Series.

          3. * Exceptions:

          • Roster appeals: If a player has been accidentally omitted from a team’s event roster or requires additional clarification after the Final Event Roster Deadline, please contact Byron Hicks at USA Ultimate HQ (byron@hq.usaultimate.org) to file a player appeal, by the deadlines in the table below. Please note this process is not for teams that miss the March 27 Team Registration Deadline.
      2. Player Appeals
        1. The deadline for submitting a player appeal (including materials or any other requested documentation) is 5pm MDT, the day after the team’s Final Event Roster deadline.
          Regionals Weekend Final Event Roster Deadline Player Appeal Deadline
          June 6-7 Wednesday, June 3 (5pm MDT) Thursday, June 4 (5pm MDT)
          June 13-14 Wednesday, June 10 Thursday, June 11
          June 20-21

          Wednesday, June 17

          Thursday, June 18
        2. Appeals for late or incorrect registration of players may or may not be granted, and may require payment of a late fee.
      3. Player Minimums
        1. In order for a team to participate in the USA Ultimate Masters Series, it must have at least 10 players on its Regional Championships event roster at the Final Event Roster Deadline.
      4. Player Maximums
        1. The maximum size of a team’s event roster for the USA Ultimate Masters Series is 28 players. Note, WFDF roster limit is 26.
    2. Geographic Requirements

      A team must represent one of the eight current masters regions. In 2025, Southern Ontario moved from the Northeast Region to the Great Lakes Region

      1. Masters Men’s / Masters Mixed / Grand Masters Men’s / Grand Masters Mixed / Great Grand Masters Men’s
        1. At least 75 percent of the players on a team’s roster must reside in the region a team is representing.
        2. No more than five (5) players may reside outside the region that the team is representing.
      2. Masters Women’s
        1. At least 75 percent of the players on a team must reside in the region a team is representing.
        2. No more than seven (7) players may reside outside the region that the team is representing.
      3. Grand Masters Women’s
        1. At least 51 percent of the players on a team must reside in the region a team is representing.
        2. TNo more than ten (10) players may reside outside the region that the team is representing.
      4. Great Grand Masters Women’s
        1. There will be no geographic requirements imposed on Great Grand Masters Women’s Teams.
        2. Teams must register under one of the current eight masters regions.
      5. Residence is defined as meeting BOTH of the following requirements:
        1. Location where the person is living for the majority of July, AND
        2. Location where the person is living for the majority of either three (3) months prior to July 1 or immediately following July 31.
      6. If the above definition means that a player does not have a region as their “residence,” then the player is considered to be an out-of-region player and counts towards the team’s out-of-region limits.
    3. Official Team Count
      1. A division’s official team count will include all teams that meet the division’s registration requirements and competition guidelines. Teams must compete in a USA Ultimate Masters Series event to be included in the division’s official team count.
      2. In order to hold a Championship Event for a division, the division must have at least six (6) teams in its “official team count” unless otherwise approved by USA Ultimate.

  4. Player Requirements

    1. Age Requirements – The minimum age (as of 12/31/2026) for 2026 USA Ultimate Masters Championships are as follows:
      1. Great Grand Masters: 48 years – men; 45 – women/non-binary/prefer to self-report
      2. Grand Masters: 40 years – men; 37 – women/non-binary/prefer to self-report
      3. Masters: 33 years – men; 30 – women/non-binary/prefer to self-report
    2. Roster Requirements

      1. All players participating in the Masters Series must be on a valid team’s Regional Championships Event Roster.

        The ramifications for having an unrostered player (i.e. a player that is not on the team’s Regionals Event Roster) participate in the Masters Series with that team are outlined in the “Violations and Sanctions” section of these guidelines.

      2. USA Ultimate Dues – All players must be current members in good standing before they can be added to a team’s event roster.
      3. Liability Waivers – Each player must (completely and correctly) fill out the appropriate USA Ultimate waiver forms for the year in which they will be competing. These forms are good for the entire calendar year. Waivers may be submitted online via a player’s membership account page.

  5. USA Ultimate Contact Information

    Masters Championships
    (Division/Name of Team)
    USA Ultimate
    5825 Delmonico Drive
    Suite 350
    Colorado Springs, CO 80919

    Byron Hicks
    Manager – Events
    719-219-8324 x121
    byron@hq.usaultimate.org

V. Competition Guidelines

  1. Spirit of the Game

    Spirit of the Game is a set of principles which places the responsibility for fair play on the player. Highly competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of mutual respect among competitors, adherence to the agreed upon rules or the basic joy of play.

    All players are responsible for knowing, administering and adhering to the rules. The integrity of ultimate depends on each player’s responsibility to uphold the Spirit of the Game, and this responsibility should remain paramount. Teams are expected to have a spirit captain, a player that has been designated by their team to address, discuss and resolve spirit-related issues at any point throughout the competition with opponents, teammates, coaches and event officials. Spirit captains should do spirit scoring with their teams after each game and are responsible for the timely submission of spirit scores.

    It is assumed that no player will intentionally violate the rules; thus there are no harsh penalties for inadvertent infractions, but rather a method for resuming play in a manner that simulates what most likely would have occurred absent the infraction. An intentional infraction is cheating and considered a gross offense against the Spirit of the Game. Players are morally bound to abide by the rules and not gain advantage by knowingly committing an infraction, or calling one where none exists.

    Read more about Spirit of the Game, spirit captains, spirit scoring. To read more about the work USA Ultimate is doing to limit implicit bias within the SOTG structure, click here.

  2. Regional Championships

    Divisions with 4 or more teams may be required to attend their Super-Qualifier event. If a division has more teams than bids available for a qualifying event, teams will be required to attend that event.

    The following two (2) regions will be paired together for Super-Qualifiers.

    • Northwest + Southwest
    • North Central + South Central
    • Great Lakes + Southeast
    • Northeast + Mid Atlantic

    In 2026, Southwest, North Central, Southeast, and Northeast will host Grand Masters Men’s, Grand Masters Women’s and Grand Masters Mixed and Great Grand Masters Super-Qualifiers

    In 2026, Northwest, South Central, Great Lakes, and Mid-Atlantic will host Masters Men’s, Masters Women’s, Masters Mixed Super-Qualifiers

    In 2027, Southwest, North Central, Southeast, and Northeast will host Masters Men’s, Masters Women’s, Masters Mixed Super-Qualifiers

    In 2027, Northwest, South Central, Great Lakes, and Mid-Atlantic Grand Masters Men’s, Grand Masters Women’s and Grand Masters Mixed and Great Grand Masters Super-Qualifiers

    Regions will alternate which divisions they host each year. USAU may consider hosting divisions in the adjacent region, under certain circumstances (e.g. inadequate bids, heavily skewed regional team numbers, geographic distribution of teams). If a scheduled hosting region cannot provide an adequate venue for a qualifying event, the adjoining region will be used instead.

    If a division has six (6) or more teams in both regions, inter-regional competition will not occur. That division will hold their regional qualifying event in their home region.

  3. USA Ultimate National Championships

    1. Event Scaling

      NOTE: Due to current field restrictions, USA Ultimate will award up to 108 bids to the 2026 Masters Championships across the eight competition divisions, with no more than 16 teams per division

      1. Step 1:

        In alignment with USA Ultimate DEI commitments, the preliminary division size for ALL divisions at the Masters Championships will be 12 teams. If there are 12 or fewer teams in a division, all teams will advance to Nationals.

      2. Step 2:

        Subtract the number of bids awarded in Step 1 from 108 to determine the number of remaining bids to be distributed. Remaining bids will be distributed, 4 at a time, starting with the division with the largest team count participating in qualifying events to increase the division size to 16 teams. In case of a tie, bids will be awarded to the division with the largest total player count at the time of the Team Registration Deadline.

      3. Step 3:

        Depending on capacity at the event, as well as format and scheduling considerations, additional bids may be awarded at the discretion of the USA Ultimate Manager of Events and National Directors, in line with the goals of the organization and the event.

    2. Bid Allocation
      1. Each region with at least one participating team will be guaranteed to receive one bid to the USA Ultimate Masters Championships
      2. Team counts are calculated based on participation at qualifying events.
      3. Bids will be distributed proportionally across qualifying events, using the Hare Quota*.
        1. Divide the total number of teams in all events by the total number of bids for that division. This is the divisor.
        2. Divide the number of teams in each event by the divisor.
        3. Each event will be awarded bids to nationals equal to its quotient, rounded down to the whole number.
        4. If there are remaining bids, they will be awarded, in order, to the events with the largest remainders, using player count at the Team Registration Deadline as a tiebreaker, if needed.
        5. If the algorithm results in an event being awarded fewer bids than its minimum (1 bid per region with participating teams), those events will be awarded their minimum. The process then starts over, ignoring that event and awarding the remaining bids to other events following steps i-iv.
        *This method minimizes the deviation between each region’s share of bids and its share of team count and reduces paradoxical outcomes.
    3. Nationals Event Scheduling
      1. Masters Women’s, Masters Men’s, Masters Mixed, and Grand Masters Men’s, National Championships will be held on July 17-19, 2026 (Friday – Sunday)
      2. Grand Masters Women’s, Grand Masters Mixed, Great Grand Masters Women’s and Great Grand Masters Men’s National Championships will be held on July 18-20, 2026 (Saturday – Monday)

  4. Name/Logo Uniform Guidelines

    USA Ultimate reserves the right to alter, or require a team to alter, a team name, player nickname, team logo, jersey graphic, or uniform and/or suggest alternatives at or in conjunction with a USA Ultimate program or event should USA Ultimate personnel determine that the existing name, logo, graphic or uniform might hinder the mission of the organization or the goals of a specific USA Ultimate program or event. Alterations must meet with the approval of USA Ultimate personnel. Any sponsor logos on a team’s uniform other than the apparel manufacturer must be approved by USA Ultimate.

  5. Uniform Requirements

    1. Player Uniform Requirements
      1. Regionals – Teams participating in Regionals are required to have players on their team wear matching jerseys while playing. Teams and players are encouraged to follow the uniform requirements for the Masters Championships.
      2. Masters Championships
        1. All players participating in the USA Ultimate Masters Championships for a given team must wear jerseys of identical color and design.
        2. Teams must have two jerseys of distinctly different color; one primarily dark and the other primarily white.
        3. Jerseys must have numbers on the back. The numbers on the back must be at least six (6) inches high and be one or two-digit Arabic numerals, be solid and in clear contrast with the jersey. No two players on a given team may use the same number or numbers with the same value (e.g. 00 and 0, 01 and 1).
        4. Uniform bottoms worn by players on the field must be of identical color and design.
        5. Number placement must be the same for the whole team.
        6. Numbers on tops and bottoms must be identical.
        7. It is recommended that the uniform accessories including tights, undershirts, hats and socks be of identical or coordinated style and color.
        8. USA Ultimate reserves the right to disqualify and/or fine players who fail to meet the uniform requirements.

  6. Formats

    The formats for the Masters Series events will adhere to the approved formats guide and manual developed by the Formats Working Group as determined by event scaling and bid allocation, with the goals of determining a champion, showcasing the division at its best, and providing a great playing experience for all the teams.

  7. Seeding

    Seeding for the USA Ultimate Masters Championships will be done by the USA Ultimate Manager of Events and National Directors using the following information: Regionals finish, input solicited from all the captains of participating teams; results of head to head match-ups prior to the Masters Championships; prior Masters Championships results; other applicable information such as team composition during or prior to the Masters Championships (USA Ultimate has the authority to adjust rankings according to the best information available).

  8. Forfeit Rule

    A team must play all its games at a “qualifying” tournament in order to qualify for the next tournament in the Masters Series.

    1. A team that forfeits a Masters Series game, and every player on that team’s event roster, is disqualified for the remainder of the current series, in every division.
    2. Any team that declines to finish a scheduled game or games or attempts to decide a match by any manner other than playing ultimate on the field will forfeit those games. Should both teams in a match choose not to play, then it will be considered a double forfeit.
    3. A team will be considered to have forfeited any game where the number of players that can safely participate falls below five (5) players.
    4. At the discretion of the event’s USA Ultimate coordinator, consideration may be given to situations that might warrant an exception being made, provided it does not affect the fairness or integrity of the competition. Consideration should be given if a team misses the first game of the first day because of travel problems.
    5. If one team is not ready to play at game-time, points may be assessed at a rate of one (1) point per five (5) minutes. Under these conditions, if the score of the game reaches 8-0, the team that has failed to signal readiness will technically forfeit the game.
    6. The list of allowable forfeit scenarios is found in the formats manual.

  9. Rules

    The USA Ultimate Masters Series will be played using the current edition of the USA Ultimate Official Rules of Ultimate. Any changes to these rules must be pre-approved by the USA Ultimate Masters Series headquarters staff.

    USA Ultimate highly encourages all team managers to read these new rules and communicate these changes to their teams.

  10. Observers

    USA Ultimate may have a limited number of observers on hand for the event. Teams wishing observers for their games must contact the Manager of Events prior to their games to receive consideration of their request. Observers will be assigned at the discretion of Head Observer and USA Ultimate when scheduling conflicts arise.

  11. Gender Division Eligibility

    “Within our divisions as they currently exist, USA Ultimate will not discriminate on the basis of gender identity, regardless of sex assigned at birth, or any other form of gender expression for participation in any division.” “In their USA Ultimate membership account, every athlete should select the gender identity option that best aligns with their gender identity. When registering for a USA Ultimate sanctioned or championship series event, athletes should select to participate in the division in which they feel most comfortable and safe based on their indicated gender identity.” USA Ultimate Gender Inclusion Policy.

    1. Players who select Man as their gender identity option are eligible to compete in Men’s divisions or as a man-matching player in Mixed divisions.
      1. Trans players who identify as men and select Man as their gender identity option, but who are still transitioning and are more comfortable competing as a woman-matching player may also compete in Women’s divisions or as a woman-matching player in Mixed divisions.
    2. Players who select Woman as their gender identity option are eligible to compete in Men’s or Women’s divisions, or as a woman-matching player in Mixed divisions.
      1. Trans players who identify as women and select Woman as their gender identity option, but who are still transitioning and are more comfortable competing as a man-matching player may also compete as a man-matching player in Mixed divisions.
    3. Players who select the Non-Binary or Prefer to Self-Report gender identity option are eligible to compete in the division in which they feel most comfortable and safe.
      1. For those who select Prefer to Self-Report in their member account, there will be a fill-in option to provide additional information regarding your gender identity. This is for internal educational purposes only and will not be shared.
    4. In any division for which there are minimum age limits, including those for which age limits differ by gender-match, a player must be eligible by the age requirement for the gender-matching spot they wish to fulfil.
    5. In Mixed, nonbinary, trans, and gender-diverse players can change their matchup as often as every point, though not during a point (e.g. injury substitution, ratio violation). Once a matchup is chosen, that matchup will count towards that ratio for the duration of that point.
      1. On-field personnel ratio rules for the mixed division are described in the Mixed Division On-field Personnel Ratio section of the Competition Guidelines.
      2. USA Ultimate expects that players who change their matchup during the season, including during a game, are doing so for gender-affirming purposes, and not for the purposes of gaining an on-field advantage. Those who are found to be changing matchup purely for purposes of competitive advantage will be subject to sanctions.

    Teams that are found to have violated the letter or spirit of the rules mentioned here, or whose behavior undermines the competition structure (e.g. misrepresenting the composition of a team at a specific event, misrepresenting the composition of a team over the course of the season, intentionally playing with ineligible players, intentionally misrepresenting gender for mixed on-field personnel ratio, etc.) will be subject to ramifications as outlined in “Violations and Sanctions.” Roster violations should be reported to the Manager of Competition and National Team Programs at clubmanager@usaultimate.org.

    Note: This language was updated for clarity on July 2, 2025.

  12. On-field Personnel Ratio for Mixed Division

    The personnel ratio for the mixed division will be 4/3 (four woman-matching and three man-matching or four man-matching and three woman-matching).

    For more information about USA Ultimate’s Gender Inclusion Policy, click here.

    The 2026-2027 Official Rules of Ultimate, Appendix B applies to the 2026 Master’s Championship series, with the following clarifications and exceptions.

    1. Determing the ratio – All Mixed games will use the “prescribed ratio” rule (See Rules Appendix B, B1.B.)
    2. Majority Pull – All Mixed games will use the “majority pull” rule (See Rules Appendix B, B1.B.)

  13. WFDF Events

    The next scheduled WMUC will be in 2028 and teams will qualify in the 2027 series.

VI. Violations and Sanctions

Failure to abide by any of these guidelines may result in sanctions through the USA Ultimate conduct process. Such sanctions may be imposed on a team or individuals associated with a team deemed to be in violation of the guidelines, and may include, but are not limited to, suspension or disqualification from USA Ultimate competition.

In order to help teams follow the Masters Guidelines and avoid violations, USA Ultimate will continue to work to improve registration procedures and communication of information pertaining to the USA Ultimate Masters Championships. As these improvements are made by the organization, teams will continue to be held more fully responsible for following procedures and understanding masters information. Because consistency in holding all participants to the same administrative and competitive standards is vital to the integrity of the Masters Championships, because many violations lead to unfair advantages in competition and because it is often difficult to determine intent, guideline violations will result in serious repercussions. Such repercussions will provide an incentive for players and teams to understand the guidelines fully, follow the guidelines carefully and avoid intended or unintended violations in the future.

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