2023 Club Division Guidelines Released

Colorado Springs, Colo. (February 22, 2023)—USA Ultimate published today the 2023 Club Division Competition Guidelines – a comprehensive outline detailing the rules, regulations and structure of the upcoming club season and Triple Crown Tour.

As usual, the guidelines were discussed by and crafted alongside USA Ultimate’s club division working group. The working group consists of player-elected athlete representatives, community volunteers and USA Ultimate staff members. The group most recently met at USA Ultimate’s competition working group meeting last December in Denver where many of the updates were evaluated and implemented.

Following three seasons of significant disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the club season is expected to return in full force this summer with the guidelines more closely mirroring pre-pandemic versions.

Once again, both the regular season and postseason championship series promises to showcase exciting competition and storylines as the nation’s top ultimate teams and players pursue an invitation to the National Championships this fall.

While teams are encouraged to thoroughly review the guidelines in their entirety, notable updates have been made to several sections, including the TCT calendar, mixed division gender ratio, nationals seeding, team uniforms, coaching requirements, event participation and more.

• The Pro-Elite Challenge has been divided into East and West versions.

• Pro and Elite Flight teams may once again earn a bye to Regionals for meeting TCT participation requirements (one required event + one optional event for men’s and mixed teams; one required event for women’s teams.)

• For all mixed division regular season and postseason events, USA Ultimate will utilize WFDF’s Ratio Rule A for on-field personnel ratios.

• Games against international opponents at the U.S. Open will count towards a team’s 10-game minimum in order for that team to be included in the final regular season rankings, however the results of those games will not be factored into the rankings.
• Waitlists for TCT events are based on 2022 season finish and rankings only. Waitlists can be found here.

• Seeding for the National Championships will be conducted via a draw similar to the FIFA World Cup. Qualifying teams will be placed into pots based on post-regional rankings. Seeds 1-4 will be determined using those rankings, while other teams will be drawn randomly based on which pot they are in.

• USA Ultimate event sanctioning fees will be waived for all women’s division match play events.
• Prize money will no longer be offered at Triple Crown Tour events. Resources are instead being reallocated within the TCT to better support teams and the mission of USA Ultimate.
• Coaching requirements have been updated.

• Team name, logo and uniform guidelines have been updated and are outlined in a new document.