07/27/2022
Such a great food for thought.
AN OPEN LETTER TO WFDF AND TO THE ULTIMATE COMMUNITY
Oftentimes people ask us “Why do we play this sport? Why do we spend so much time and money on it? What do we get from it?”
Even if the answer is as simple as “It’s a lot of fun and it holds us down,” we play because somehow, we feel we are part of something special.
Ultimate has grown exponentially throughout the world and the level of the game has been higher and higher each year. For most of us, we can only dream to emulate the likes of superstars we see on TV, in livestreams, and in showcase games. Asian and Latin American countries have been working so hard to keep up with this level of game and spend hours in training. Our teams become our families and our savings are set aside for tournaments. The lengths these teams and players will go through just to have exposure to elite ultimate is quite unimaginable.
Playing in World Championships is expensive, even to Europeans and Americans. Player fees alone account for about 1% of median annual income. However, player fees for Indian players, for example, reach over 14% of median income.
While money is a huge factor, the biggest ordeal for some Asian and Latin American players has been obtaining U.S. VISAS. If you didn’t know, it’s not easy to get one for most of the world. In this WUCC there are only 5 countries from Asia: Singapore, Japan, Hongkong, Korea and India. Among all these countries, India is the only one whose players needed to obtain a U.S. visa via interview, a process that takes, on average, [statistic needed] and caused the entire team to be denied entry. The Latin community is a bit more represented; Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Uruguay, Argentina, Panama are in attendance, albeit the majority of the roster of these teams are U.S. based or players who already have U.S. visas.
In other words, each time Worlds is held in North America, we immediately diminish our Asian and Latin American brothers’ and sisters’ ability to play at the highest level. We must ask, “Where does inclusivity lie here?”
The answer is not simply, “It is what it is.”
We have to go back to the question, “Why do we play this sport?” For us, it is a community where everyone is accepted. People of ALL colors, genders, immigration statuses, sexualities, and races are celebrated. Yes, we are living in a world that has biases, political conflict, and systemic racism that may take years to resolve, but in this community, we nurture a safe space. Call it idealism, but this is what really makes our community special. As a place where people of color, LQBTQ, and other marginalized sectors have an escape from harsh reality and have that piece of a utopian world where we are valued and accepted, the ultimate community means the world to us.
We ask you to stand with us. Give us inclusion in the next World Championship by reducing the number of tournaments in North America. We ask you to support people of color who are often tokenized and marginalized. We ask you to be allies.
This Wednesday, 5pm Eastern time, Color of Ultimate will have a showcase game at WUCC. Please show us support to people of color for visibility in ultimate and inclusion.
Support us financially through the VC store https://vcultimate.ca/collections/color-of-ultimate-fundraiser
Watch on Ultiworld for free https://ultiworld.com/video/120046/color-of-ultimate-showcase-game/
Color of Ultimate
World Flying Disc Federation
Ultiworld
USA Ultimate
AOFDF Equity Diversity and Inclusion
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