Hello Wild friends and fans!
As we wrap up the first half of 2021, we wanted to provide an update that highlights our involvements within the past six months, as well as exciting events we have to look forward to!
Recent WUL Announcements
First and foremost, the Western Ultimate League (WUL) recently announced plans to return to play!
The league is planning on a full season come Spring 2022. This season will feature a regular season of six games per team, played between March and May. At the end of the regular season, the league will host a championship event between the teams with the top two records. In the interim, the WUL is planning to host a pre-season kickoff event in Winter 2021 featuring all six teams in one location, the WUL Winter Cup. They anticipate a weekend-long event taking place in So-Cal, featuring showcase-style games. More detailed information to come – so be on the lookout for upcoming announcements!
Upcoming Event – Pint Night at KiiTOS Brewing
If you missed out on any of our past events, don’t fret; we have one upcoming event in the queue and more to be announced!
On Wednesday, July 14th from 6PM to close (approximately 10-11PM), we will be hosting a Utah Wild Pint Night at KiiTOS Brewing! On this night, $1 of every pint sold will be donated to the team! Grab a beer (or two), play some pinball, enjoy a local food truck: Mas Gorditas, buy some Utah Wild swag, and hang out with us! Be sure to mention that you’re there to support the Wild!
Past Events
WUL Open Side
In May 2021 the WUL launched a video series, called Open Side.
In an effort to support the WUL’s mission to increase visibility and access to women and non-binary athletes in sports, this series introduced the league’s players to fans, and allowed athletes to tell their stories about their jobs, introductions to the sport, and other aspects of their life. You can access all episodes on the WUL’s website!
A huge thank you to Wild players Emily Smith-Wilson [pictured], Genesea Meha, and Sarah Staller for participating and sharing their backstories and wisdom for this series.
Wild Wednesdays
In May and June of 2021, the Utah Wild hosted Wild Wednesdays! As more Ultimate players are returning to play, this 3-part virtual series was focused on getting players back on the field in a physically healthy way. These events were free and focused on women and non-binary Ultimate players, but open to anyone who was interested. We partnered with some incredibly knowledgeable folks, with all sessions being both informational and interactive! We have some sharable resources from these sessions, so reach out if you missed these the first time around and are interested in learning more! Here was the session lineup:
Pilates with Emily Smith-Wilson of Movement Continuum Studio Pilates (focus on movement from a stable pelvis)
Physical Therapy with Bert Lund of Fyzical Therapy: Midvale (focus on recovery, signs and symptoms of overuse injuries, and self-screen for motor control deficits) [pictured]
Soft Tissues and Joints with Ren of Strive and Uplift (focus on effective soft tissue work and joint mobility) [pictured]
Pioneer Park Field Day
In June, Utah Wild tabled at a local event, Pioneer Park Movie Night & Field Day!
The primary goal of this event was to hear what improvements the public would like to see at Pioneer Park, a park located in downtown Salt Lake City. We used this event as an opportunity to promote the Utah Wild and the sport of Ultimate to the Salt Lake City community. As part of our table, we had some interactive Frisbee games [pictured] as well as discs for sale.
Salt Lake City is still seeking feedback regarding Pioneer Park if you live locally and are interested in seeing what ideas are out there and providing your input.
Outreach
In addition to putting on events, our organization has also been creating materials and building infrastructure to support outreach efforts. With some heavy lifting from Alex Walker, Utah Wild’s Outreach and Community Engagement Coordinator, we’ve created an Ultimate Clinic Manual. We hope to not only use this manual when hosting player clinics in UT, but to also disseminate this manual to our players in ID, MT, and CO when hosting Wild-sponsored clinics in their local communities.
In addition, Alex has also been working on an interactive presentation about the sport of Ultimate for Physical Education teachers that we hope to deliver at upcoming PE conferences and workshops. We have also started the process of reaching out to local organizations, such as The Boys and Girls Club of Salt Lake City, about future partnerships.
Purposeful Partnership
During this time, with help from Jules Williams, we have been focusing efforts on developing a “Purposeful Partnership.” The Purposeful Partnership approach is intended to leverage Utah Wild’s resources, and support an organization that features strong alignment with the Wild’s values. In consideration of Wild’s values and other types of partnerships, we concluded that it was more important for the Purposeful Partnership to advance the vision of the society we want to live in rather than focus on engagement through sports. In other words, we view the Purposeful Partnership as an opportunity to use the resources and privilege that we have as a largely white team to support a BIPOC organization in achieving their mission. At this time, we are in early correspondence with an organization about how Utah Wild can best support them. We are SO EXCITED about the potential of this partnership, and we hope to release more details about this organization and how we plan to support them soon!
Looking Forward
With return to play in sight, the Utah Wild Board of Directors is feeling energized and optimistic as ever. Building on a year of internal development of policy, values, and infrastructure and with the support of the WUL, their DE&I consultant Lunaria, and our community, we are eager to continue advancing our mission and upholding our values, both on and off the field. As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, or if you’re wanting to get involved with our organization, please reach out to utahwildultimate@gmail.com – our door is always open.
Stay Wild,
Utah Wild Board of Directors - Brooke, Emily, Erica, Jenni, Leah, and Mack