The UPA Youth Club Championships is a new event that premiered in August, 2005. As the UPA HS State Championships and UPA HS Eastern and Western Championships have moved toward more rigid guidelines requiring teams to be made up of players from a single high school, the YCC hopes to encourage a summer season of youth leagues and events for players from different schools.
The YCC takes place in early August. Leagues are invited to send teams based on applications. Teams from UPA sanctioned non-high school based summer, winter, or fall club leagues receive first priority followed by teams from UPA sanctioned spring HS leagues. Teams not from a sanctioned league are also invited to apply and we will be happy to try to accommodate them if we can. The goal is to encourage cities and areas to host youth leagues and specifically leagues in a season outside of the current Spring HS season.
Youth summer leagues can provide an opportunity for players that do not have a high school team to get involved with organized Ultimate and possibly inspire them to start a high school team. In addition, participating in leagues in which your teammates had been your opponents will foster spirit of the game and respect between teams. The YCC also gives top players that excel in both skill and spirit an opportunity to represent their city and league at a national event.
The YCC will expand as youth club leagues develop around the country. The current format is a two day tournament for three divisions (open, girls, mixed) of eight teams each. Since it is placed in the summer, the event has the potential to expand to a four to five day tournament with 32+ youth club teams in each division. The UPA also hopes to expand the number of divisions to include both a U-19 division and a U-17 division. As youth Ultimate grows the UPA YCC will become the premier youth Ultimate event in the country.
The YCC will hopefully impact local youth organizations as well by creating an incentive for summer youth leagues. The UPA would like to see single-gender statewide high school play develop in the spring with players having the option to participate in co-ed local youth leagues during the summer or the fall. If you are interested in participating in the YCC or would like help setting up a local league in your area please contact meredith@hq.upa.org.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)