Regarding #2, I equate girls with guys, not girls with boys. I guess maybe “gals” goes with “guys” more than “girls” does, but I’m not from the south or midwest so I’ve never said that word in my life. Growing up playing co-ed youth ultimate in the northeast, “gender across” and “man across” had different meanings for the people I played with and me. “Gender across” meant that the first woman would match on their first woman and the men accordingly. “Man across” meant that everyone would match up with the person across from them, irrespective of gender. This distinction was particularly useful since some of the females I played with were much much more athletic than some of the males. I think you might be reading into the terms too much here. My sister’s college team referred to their matchup defense as “man defense”, called “man across” and exclusively played women’s teams.

I don’t agree with #3. As a male player, I’ve gotten a lot of unsolicited advice from more experienced players in my league play, though a lot of this has come from other members of the UF Men’s Ultimate program and they give me unsolicited advice at practices and tournaments too. Personally, I try to give advice to newer players more than experienced players, and a result of the lower number of women in Gainesville league is that the women who do play in league are more likely to be new to the game than the men.

Our gender rules are confusing. Seriously, they’re confusing. I played league in NJ, and the gender rules there in their entirety are “offense dictates.” The basic spirit of the game principle still applies, and teams rarely force other teams into 6 on 7 situations. If one team has 3 women one day and their opponents have 1, usually a woman just volunteers to swap teams for the day. It’s just league, and we all come out to play. Otherwise, assuming that the teams maintain gender ratio, the 3 women play, on average, one third of the time that the 1 woman does and nobody wins.

#5) Are there really that many talented women’s ultimate players in Gainesville? UF does have two women’s teams, but the second one only began last year and consistently had very few players. There are a good number of men who play a season or a few seasons of ultimate with the UF men’s teams and then exclusively play league because of time, eligibility, or commitment.

While I’ve heard of a good four or so (UF-A, UF-B, Wailers, and there was an old guys team here at some point) men’s teams from Gainesville playing the club season, I’ve only heard of Layuma on the women’s side, and it’s mostly made up of the same women who play for FUEL. Compounding this is the fact that FUEL is a very serious team with nationals-level goals, much like the men’s A-team. The men’s A-team doesn’t generally have a lot of players in league compared to the men’s B-team, with the possible exception of summer league. I think this is because they have some Sunday practices, they don’t want to risk injury, and it’s hard to change mindsets between recreational and very competitive play from day to day.

This year, for the first time ever, the women’s B-team is pretty big. I saw them Saturday and it looked like they had a good 20 or so players. My guess (and hope) is that as their program continues to grow and expand to rival the men’s side, we’ll see a lot more women come out for league.

#1) Female players are often discussed in terms of being a “disadvantage.” For several leagues now, I have heard player after player when discussing the gender rules on the field saying that having women on the field poses a disadvantage. The implication is that male players are more desirable than female ones. I would hear things like, “you don’t have any girls, so you have to play down a man because that would give us a disadvantage.” While I do not disagree that men are, on the whole, stronger and faster than women and while I understand that the gender rules are in place to encourage female participation, I resent being referred to as a disadvantage. The fact is, gender is only one, small factor affecting playing ability. Disc handling, experience level, and other factors combine to produce good players. We need to stop and think about what terms mean, and the effect that they have on individuals when they are collectively applied. Please, stop using the term disadvantage when referring to women players and start thinking instead, about the way that having women on the field can enhance your team’s record.

#2) Female players are often referred to as “girls”, while male players are referred to as “men.” I was once on the field where male players kept referring to a female player in her late 30s (who happened to be a mother as well) as “girl.” Nobody would have referred to a male of the same age as “boy.” Girl implies infantile-like qualities and lack of maturity. In my opinion all female players should be referred to as “women” and all players should make a concerted attempt to consider the terminology they use. This refers as well, to the phrase “man across.” Unlike what some players have asserted to me, “man” is not a gender-neutral term. That’s why there are police officers in stead of police men, and “the story of humanity” is no longer called “the story of man.” Use the phrase “gender across” instead.

#3) If I make a mistake while playing, male players often come up to me after the point is over and tell me what I did wrong and what I should do right next time around. That’s wonderful, and I appreciate the constructive criticism and attempt to make me a better player (I really do). It really frustrates me though, that these same players rarely, if ever, correct a male player, even if he is far less experienced or makes more mistakes than me. What gives? I’m not asking you not to dish out criticism, just not to be discriminate when you do so.

#4) The gender rules that the league puts in place to safeguard women’s playing time are treated as a complicated nuisance. I commend the league organizers for trying, time and time again, to come up with a fair system. I wouldn’t be able to come up with a better system. As a result, there are simple and clear rules for captains to follow during play. However, it has been my experience that captains either fail to share that information with their players, resulting in confusion on the field as to who is allowed to play when, or disregard the rules entirely, resulting in unnecessary conflict. Captains, it’s simple: know the rules, share the rules, and follow the rules.

My criticism has been dished out. What to make of these points? You may agree with me and relish in the fact that I spoke up, or you may be insulted and enraged. I wanted to bring these issues to everyone’s attention not just because it has makes league a less positive experience than it could be, but also because I am aware that most of the time, individuals engage in these actions without spite or malice. Hopefully, if you took the time to read this note all the way through, you will also take the time to consider these issues seriously. My hope is that, if enough people do, league will become a more female-friendly environment and more women players will join.

Navy Vs Maroon..

Kudos to Maroon. DTox drafted chemistry and attitude and that makes him a worthy captain of champions… Zach always kept the machine together….Crazy Nick was a major baller and todays MVP….. Tiffany and and Tom had veteran breaks at crucial moments… as for the rest … they all stepped up and did thier job …plus some. Maroon are the league champs, frigate END OF STORY.

Patrick