Questions for USA Ultimate Board Member Josh Seamon

[jseamon]

Hello everyone,

Got questions you'd like to ask a USAU Board Member? Post them here and I'll do my best to answer them.

[joeseidler]

How do you pronounce USAU?


Hello everyone,

Got questions you'd like to ask a USAU Board Member? Post them here and I'll do my best to answer them.

[jseamon]

How do you pronounce USAU?

Right now I'm going with a mix between "ooo-saw" and "ooo-sow" (sow as in ouch)

[torre.hargett]

Hello everyone,

Got questions you'd like to ask a USAU Board Member? Post them here and I'll do my best to answer them.

Who are you? Where are you from?

[jseamon]

Who are you? Where are you from?

I grew up in Western, MA in the small town of Leverett. After attending Amherst Regional High School and playing Ultimate for Tiina Booth for two years, I bounced out to Claremont, CA to attend Pomona College where I played for and captained the Claremont Braineaters. After college I went straight into teaching HS math full time at St. Johnsbury Academy where I founded their Varsity Ultimate program. I also run a podcast over at www.theultiverse.com.

Outside of Ultimate I love reading, being outside, walking my golden retriever, and watching movies. I'm also a huge fan of international travel.

You can read some more about me right here (http://theultiverse.com/about-me/).

[jeremy.mcnamara]

What is your opinion on the roll-out of the new website and name? What mistakes do you think were made and how do you plan on correcting them?

[jseamon]

What is your opinion on the roll-out of the new website and name?

I am very happy with the roll-out of the new website and name.

We have a gorgeous new website that is a vast organizational and style improvement over the old. We have a new name that is more appropriate and fitting for our organization. A HUGE amount of work was done by the USAU Staff (of 9) in a very short amount of time to put out a great product in conjunction with running the premier College Ultimate event on the planet. I have no idea, what so ever, how they get it all done, and get it done so well.




What mistakes do you think were made and how do you plan on correcting them?

The mistakes I noticed were things like:
1) The countdown clock being tied to the local time zone of the viewer
2) Forum usernames being email addresses
3) The membership pages not immediately working
4) Little style things like The video aspect ratio being a little off, left menu justification, etc.
5) Not all of the content from the old site was immediately available
6) The formatting of the static content pages not quite matching the style sheets for the rest of the site.

As for how to correct the mistakes:
1) Done and over now. Things like this just happen sometime. Not a huge deal.
2) This was a big nono and it was corrected within 24 hours. FB has a staff of 17million and a fix like that would have taken them 6 months.
3) This was fixed in a few hours. Considering all of the domain change overs, and everything that needed to be migrated, I am very happy with that small hiccup.
4) All of those items will be worked on over time. Any new website will have issues like that. This is just V1.0 of the new site. In time we'll see V1.1, 1.2... and they will only get better and smoother.
5) This will just take time. There was a HUUUUUGE amount of information on the old site. If USAU has waited until all of it was ported over to launch the site, it would have delayed the launch considerably. So, the site was launched with lots of core information. More will be added all the time.
6) Again, this will just take time. The styles almost match, but not quite. This would have been nice, but alas, I think the new style of the static pages is a huge improvement over the old.

[jeremy.mcnamara]

I am very happy with the roll-out of the new website and name.

We have a gorgeous new website that is a vast organizational and style improvement over the old. We have a new name that is more appropriate and fitting for our organization. A HUGE amount of work was done by the USAU Staff (of 9) in a very short amount of time to put out a great product in conjunction with running the premier College Ultimate event on the planet. I have no idea, what so ever, how they get it all done, and get it done so well.

5) This will just take time. There was a HUUUUUGE amount of information on the old site. If USAU has waited until all of it was ported over to launch the site, it would have delayed the launch considerably. So, the site was launched with lots of core information. More will be added all the time.

I like your first answer but I think you slightly misunderstood the question. I was asking about the roll-out itself, not the website. It was rolled out right as summer leagues are starting, DIII nationals was finishing, and D1 is about to start. There was no warning given and there were service problems which are not trivial when I can't download insurance waivers for my players to sign.

You also say that waiting to get it right would have delayed the launch considerably. Since this new website and name are mostly to add external focus in addition to maintaining internal focus (insert explanation about how focus works here), I cannot find a reason that it needed to be done immediately. Perhaps it is because I am an engineer that I abhor the thought of rolling something out before it is done just to get it out there.

And finally, while I appreciate the work of the 9 people at the UPA, to commend them so vigorously on their work is slightly demeaning to other organizers in the sport. The UPA employees are paid to do their jobs. Volunteer summer league leaders, tournament directors (including sectionals and regionals), and team captains all over the country do as much or more work for free and rarely get any appreciation.

[jseamon]

The rollout was specifically timed to coincide with a large USA Ultimate event -- College Champs -- so that the attention given to it would be maximized.

I said, or meant to say really, that waiting to get every last little detail 100% right would have delayed the launch considerably. The 95% refinement the USAU got to was good enough for launch in my opinion.

What service problems still exist?

There was no warning given? What about the emails, posts, countdown clock, and videos?

I do not understand how a vigorous commendation of the USAU staff is in any way demeaning to other organizers of the sport. Please explain.

[jeremy.mcnamara]

First off, my apologies for neglecting to include Board Members in my list of under-appreciated volunteers. Certainly with the amount of mud that Mike Gerics slings they (you) are candidates for MOST under-appreciated volunteers.

I am not any sort of business guru but some things seem obvious to me. When you (and of course I mean the UPA, not you specifically) release inferior product you diminish your brand. Justifying inferior product in the name of speed is not a sufficient excuse; it is merely a reason you should have started earlier. If the entire focus of the name and website change is to better the reputation of the organization then I would say this is a crucial point. It seems to me that on one hand the UPA wants to become a professional organization sanctioning a well regarded sport and on the other hand is willing to accept 95% as 'good enough'. Ask yourself if the NFL or MLB would roll out a website in such a poor fashion.

As to the service problems that still exist, I admit I have been too frustrated to look. On Wednesday, the AUDA summer league was set to start some games and I had to frantically call the UPA to get the necessary insurance forms emailed to me because the entire side of the website for members (read:internal focus) was not working. Fixing this on Thursday or Friday does not help me on Wednesday when I need the forms to let people on the field. When it's your name and neck on the line you'd probably rather not have the forms on a 3 million dollar insurance policy filled out incorrectly, or not at all, either.

Far less importantly but still an issue is how the summer leagues are not being listed properly on the "where to play" page, or lack thereof. Most of our summer league is starting very soon and we just lost some good press space on the UPA site. Even I couldn't find the listing for my own summer league. I'm glad that the <1% that are served by college nationals are getting their face time but it seems to be at the expense of the summer leagues across the country. I am not the only one that feels this way, as illustrated by this post: http://boards.usaultimate.org/showthread.php?27-where-to-play-page Again, as before, time is off the essence and re-listing my league after it begins does not do anyone any good.

I do not consider the (erroneous) countdown clock to be a sufficient warning for what happened. In fact, Dr. Crawford was intentionally vague about what was going to happen in a manner intended to be playful. If, at the end of the countdown (+2 hours in EDT), all that had happened were some updates to the website, I wouldn't have a problem at all. However, given that the countdown was counting towards a website with extended downtime and limited use, this was not an adequate warning. I do not consider broken links and missing documents to fall under the category of "exciting changes" as advertised by Dr. Crawford. Where I work, if the IT department is planning on rolling out major changes in which it is reasonable to expect some problems, they do it on a Sunday or in the middle of the night to minimize impact.

If you don’t want to hear the words of a raving madman driven over the edge, stop reading here.

You stated that you believe the UPA staff got the website 95% correct. I would probably categorize that as an exaggeration of their success but let’s say they got it more right than wrong. Their job is not to get it mostly right, and certainly not mostly right at the expense of the players that pay their dues. The focus was clearly on a very small minority of the UPA membership. Take a look at what worked and what didn’t on the site at roll-out. The news about college nationals mostly works. The photo albums work, as long as you only care about last year’s nationals championships. Not even any photos from your highly touted inaugural (not really) 2010 DIII nationals. That is literally your most recent accomplishment and the only news that was there consisted of bracket results a couple of paragraphs about the winners. No working links or pages for sanctioning events at a time when most summer leagues are starting. Scores of little errors like the aspect ratios on videos (which still haven’t been fixed) or no way to view the full site from an iPhone. There is so much low hanging fruit that has been ignored to put some flair on the site and I as a dues paying member don’t appreciate that. I’m sure the UPA staff had great intentions but this is not a raving success. If they were volunteers and did this out of the goodness of their hearts they would deserve to be commended but they are paid to do this. Not to be overly melodramatic (read:exactly to do that), but if I had this many mistakes in my last couple jobs building race cars and manufacturing equipment for cardiac catheters, people would die. The fact that the stakes are far lower here should not reduce the need to get the job done right before you release it.

Basically, your commendation seems like a “Brownie, you're doing a heckuva job" statement and that seems, to me at least, to be insulting to everyone out there who works their asses off, for free, in the name of ultimate.

[jseamon]

jeremy: These are great points. Thanks for being an active forum participant :)

1) I still don't understand how my commendation of the USAU staff is an insult to anyone. Just because the USAU staff gets paid doesn't mean they don't work their butts off. You're certainly entitled to your opinion, but I disagree.

2) Are you equating the USAU's launch of the new website and name to FEMA's response to Katrina?

3) If the USAU had released an inferior product, I would agree with you that yes, it would diminish the brand. But I don't agree with you. I think the USAU has released a great product.

4) I wasn't fully justifying the 5% deficiency entirely in the name of speed. I was only listing it as one of the reasons.

5) The NFL and MLB spend more money in 5 minutes than the USAU has spent it its entire existence. Comparing what we (the USAU) should be capable of rolling out to something the NFL or MLB can roll out is... in my opinion, not really a valid comparison.

6) I apologize for the 6-12 hours of not being able to get access to the proper insurance forms. I think everything is working properly now?

7) Yup, the where to play page does need to be worked on.

8) I never said the countdown clock alone was meant to be sufficient warning. I think the countdown clock, plus the videos, plus everything else that was done was sufficient warning that something was going to happen.

9) Are you assuming the USAU knew about the broken links and limited use of the membership pages before the rollout?

10) The USAU does not have an IT department.

11) Yup, I believe in the overall 95% of this launch. You are certainly free to disagree with me.

12) There is still alot in store for the website.

13) I agree, the roll out was not a raving success.


Thanks again for engaging :)

[torre.hargett]

check: www.usaultimate.org (http://www.usaultimate.org/default.aspx)


uhh?

[jseamon]

check: www.usaultimate.org (http://www.usaultimate.org/default.aspx)
uhh?

Yikes, that's not good.

[torre.hargett]

Yikes, that's not good.

at least the message board and SRT are working, right?

[jeremy.mcnamara]

First off, the usaultimate.org website is not working at all right now, so...

1. I guess it just bothers me when you commend them for a mediocre website. It's completely personal. Perhaps it's because I work my ass off to run my league (along with others) that has grown by 91% in the last two years with no thanks for any of the volunteers while putting lipstick on a pig gets cheers all around.

2. Only in the sense that you are commending the good parts and attempting to ignore the serious problems. Like the fact that the website is broken right now.

3. I would say that you have a necessarily biased opinion. I would say that I am have been generally negative towards the new site. Even accounting for that, this is not a "great" product. It is pretty good but to far from "great" to round up.

5. I know we have less money then professional sports. Perhaps we shouldn't be spending it on stuff like this. Also, don't hype the shit out of it if there are going to be glaring problems.

6. Again, I have not gone back to the sanctioning page and don't plan on doing do. I didn't send you guys a bunch of money in dues and registration fees to have to call up and have the forms emailed to me.

8. Saying something is going to happen is probably the worst warning I've ever heard. The UPA is not Apple with the iPhone. There is no need for Top Secret - SCI level cryptics.

9. Not at all. I don't think there was any malice here, simply a lack of attention. However, since the membership pays the bills that side of the site should merit extra attention, especially when it deals with insurance.

12. I swear, if I have to listen to someone else say "a lot in store" any more I'm going to go crazy. Give me a reason why the UPA feels the need to hide so much from the membership.

P.S. I really want to like the UPA but the lack of attentiveness and the ridiculously high level of secrecy make it very difficult. We play ultimate here, we don't control nuclear secrets.


Edit: Also, I've never met you so I don't want you to think I'm holding you personally responsible. If I end up going to Eastern's perhaps I'll see you there and we can discuss how amazing I am and how much the UPA sucks at great length. :-)

[peteoverright]

I don't really want to join this conversation, but expecting a new website to work perfectly without any problems is asking too much. they specifically said that they were going to be releasing a new website, so it's not like they didn't warn you. the only thing that i think they could have done better was to keep the old website functioning on a different domain so people could still access any of the parts that could have possibly gone wrong (which turned out to be insurance forms and other membership details). It's great that you're spreading the sport around with your summer league, but not everything revolves around you. overall, the website is a success and it's heading in the right direction. no one will remember that you had to do a little bit of extra work one day when we look back in 10 years, but who knows, maybe the coverage of the sport will be much better because of these changes.

My question for Josh: there have been a few comments about Score Reporter suggestions and I haven't seen a reply yet. Are there any future plans to improve this product for mobile score reporting and for viewing results?

Thanks.

[chadwick.boulay01]

There are plans for mobile score reporting from me, independent of USAU. To be fair, I hope to be getting help from Rodney Jacobson, the USAU SRT guy.
My plan is as follows:
1 - Small iPhone app to get schedules and submit scores to SRT. This should be free.
2 - Integrate online syncrhonization into UltiStats. I will likely still charge for this unless someone wants to buy the source code.
3 - same as 1 and 2 but for Android.

I haven't bothered doing any of this yet. I'm a busy guy. Rodney's a busy guy. It'll happen. if you're in a hurry, then someone else can take charge and I'll submit code when I have time.

[chadwick.boulay01]

I forgot to mention, part of 2 will be getting it to work with other online databases like ffindr, what the wfdf uses, roll-your-own databases.

[jseamon]

My question for Josh: there have been a few comments about Score Reporter suggestions and I haven't seen a reply yet. Are there any future plans to improve this product for mobile score reporting and for viewing results?

That's a really good question. I would love to see the SRT tweaked in a bunch of different ways. I love it to death, but I think it can be improved.

As far as I know, yes, there are plans to improve the product. I don't know of a time line, but I plan on asking about it at the next Board meeting on 6/19-20.

[jeremy.mcnamara]

I don't really want to join this conversation, but expecting a new website to work perfectly without any problems is asking too much.

Um...in-house testing, beta testers...there are plenty of ways to reduce or eliminate errors before you release. Your other statement sounds like an "ends justify the means" argument which I'm not interested in getting into. Especially when you consider that the means weren't necessary to get the ends.

[jseamon]

First off, the usaultimate.org website is not working at all right now, so...

Yup, the 15-20 minute downtime of the main page was definitely not cool. Alas, it happens.




1. I guess it just bothers me when you commend them for a mediocre website. It's completely personal. Perhaps it's because I work my ass off to run my league (along with others) that has grown by 91% in the last two years with no thanks for any of the volunteers while putting lipstick on a pig gets cheers all around.

See, the thing is -- it's your opinion that it's a mediocre website. I don't agree. Also, I still don't understand how my comments about how hard I think the USAU staff has been working has anything to do with you. Are you upset because I didn't first commend you on something I didn't know about? I really don't understand. I'm not sure I ever will. So, how about this. You call foul. I contest. We move on? Cool?




2. Only in the sense that you are commending the good parts and attempting to ignore the serious problems. Like the fact that the website is broken right now.

I'm not ignoring anything. I had to go coach my spring teams and didn't have time for a full reply. Yes, it was serious problem that the main page of the website was down for 15-20 minutes. That's why, on my to the bus I have to take to get to practice, I started calling USAU contact numbers... and in the process, the site came back up. I'm ignoring nothing. I'm hiding from nothing. If I was I wouldn't be here specifically asking for questions.




3. I would say that you have a necessarily biased opinion. I would say that I am have been generally negative towards the new site. Even accounting for that, this is not a "great" product. It is pretty good but to far from "great" to round up.

So, you're saying that I'm biased and that you're biased, but you're the one who gets to make the Ultimate judgement? ;)




5. I know we have less money then professional sports. Perhaps we shouldn't be spending it on stuff like this. Also, don't hype the shit out of it if there are going to be glaring problems.

It's not that we have less money than professional sports. We have an infinitesimally small amount of money than professional sports. I think the new website was a great way to spend some of the USAU's money.

On another note, I would really appreciate it if you wouldn't swear on these forums.




6. Again, I have not gone back to the sanctioning page and don't plan on doing do.

The pages work fine and you won't use them? I just checked and everything seems fine on the Sanctioning Forms page (http://www.usaultimate.org/resources/sanctioning/forms.aspx).




I didn't send you guys a bunch of money in dues and registration fees to have to call up and have the forms emailed to me.

How much time elapsed between when you called and when you had the forms in your inbox?




8. Saying something is going to happen is probably the worst warning I've ever heard. The UPA is not Apple with the iPhone. There is no need for Top Secret - SCI level cryptics.

I agree.

The USAU is also allowed to hype new products like a website and name. I agree that the USAU can do a better job at communicating with the membership -- that is something we have been working on. For example, there is now a Board Blog (http://upa-board.blogspot.com/) and this forum. Hopefully you'll continue to see an improvement in communication.




9. Not at all. I don't think there was any malice here, simply a lack of attention. However, since the membership pays the bills that side of the site should merit extra attention, especially when it deals with insurance.

...but you agree that they didn't know it was going to happen? You're blaming the USAU staff for not knowing that some of the links were going to get broken? I think that's a little harsh considering it seems like you got the form right after you called? Or did you not get the form?




12. I swear, if I have to listen to someone else say "a lot in store" any more I'm going to go crazy. Give me a reason why the UPA feels the need to hide so much from the membership.

How about this -- every time you feel that reaction coming on, email me and I'll do my absolute best to answer you question.

I don't think the USAU feels that need at all. I think the aura you're reading is unintentional. I'm here. Talking. Send questions over and I'll do my best.




P.S. I really want to like the UPA but the lack of attentiveness and the ridiculously high level of secrecy make it very difficult. We play ultimate here, we don't control nuclear secrets.

What would you like to know? I personally think that the USAU staff are some of the most attentive to detail people I have ever met in my entire life.




Edit: Also, I've never met you so I don't want you to think I'm holding you personally responsible. If I end up going to Eastern's perhaps I'll see you there and we can discuss how amazing I am and how much the UPA sucks at great length. :-)

Well, one day I may make it back to Easterns. I have yet to be able to make it since I started coaching my HS Varsity program 7 years ago. The last time I went to Easterns it wasn't Easterns -- it was 2003 in Birmingham when my bro won what was then HS nationals. Great times.

If you want to catch up with me at a wonderful tournament, come up to the St. Johnsbury Academy Invitational (http://www.sjainvite.org). Now that's a another well run event :)

[davyduke17]

Hey Josh,

I really liked the changes and addition of the college regular season this year. I think it will only work better next year as every team has had time to adjust their tournament plans to fit the new system. My question is the year before I had read about the super regionals and conference plans, is the goal to keep restructuring college in the future? I personally think the system is great now and the only tweaking should be sectional and regional lines. I am not sure how involved you are in this but can you give insight to if USAU is done with restructuring for now and if you personally support any plan that involves teams getting a 'bye' through sectionals?

[davyduke17]

Also, why didn't the teams going to nationals this year get to vote on what active calls they wanted and what not?

[peteoverright]

Hey Josh,

Is there something I'm missing, or can you suggest adding an easier way to get to current scores? If I go to the website and want to see the scores of nationals (the main event that this website should be showcasing right now), I can't find a way to see the scores without going through about 4 links. I either have to go to Tournaments -> Score Reporter and then deal with having to filter and go to current tournaments just to get to the Championships link, or I have to go to current events and find the Championships and click on those and then go to scores -> Open. The videos of the rounds are a good addition (although i'd rather see live footage of an entire game), but I would really like to see an easy link right on the main page to the scores of Open and Womens. Then again, maybe I just can't find it.

[canis216]

Hey Josh,

Is there something I'm missing, or can you suggest adding an easier way to get to current scores? If I go to the website and want to see the scores of nationals (the main event that this website should be showcasing right now), I can't find a way to see the scores without going through about 4 links. I either have to go to Tournaments -> Score Reporter and then deal with having to filter and go to current tournaments just to get to the Championships link, or I have to go to current events and find the Championships and click on those and then go to scores -> Open. The videos of the rounds are a good addition (although i'd rather see live footage of an entire game), but I would really like to see an easy link right on the main page to the scores of Open and Womens. Then again, maybe I just can't find it.

I'll second Pete. I feel that current scores should be simpler to access. It's a small thing, perhaps, but the small things make a big difference in how often people will use a website.

[jseamon]

My question is the year before I had read about the super regionals and conference plans, is the goal to keep restructuring college in the future? I personally think the system is great now and the only tweaking should be sectional and regional lines. I am not sure how involved you are in this but can you give insight to if USAU is done with restructuring for now

The plan that was laid out by the USAU was not a one and done (in one year) plan. It outlined how there will be a gradual phasing-in of changes for sections/regions, depending on how each section/region grows. It's going to take several years for some of the changes to spread throughout the entire country. As far as I know everything that has been planned has been released.



and if you personally support any plan that involves teams getting a 'bye' through sectionals?

I do not support the idea of giving teams a bye through sectionals.



Also, why didn't the teams going to nationals this year get to vote on what active calls they wanted and what not?

The Board discussed this at the January meeting and we decided that the rules that are used during the entire season need to be used during the championships. You can read more about this in the January 2010 Board Meeting Minutes (http://www.usaultimate.org/assets/1/Page/January%202010%20Board%20Meeting%20Minutes.pdf).



Hey Josh,

Is there something I'm missing, or can you suggest adding an easier way to get to current scores? If I go to the website and want to see the scores of nationals (the main event that this website should be showcasing right now), I can't find a way to see the scores without going through about 4 links. I either have to go to Tournaments -> Score Reporter and then deal with having to filter and go to current tournaments just to get to the Championships link, or I have to go to current events and find the Championships and click on those and then go to scores -> Open. The videos of the rounds are a good addition (although i'd rather see live footage of an entire game), but I would really like to see an easy link right on the main page to the scores of Open and Womens. Then again, maybe I just can't find it.

You've found all the ways I know of. The only other way I know of would be to subscribe to the USAU Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/usaultimate). I agree with you -- Live scores should be broadcast right on the main page. That's certainly something I'll ask about at the upcoming Board meeting.



I'll second Pete. I feel that current scores should be simpler to access. It's a small thing, perhaps, but the small things make a big difference in how often people will use a website.

(bolding is mine)

Yup, I absolutely agree. I'll definitely bring this to the attention of HQ, if they aren't already aware of it that is :)

[jeremy.mcnamara]

There still aren't any pictures from D3 nationals in the gallery. If the UPA wanted so badly to take D3 under it's wing why have they not promoted it at all?

There is no forum for website related things so this gets posted here where I know at least one person will look at it.

[jseamon]

There still aren't any pictures from D3 nationals in the gallery. If the UPA wanted so badly to take D3 under it's wing why have they not promoted it at all?

1) I'm not sure why there aren't any photos from D3 nationals currently posted on the website. Have you tried emailing one of the TDs? All of their contact information is online right here (http://www.usaultimate.org/competition/college_division/division_iii_college_championships/default.aspx).

2) How does not posting pictures immediately after the event equate to no promoting the event at all? I heard tons of info about the event through press releases, email blasts, and posts on the USAU website. I was happy with how much word got out about the event. As far as I have heard the event was smashing success. Are you saying you would like to see more post-event promotion?



There is no forum for website related things so this gets posted here where I know at least one person will look at it.

Yah, it seems like there should be a separate forum for website related items.

[benbanyas]

Yah, it seems like there should be a separate forum for website related items.

In the meantime, there is this thread: http://boards.usaultimate.org/showthread.php?17-Website-Forum-and-Score-Reporter-Suggestions

[jeremy.mcnamara]

There are already pictures up from College Championships. I don't know exactly when they were added but I'm sure it was during the event. I can't check because the website is down now, but I'll save that for another post...

I get that College Championships is more important than D3. They have pimped the hell out of D1 as they should. But the UPA has totally neglected the coverage of D3 with the exception of some decent, albeit late writeups and stuff on score reporter. I thought there was supposed to be some sort of transition to give more coverage than just the elite level that was supposed to happen starting a couple years ago but it seems like the UPA is focused more than ever on only the championships.

[jseamon]

There are already pictures up from College Championships. I don't know exactly when they were added but I'm sure it was during the event. I can't check because the website is down now, but I'll save that for another post...

Which website is down? usaultimate.org (http://www.usaultimate.org/default.aspx)? It's loading fine for me...



I get that College Championships is more important than D3. They have pimped the hell out of D1 as they should. But the UPA has totally neglected the coverage of D3 with the exception of some decent, albeit late writeups and stuff on score reporter. I thought there was supposed to be some sort of transition to give more coverage than just the elite level that was supposed to happen starting a couple years ago but it seems like the UPA is focused more than ever on only the championships.

USAU Ultimate put a huge amount of recourses into making the D3 national event a huge event that went of brilliantly. Yes, it seems like there could have been, and should be, more post-event coverage.... but USAU got the really important thing right: They ran the event really, really well. That's the substance. Yes, I too would love to see more media coverage of the event, but I don't take that as a slight to D3 nationals, just the reality of running the event for the first time.

If USAU Ultimate wasn't interested in supporting non-Elite level Ultimate the organization wouldn't have stepped up and put so many recourses into the D3 tournament.

As for other coverage of non-Elite level Ultimate -- I see it all the time in the USAU magazine.

[torre.hargett]

From what I've heard/seen posted...the teams at D3 Nationals loved the professionalism of the event...not sure how it was different than past years, but yeah.

On a different note, I'd like to thank you Josh for putting yourself out there and open to questions, it is appreciated.

[jseamon]

From what I've heard/seen posted...the teams at D3 Nationals loved the professionalism of the event...not sure how it was different than past years, but yeah.

The Board was forwarded a bunch of messages from D3 attendees and everything I saw was glowing. The teams loved the event. That being said, I'm sure there are lots of ways to make improvements (more post-tourney coverage) and I'm sure the USAU staff is looking forward to polishing the event.


On a different note, I'd like to thank you Josh for putting yourself out there and open to questions, it is appreciated.

You're very welcome! Keep 'em coming :)

[jseamon]

/bump

Any other questions out there?

[liebermanmax9]

Hi Josh,

First I'd like to say it's very refreshing to see how open and eager you are to answer direct questions from the community. I love the new direction USAU is going, keep it up!


In 2009, there were several college tournaments that were well documented to be experimental events in terms of rules and rule enforcement. Changes were announced and implemented and both players and observers were polled after the tournaments. The results were then posted on the UPA website. Most of the sentiment was pretty strong for the "we like the change, but would need to see more experimentation before permanent implementation." In the January 2010 board meeting minutes, there was seemingly a strong emphasis put on experimenting with new rules and rule enforcement techniques for the near future, but as of now I've not heard of a single experimental event this past year. Were there tournaments set aside in 2010 for experimental changes, and if so, what were the results?

[jseamon]

First I'd like to say it's very refreshing to see how open and eager you are to answer direct questions from the community. I love the new direction USAU is going, keep it up!

Will do :)

I definitely like being able to put content out there for everyone to see. It's also been great getting more questions directly from the membership. I never seemed to get enough questions, even when I went out and asked in the past (http://upa-board.blogspot.com/2010/03/observations-from-upa-board-secretary.html). This forum definitely seems to be the way to go!



Were there tournaments set aside in 2010 for experimental changes, and if so, what were the results?

I don't remember if specific tournaments were set aside, and I don't know how many are planned for the rest of the year. I'll definitely check up on that and let you know what I find out.

Now that we have a great structure in place for experimentation and implementation of new rules, I'm excited to see what will be learned and changed.

Some reading from the January 2010 Board Meeting minutes (http://www.usaultimate.org/assets/1/Page/January%202010%20Board%20Meeting%20Minutes.pdf) (that you've probably already read, but I thought was worth posting in this thread):



PROPOSAL 2010.05 - UPA EXPERIMENTAL EVENTS
Submitted by Will Deaver – Managing Director – Competition and Athlete Services
Proposal Wording:
- The UPA will invest resources and help coordinate at least one event per year in which
experimental changes to how the sport is played are tested.
12
- The number of events and allocation of resources will be recommended by the UPA
Administration and approved by the Board of Directors through the annual budgeting
process.
- Decisions regarding specific events, divisions, levels of play or geographic areas to be
targeted for experimentation will be made by the UPA Administration. Consideration will
be given to the needs and desires of different playing populations, overall UPA goals,
and logistical issues surrounding coordination of experimental events.
- Experimentation may take place with both the rules of the sport as well as
enforcement responsibilities (i.e. officiating) and other logistical or media-related
aspects of events (e.g. field setup, crowd control)
- UPA involvement in experimental events must include gathering feedback about the
experimental changes. UPA involvement may include investment of additional resources
to provide personnel or other assistance to independent events, or may include
organizing a UPA event with this specific purpose.

Discussion
The proposal formalizes what was in the strategic plan. We have never had a
mechanism for incorporating experimental events. The proposal sets a low bar, but it
commits us to something. What are we committing to experimenting with? Lots of
possibility for experimentation and then weʼd gather feedback. Maybe end up with a line
item for experimental events. We didnʼt want to get tied to something too specific. More
than one event could be run. This is the incubator program for innovation. One worry is
that weʼre paying ourselves to experiment. What about others? As we develop the idea
it could become great.

Motion to approve Proposal 2010.05 as written: Ambler, seconded Terry.
Approved 11-0-0.

PROPOSAL 2010.06 – EXPERIMENTAL RULES IMPLEMENTATION FOR UPA
COMPETITION
Submitted by Will Deaver, Managing Director – Competition and Athlete Programs and
UPA Competition Committee
Proposal Wording:
1) Beginning in 2010, experimental rules (those not contained within the current edition
of the UPA Official Rules) or experimental rules enforcement responsibilities (those not
authorized in the UPA Observer Policy, Observer Manual or otherwise authorized by the
Board of Directors) may only be used for UPA Championship Series events (all
championship events, club/college sectionals/regionals, high school states) after
approval by the Board of Directors at least 6 months prior to the start of the event for
which they are to apply. The process by which this approval will take place is to be
determined jointly by the Board and Administration.
13
2) Any experimental rules or rules enforcement responsibilities approved for use in UPA
Championships must also be used in events that are part of that championshipʼs direct
qualification process.
3) Any experimental rules or rules enforcement responsibilities approved for use in UPA
Championships must be approved for use in all divisions of any multi-division
competition.
4) Experimentation with rules or enforcement responsibilities may take place at any time
and at any event outside of the Championship Series. Feedback from players regarding
experimental changes will be gathered by the UPA in a manner that will inform the
Board of Directors about which changes to consider for upcoming UPA championship
events.
5) For the 2010 College Championships only, an exception will be made to the above
requirements. In order to remain consistent with the enforcement responsibilities used in
the 2009 College Championships, the following experimental enforcement
responsibilities will be utilized, consistent with the vote of the captains of 2009
championship teams:
- Open Division – Active up/down calls; Immediate Referral travel calls
- Womenʼs Division – Immediate Referral up/down calls; Immediate Referral travel calls.
These rules will not apply to qualifying events (sectionals/regionals) of the 2010 College
Series. Continued use of these or other experimental changes for the College Series as
a whole will be subject to the process and timelines described in sections 1-3 of this
proposal.

Discussion
This is the official process for making new changes found through experimentation.
Votes will be taken on a by tournament basis. We canʼt keep adding features in an ad
hoc way. All rules changes must occur at all division at an event. Different rules in
different divisions is problematic. No experimentation at series events.
Discussion of 1-4 first: Whatʼs the rules relationship with the international federation?
Who is driving who is up for debate. We have one person on both rules committees.
Weʼve each been influenced by the other. The original rules for the sport are ours. The
rules have to be the rules. Thatʼs the core reason for this proposal. Cultimate was
proposing some changes to the rules and how observers would act. Quick changes we
made last year were partly in reaction to Cultimate, based on what the nationals teams
wanted. We felt like this was something we could give on. This set a tone of
professionalism. If we pass this proposal it would mean we canʼt make some of the past
changes as quickly. This is a structure to allow change in a well-defined way. There is
already a difference in how games are run/observed at certain levels. What is the
14
difference between nuance and changing the rules? There are other groups out there
experimenting.
We should be aggressively trying to align ourselves with events that are experimenting.
Is it okay if different divisions have different rules?
The womenʼs division has been more content with the status quo. Open division has
moved towards more active calls. Should one be able to push/hold back the other? Or
be allowed to do different things?
Should any changes be approved by a majority of both divisions?
The rules themselves donʼt spell out what the officials should do. Observers are not
used by 99% of Ultimate games.
We have enough people to add observers to Nationals, but not at any other events.
Would have had to rely on less experienced observers.

Straw poll on if you are in support of #2:
Yes: 20
Against: 0
Abstain: 3
Straw poll on if you are in support of #3
Yes: 20
Against: 0
Abstain: 2
Straw Poll on #1:
Yes: 14
Against: 0
Abstain: 9
Straw Poll on #4:
Yes: 16
Against: 2
Abstain: 4

Weʼre going to keep the new rules as they were this year. We didnʼt get feedback on the
changes made last year. Keeping the changes from last year is a larger application of
last yearʼs vote than planned.
Come up with a ruling for this year that is most defensible.
This has a lot do with organizing events.
15
How are experimental rules changes communicated to the membership? If itʼs through
lower level coordinators then we need some healthy lead time.
Straw poll: Generally having a 6 month lead time
Yes: 16
Against: 4
Abstain: 4
Straw poll: Get rid of the 6 month requirement for this year in order to make
everything the same this coming season:
Yes: 20
No: 0
Abstain: 3
Motion to amend Proposal 2010.06, item #5, to include a 6 month exception:
Ambler, seconded Seamon. Approved 11-0-0.
Proposal 2010.06, Amended item #5: For the 2010 College Championships only, an
exception will be made to the above 6 month requirement. The decision for which, if
any, experimental rules or rules enforcement responsibilities will be used for the 2010
College Series will be made by the Board of Directors prior to the start of the 2010
College Series.
Motion to approve Proposal 2010.06 as amended: Bartram, seconded Banyas.
Approved 9-0-2.
Straw poll of if we should make the decision now in order to maximize the lead
time we give people OR hand it back to the staff for more info and less lead time.
Make decision now: 1
Back to HQ: 10
Abstain: 9

[liebermanmax9]

I don't remember if specific tournaments were set aside, and I don't know how many are planned for the rest of the year. I'll definitely check up on that and let you know what I find out.
Still curious as to the existence of experimental events and/or surveys from this past college season.

Also, I was surprised by another piece in the Jan 2010 notes. The bit about observer payment and involvement. Could you elaborate on the sentiment against paying observers game-by-game? Is it purely a financial constraint or is there an idealistic reason not to do it?

[thompsor]

I took a survey about officiating after Stanford Invite - they mentioned other tournaments on the survey too, like Tally Classic (I think).

[jseamon]

Still curious as to the existence of experimental events and/or surveys from this past college season.

I'll get that info posted as soon as I have it.



Also, I was surprised by another piece in the Jan 2010 notes. The bit about observer payment and involvement. Could you elaborate on the sentiment against paying observers game-by-game? Is it purely a financial constraint or is there an idealistic reason not to do it?

As far as I remember it wasn't that the Board didn't like the idea, it was that we thought there were better ways to go about paying Observers.

[jseamon]

Still curious as to the existence of experimental events and/or surveys from this past college season.

We ran 1 event this spring (Stanford) where we sent an observer crew and 2 other sanctioned events that used experimental rules that we followed up on with participant surveys. We are in the process of compiling the input and feedback from the experimental events as well as the 2010 season and series events, and will be taking it into account as we plan for 2011.

[jseamon]

Still curious as to the existence of experimental events and/or surveys from this past college season.

We ran 1 event this spring (Stanford) where we sent an observer crew and 2 other sanctioned events that used experimental rules that we followed up on with participant surveys. We are in the process of compiling the input and feedback from the experimental events as well as the 2010 season and series events, and will be taking it into account as we plan for 2011.