Updated 12/3/07 - Updated info in italics.

What is CSTV’s Collegiate Nationals?
Why is the UPA combining its college championship tournament with CSTV’s event?
Why is the tournament the weekend before Memorial Day weekend this year?
Does moving the College Championships earlier one week mean that Sectionals and Regionals will also be moving earlier?
Will the schedule of the UPA College Championships change because of the partnership with Collegiate Nationals?
Does this mean that the UPA College Championships will always be in Boulder and part of this event?
From a media perspective, how will participation in CSTV’s Collegiate Nationals change the UPA’s event?

Q: What is CSTV’s Collegiate Nationals?
A: The Collegiate Nationals is a multi-sport, multi-venue event that brings together and showcases the definitive collegiate national championships of emerging club sports. The event was created by CSTV and held for the first time in 2006 in Reno, NV and again in 2007 in Reno and San Diego, CA. The event has included sports such as snowboarding, wakeboarding, boxing, weightlifting, kayaking, beach volleyball, and adventure racing. CSTV is proud to include what will be one of the best events for the 2008 lineup, the UPA College Ultimate Championships.  The event will take place in Boulder, Colorado.

Q: Why is the UPA combining its college championship tournament with CSTV’s event?
A: The UPA and CSTV have been working together since 2003 to promote college Ultimate through television and the internet. CSTV has been interested in including the UPA championships in its event since it came up with Collegiate Nationals in 2006. However, the timing of the event would not work. This year the timing issues were less of a factor, and so the UPA decided to explore the idea more fully.

Information was gathered from CSTV about the potential benefits to our athletes and teams. While details are still being worked out, it became clear that some enhanced benefits could be offered by incorporating the UPA championships into a larger event, including opportunities to interact with other athletes, the ability to create an “Olympic Village” type of atmosphere, and increased media exposure.

The bottom line was and continues to be to make sure that the experience of Ultimate teams at the event will live up to the high standards set by past UPA College Championships. We believe it will and look forward to working with CSTV and local organizers in Boulder to make this a great event for the players, fans, and the sport of Ultimate.

Q: Why is the tournament the weekend before Memorial Day weekend this year?
A: There are two reasons, both of them tied together. For a few years the UPA has had its eye on Boulder, and the Pleasant View Field Complex, as a potential location for the College Championships. When CSTV came to the UPA to discuss partnering with their Collegiate Nationals event, they were already exploring Boulder as a possible location for the event. The potential benefits of the partnership gave us another good reason to look at Boulder. However, there is a large race, the Bolder Boulder, every year in Boulder on Memorial Day weekend, which makes it very difficult to run another sporting event on that date. It was determined that if the UPA and CSTV were to combine their events in Boulder, it would mean holding the UPA championships one week earlier than usual.

Q: Does moving the College Championships earlier one week mean that Sectionals and Regionals will also be moving earlier?
A: No. It is already difficult enough for many areas of the country to hold Series events early in the spring. So the timing of Sectionals and Regionals will remain the same relative to last year. Hopefully this will best serve the hundreds of teams that will be competing in the first two stages of the College Series. The time crunch will come for the teams that qualify for the College Championships during the last weekend of Regionals. An overwhelming number of teams that provided feedback on this idea did not think that the timing issue would be a significant factor, given that the event would stand to benefit in other ways from the partnership. The UPA staff will be working with coordinators and teams to help make this very busy time of year more manageable, even with the shorter timeframe for planning.

Q: Will the schedule of the UPA College Championships change because of the partnership with Collegiate Nationals?
A: No. The integrity of the competition is the UPA’s highest priority for this event. The tournament will still be a three-day event, Friday through Sunday. Pool play will still take place on Friday, elimination and placement games on Saturday, and the finals on Sunday. Some minor adjustments to game times may occur, as it does every year, based on field layout, showcase opportunities, and media coverage. However, those changes will not impact the structure of the competition or the overall structure of the weekend for the UPA’s part of the larger event.

Q: Does this mean that the UPA College Championships will always be in Boulder and part of Collegiate Nationals?
A: No. Nothing has been determined beyond this year’s event. This is an experiment that will hopefully work out for the best for 2008. Beyond that there are a lot of factors that will come into play regarding future UPA College Championships. However, CSTV and the UPA both look forward to continuing their relationship, with the shared goal of promoting Ultimate and showcasing its athletes and teams.