Uniform Requirements: Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Why does the UPA have uniform requirements?
A. The UPA Championships have importance beyond just the competing teams. These events present an opportunity to promote the sport, which is one of the missions of the UPA. Towards that end, non-players (including observers, photographers, journalists, fans, and stat-keepers) need to be able to identify and distinguish between teams and players. The tournament is also one of the UPA's showcase events, and it is important that the sport be presented in its best light.

Q. Do these requirements apply to Sectionals and Regionals?
A. No. At this point, these requirements apply only to the Championship Tournament (a.k.a. Nationals). They will likely apply to the entire Series (Sectionals, Regionals, and the UPA Championships) at some point in the future.

Q. What if I want my number to be an ankh or a symbol representing the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter?
A. Only Arabic numerals are allowed. Positive, whole numbers (zero is also OK).

Q. Why can’t I have a three digit number?
A. Three-digit numbers are often difficult to read. They often wrap around the sides of a player’s back or from different angles may be mistaken for two-digit numbers.

Q. Why can’t I have the same number as a teammate?
A. Because the whole point of having numbers is to be able to distinguish players from one another.

Q. Why do we have to get numbers on our shorts as well as our jerseys (College Championships and Club Championships only)?
A. It is important to be able to identify players from the front as well as the back. For example, many of the best Ultimate pictures are from the front, where you can't see jersey numbers.  Teams have the option of placing numbers on the jersey front instead of their shorts.

Q. If my black shorts have a stripe on the side and my teammates' don't, is that considered the same "color and style"?
A. No. Often a different style of shorts can look just as non-uniform as different colors. One option is to order team shorts. The other is to make sure that the style stripes, piping, etc is the same for everyone even if the shorts are made by different companies. (For HS Easterns/Westerns and YCC, where these requirements are new, shorts only need to be the same color.)

Q. The UPA won't really disqualify and/or fine a player who shows up at the Championships without a number, will it?
A. Yes. The UPA is quite serious about enforcing these rules.

Further Discussion

One of the goals of the UPA is to promote the sport. The UPA’s national-level events are primary opportunities to do just that. More spectators come out to watch these tournaments than most other ultimate events. There is more media coverage of these events. Film footage of these events is available for promotional purposes through direct sales or through use in instructional or promotional materials.

Over the years, through much experience and input, it has become clear that these promotional opportunities are enhanced when players and teams are clearly identifiable. It is more difficult for experienced and novice spectators to watch games where teams are not clearly distinguishable, because they are wearing a wide variety of “similar” shirts and/or shorts. The same thing goes for anyone trying to distinguish players who aren’t wearing clearly numbered jerseys. This becomes a problem for observers, media, stat-keepers, fans, and even other players.

Teams with the same color jerseys, but different color shorts, still look a lot like people playing pickup. Symbols such as infinity signs, ankhs, and the like are difficult to distinguish and transcribe. Three digit numbers often wrap around the sides of a player’s back and can’t be read, or are mistaken as various two digit numbers when viewed from different angles. And at the risk of insulting your intelligence, players who wear the same number are difficult to tell apart.

So the question becomes, is it worth the trouble? That’s something the players will need to answer for themselves and then try to communicate to the people running the organization. But the current administration thinks it is. Consider these points. In the UPA magazine, on posters, and on the internet, do you want to see players in t-shirts and cutoff shorts jumping and diving around, or players in slick uniforms? Do you want to see statistics from the big games at championship tournaments to see who was tearing it up out there? In the College Division, the UPA had these same strict uniform requirements years ago, and when CSTV came looking for a sport to put on TV, the College Championships was ready to handle the added requirements for television production, including player identification, stats, and general uniform quality. Using the quality footage from CSTV, the UPA was able to create a state of the art instructional DVD, hundreds of thousands of which will be distributed to young players, PE teachers, and coaches over the next few years. The Club Championships may not be on TV yet, or ever, but videos are made almost every year and are marketed within and outside the ultimate community to promote the sport. Writers and photographers from local newspapers come out to cover events, and they want to know player names for their coverage. Player numbers make this easier.

There is a definite positive impact from making these events something a step beyond the typical ultimate event, and uniform requirements are a small but important part of that step. Hopefully individual players will be able to see that it is worth a little extra trouble to first, read the guidelines and find out what is required, and then if necessary make a small personal concession by finding a jersey number between 0 and 99, that no one else on the team has, or maybe buying a new pair of shorts.

We hope that all makes sense. If not, please contact a Board member or your National Director after the season. The UPA Board and Administration want to do what is best for the sport and the community, which, again, is why these rules exist in the first place.