New Partnership with Elevate Academy!

Ottawa-Carleton Ultimate Association Teams Up with BC’s Elevate Ultimate to Expand Youth & Junior Ultimate Frisbee Programs

The Ottawa-Carleton Ultimate Association (OCUA) today announced a new partnership with BC’s Elevate Ultimate to increase youth participation in Ultimate Frisbee and Disc Golf. This synergistic partnership of the two organizations is born out of their common belief that disc sports can contribute greatly to athletes’ lives, both on and off the field.

Since its inception in 1986, OCUA has grown to a membership of over 4,000 local players. The organization has promoted sportspersonship and offered opportunities to play and learn, through Ultimate Frisbee programs for adults. Rooted in their belief of Ultimate Frisbee being the greatest sport, the association continues to work towards their vision of playing in a top-quality environment. One of OCUA’s primary goals has been to introduce youth and junior level programs growing its numbers from under 100 to roughly 1,000 from 2009 to 2019. This partnership is another investment into the quality of each of OCUA’s programs.

That’s where BC’s premier Ultimate Frisbee and Disc Golf academy, Elevate Ultimate comes in.

Elevate Ultimate is a disc sports academy based in Vancouver providing professional coaching to young Ultimate Frisbee players, and growing the sport, one disc at a time. Since Danie Proby and Ari Nitikman started Elevate Ultimate in 2016, the company has grown leaps and bounds. From signing up 10,000+ athletes through their various programs to winning the BC Small Business Award, Elevate continues to look towards the future. Growth for the team comes in the form of new Disc Golf and Spikeball programs, as well as expanding to other territories including Victoria.

While OCUA’s existing base in Ottawa was a factor in this partnership, the two organizations truly aligned on common values. Both organizations believe in the Spirit of the Game, creating a fun and positive community experience, and making the sport inclusive.

Fuelled by their shared purpose, this partnership is excited to announce a range of new programs for everyone, age and experience no bar.

So here are just a few new things to expect:

• A revised curriculum for advanced level players which is designed to facilitate players reaching their ultimate athletic goals;
• Coaching development and leadership programs for Youth and Junior players and coaches;
• Spring break and summer disc sports camps for kids aged 6 - 19;
• Ultimate Frisbee and Disc Golf PE takeovers and After School Clubs.

The partnership plans to start running weekly Ultimate Frisbee and Disc Golf programs starting in May.

To accomplish their combined goals, they have concurrently hired Jeremy Hill.

About Jeremy Hill

Jeremy has been a part of the ultimate community since he started playing in 2013. Having been a part of the Canadian U23, U24 and Senior National team, Jeremy brings elite level Ultimate experience to OCUA & Elevate. His previous work experience in youth programming provides many transferable skills to help grow ultimate at the youth level in Ottawa. He is a graduate of Brock University’s Sport Management program, where he also helped establish Brock Ultimate as a recognized club program. In his final year, he led them to a Division 2 National title.

For more information about the partnership, contact OCUA’s Executive Director, Christopher Castonguay – ed@ocua.ca.