A letter from UFA Chairman Rob Lloyd 

The American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL) played its first professional ultimate frisbee game in the spring of 2012 and has since evolved to become an emerging sports platform with 24 teams playing in North America and a global social media audience of 1.5 million. I became involved in 2013 when a group of Silicon Valley investors and my family took the plunge into professional sports. The journey has not always been easy, but based on the passion, drive and commitment of the league’s players, team owners, and talented league staff, today’s announcement of our re-launch as the Ultimate Frisbee Association (UFA) signals that our best days are yet to come.

Creativity, expertise and hard work. We’ll need these traits to harness the potential of today’s announcements in order for the UFA to reach its full potential. It will take experience in delivering a fan experience that excites and delights our customers. And it also requires investments in new areas to help drive our sustainable growth. 

Perhaps you’d like to be part of our future?

I could not be more proud of our team owners. All of them have committed their time and energy as well as the capital it takes to showcase their players’ incredible talent, and deliver a fun game day experience for fans. Some are doctors, others are engineers and software developers, many own their own small and medium businesses. But all of them have a common thread– helping their UFA team become a success and showcase a fun sports and entertainment experience to grow fans in their markets. And of course, each owner strives to attract the best on-field talent and deliver a professional player experience that helps each of our athletes reach their full potential.

Many owners are “hands on,” running their teams on an everyday basis and committing significant time and energy to its development. Some UFA teams are currently interested in attracting new business partners with marketing, sales, sponsorship and social media experience. If you have ever dreamed of becoming an owner of a local sports team, and tapping into your network to help grow a business, there could be a match in your market that meets your aspirations.     

Some team owners chose to take a more passive role, contributing their business and management experience to drive team success. The UFA has created an opportunity to invest in a portfolio of major market teams that could be a fit for those who believe in the future of ultimate frisbee as an emerging sport and seek potential long term increases in team valuations.  

During the past 10 years, the UFA has conducted two SEC Regulation crowdfunding equity rounds and worked with accredited investors across North America to invest millions in the development of our video production services and streaming platform, watchUFA.tv. We also invested in new marketing resources to create content, showcase our players and teams in unique ways and amplify our digital infrastructure. I always appreciate the more than 900 investors that have joined us to fund these activities plus the development of our data capture application and betting solutions and the creative studio resources necessary to build our own ultimate video game, set for release later this spring. Growth in the digital space has become critical in the evolution of our league, and it could align with your background and skill set.

The growth of our digital media presence has also created new opportunities for partners, especially brands who are interested in reaching our great fan base in a cost effective way. We feel that the UFA may be the sports industry's best kept secret, and that’s why we partnered with Legends Growth Enterprises to help us develop exciting new sponsorship opportunities to get the word out. Is your company or brand looking for a unique space to connect with more customers and generate revenue? Let’s talk!  

The UFA is committed to developing the next generation of ultimate players and most teams have built fast growing youth programs, working with physical education teachers in middle schools, summer camp operators, and municipal parks and recreation departments to get a frisbee in the hands of thousands of new players. We have also developed an introductory curriculum of basic ultimate frisbee skills that we share on our streaming platform.

These investments also enabled us to build the UFA Athletic Care Network, or ACN, to foster  the safety and wellbeing of our athletes. Born during the challenges of COVID, the ACN has provided medical practitioners with exciting opportunities to assume roles as team physicians and heads of athletics training.

As our league grows, so do the opportunities. We are always looking for sports enthusiasts to join our team as gameday officials, statisticians and referees for our games.

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