Christian Schwoerke
Secretary
Mid-Atlantic Representative

I have been playing Ultimate avidly since 1985 and have been a UPA member since 1990, when I got involved in tournament competition. At that time, a handful of us Ultimate players in the Triangle region of North Carolina (Durham, Chapel Hill and Raleigh) launched and grew the area’s ever-thriving 24-team winter league. In 1995, when the Triangle’s Ultimate-playing population seemed to explode, several of us incorporated a non-profit Triangle Flying Disc Association (TFDA) to umbrella all the Ultimate activities in the area.

I have served on the TFDA board in various roles since its founding, but primarily as fields procurer. This latter role subsequently led me and others to create a separate committee to purchase land and to develop dedicated Ultimate fields here in the Triangle. This “Ultiplex” committee is in its second year of grassroots funding and is now beginning a more targeted campaign to win corporate monies. I am also working with the TFDA board to institute a paid executive director position to elevate the organization’s profile. In addition to these organizational efforts, I have captained masters team Cranky for the last four years, am beginning my fourth year coaching Chakra (Duke women’s Ultimate), and have been tourney director for the past five years of the Carolina Kudzu Coed Classic.

As a board member with the UPA, I believe the skills I have acquired in working with the membership here in the Triangle will translate well in working with the UPA board and with the general UPA constituency. I plan on bringing the same zeal for Ultimate that I’ve exhibited over the last decade. As my role in Triangle Ultimate grows to include more direct, active wooing of corporate sponsorship, the fruits of these local, homegrown efforts will redound to the UPA, whether as experience gained or as tangible economic results.

A particular hobbyhorse of mine is the development of a standardized plan (that the UPA might be able to sponsor) which would help local Ultimate communities buy land and create dedicated fields, just as we’re trying to do in the Triangle. Many Ultimate communities face difficulties in getting the necessary field space to foster league play, permit team practices, and develop youth programs. There are several plans afloat in different communities, but it’s my belief that there must be ways in which the several disparate efforts could be better mounted from a single, well-funded national source, i.e., the UPA. This hobbyhorse is something I would like to bring to the table, even while working earnestly to assist in the fulfillment of current, ongoing UPA objectives.

Committees Serving On in 2004:
Membership/Outreach Liaison
Nominating Committee