Fwd: [CT Ultimate] Fwd: [SAFDA] Re: An Open Letter to South African Ultimate
Marlise Richter
From: Robin Willis <rwil...@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 16 Dec 2016 at 2:29 PM
Subject: [SAFDA] Re: An Open Letter to South African Ultimate
To: SAFDA CHAIR <safda...@gmail.com>
Cc: SafDisc <saf...@googlegroups.com>, safda-exec <safda...@googlegroups.com>, safda-committee@googlegroups.com <safda-committee@googlegroups.com>
Dear South African Ultimate,
SAFDA Exec addressed their letter to me personally. However, I strongly believe that it should
have been addressed to everyone in our community. This conversation is not about me. It is about us. And I am glad we are finally having this
conversation openly. Admittedly, this
conversation has been happening in local pockets recently, but not at a
national level. With so much growth and development
in our community over the last couple of years, we are ready to “put our money
where our mouth is” and strive for equity and equality in every level of our
sport.
To SAFDA Exec, I am happy that my letter has been a catalyst
for public conversation. Open, honest
conversation is necessary to the growth of our sport. The new initiatives that SAFDA is generating
are exciting and will hopefully yield tangible results. In your letter, you mentioned asking “what
do we want South African ultimate to look like in five years’ time?” Does SAFDA have a five-year plan? If not, I suggest that this document be
created (ideally with community input) so that the whole community has a clear
understanding of where we would like our community to go and how we get there. As you have alluded to in your letter, and as
I know from working on SAFDA for the last 18 months, managing South African
Ultimate is hard work done exclusively by volunteers. For change and transformation to occur, SAFDA
needs assistance, allies, and community involvement.
To the entire South African Ultimate community: South African Ultimate gave each and every
one of us something. Perhaps Ultimate
gave you friendships or a group of people to call your family. Perhaps Ultimate gave you fitness or the
ability to play competitive sport at a local, national, or international level.
Perhaps Ultimate gave you the
opportunity to be a leader and challenge and grow yourself as an individual. Perhaps Ultimate gave you a more defined understanding
of spirit, of respect, of sportsmanship that you have applied in your personal
life. Whatever Ultimate gave you, it was
something. And it is time for us all to give back.
Our responsibility as Ultimate players is not just to better
ourselves in our sport, but to lift up and support others so that we all can
thrive. As Trent Simmons said in the Facebook
thread, Ultimate was started by suburban white kids, who passed the game on
to suburban white kids in Ivy league Schools, some of whom became expats and
shared the game around the world (this is my summary, Trent said this much more
eloquently). This might be the origin
story of Ultimate, but it does not have to be the future story of
Ultimate. Not in South Africa. We have the opportunity to build the
community that we want to build. So far,
the community that we have built in SA has been representative of the world
that Trent describes. Let’s change
that. Let us create an Ultimate
community that represents our Rainbow Nation.
How? Here are some
suggestions and ways to get invovled:
1.
I propose a SAFDA mandate that every individual
who is selected to represent South Africa on the international stage be
required to commit a minimum of 3 hours to coaching and developing players from
underrepresented communities and / or schools.
a.
For those of us who represented South Africa in
London in 2016, I request that we all make the same commitment retroactively.
b.
This initiative would:
i. Spread
Ultimate knowledge and skills around the country and grow the sport nationwide.
ii. Allow
all Worlds players—and namely our Bafazi Bafazi and Wild Dog women—to gain
coaching and leadership experience, thus growing our female leaders.
2.
I ask all members of our community to get
involved with the Team E.R.I.C. initiative, organized by Jay Hart, SAFDA Vice
Chair. Involvement can include administrative
assistance, coaching sessions at schools, helping manage publicity for events, sponsoring
coaches’ travel costs to more remote schools, and coordinating competitive tournaments
for schools, among other things!
a.
For information and to get involved, email Jay
at safd...@gmail.com.
3.
Earlier this year, I secured 25,000 small, green
discs from Avios / Kulula.com. While
these discs are not appropriate for competitive play, they are perfect for
young people learning our sport. Over
10,000 discs have not yet been distributed.
Again, I call on members of the SA Ultimate community to locate homes
for these discs—schools, church groups, orphanages, community centres, etc—and to
help facilitate Ultimate programs in these areas.
a.
Apply for a SAFDA Development Grant in 2017 to
further grow your project / community.
b.
If you are unable to locate a project, please
consider monetary donations to assist with the transportation of boxes to
communities outside of Gauteng.
c.
Email safda.de...@gmail.com to
assist and get involved.
4.
I ask all members to donate something to a
developing Ultimate community this holiday season: a disc, a hat, an hour of
your time.
a.
Follow the lead of Ultitude who is hosting a
donation drive at Pirates Sports Club on Saturday. Organize something within your community and
then share the gift of Ultimate to a developing community in your area.
b.
Donate to the Bafazi Development Fund: an
incredible initiative by the South African women’s ultimate community to support
women’s ultimate in South Africa by increasing the diversity (socio-economic
and racial) of female ultimate players, increasing participation of female
ultimate players, and by developing female athletes and coaches.
i. For
more information or to contribute, please email bafazile...@gmail.com.
c.
Assist a developing community with any of the
following: (Taken from Xolani’s
article: if you have not read this already, please do!)
i. Ultimate
Frisbee rules workshops
ii. Technical
support (drills, strategy, skills clinic)
iii. Resources
(discs, cones, kit)
iv. Financial
assistance to get to tournaments or pick-up games
v. Assistance
in hosting clinics for recruitment drives
vi. Digital
assistance (social media, photos, etc)
d.
Set up a local or national fundraising project
whereby willing members of the Ultimate community can donate R50 (or more) per
month towards helping underprivileged players attend national or international
tournaments. (Again, an idea taken from Xolani’s
article)
5.
Actively engage in the conversation:
a.
Join the Google Group to create plans to improve
diversity, inclusion and representation in SA Ultimate. Email travis....@gmail.com.
b.
Join SAFDA’s Development Team. Email safda...@googlegroups.com.
c.
Engage your local community. Ask these
questions, actively listen to the answers, and seek to create positive change
in your community: (from SAFDA
Exec’ email)
i. White players need to ask, "Is our team truly a
welcoming space for people of colour?"
ii. Male players need to ask, "What more can we do to
develop our women as players, coaches and leaders?"
iii. Straight players need to ask, "Is this a safe space
for players who are queer?"
This is not a conversation where we can be passive. Transformation will not just magically
happen. If this is our vision—a South African ultimate scene that represents the diversity of our
nation at every level, and a community that is inclusive and welcoming to all—then
we all must work, and work
hard, for it. We owe it to each and
every member of our community to do so. It is worth it.
Sincerely,
Robin Willis
Former SAFDA Development Manager
Dear
Robin,
Thank you
for your letter.
As SAFDA,
we share the conviction that developing female players and players of colour is
absolutely critical. We commend the members of our community, including
yourself, who are already working hard to grow ultimate in places like Orange
Farm, Soweto and Zithulele; to expose schoolchildren to the sport; and to
develop female players, coaches and leaders.
We also
recognize that there is much more work to be done.
Yes,
South Africa does not have enough female coaches – and those we have are
overextended and susceptible to burnout. Two women were nominated to coach the
Wild Dogs, but both declined to apply. This highlights the critical need to
develop more female coaches in South Africa. SAFDA began investing in this by
sending two of our top coaches (yourself and Jon Aronson) to UltAcademy this
year, to gain skills that will be used to develop more coaches across the
country. We are confident these seeds will bear fruit in the New Year, and we
welcome further ideas to identify, support and develop female coaches.
Yes, the
WUGC 2016 squads were not fully representative of the South African ultimate
community, nor does our community as a whole represent the diversity of South
Africa’s athletic talent. Without government or corporate sponsorship,
international campaigns are almost exclusively self-funded by players.
Unfortunately, in 2016, this significantly narrowed the pool of players who
chose to try out and managed to attend – not just to almost exclusively white
players, but also largely to older, employed players and players from urban
hubs, despite the sizable and talented student population and the many growing
ultimate communities across the country.
As you’ve
pointed out, the 2018 Wild Dogs campaign is one opportunity to actively work
towards including players of colour on the U24 squad and elevating women to
leadership roles. Discussions on how this can be tackled have been taking place
amongst the SAFDA committee and the Wild Dogs coaches. SAFDA trusts that our
volunteer coaches, who were selected through a competitive application process,
will look for potential as well as experience, and seek to elevate female
leadership within the squad.
Specifically, SAFDA
and the Wild Dogs leadership are planning to work towards a more diverse and
representative Wild Dogs 2018 squad by:1. Seeking to identify players of
colour and women for the training squad who have the athletic ability and
potential to reach a high skill level, but who may not have benefited from
as much high-level coaching and exposure in the past as other players from more
established teams/communities.2. Having at least one observer
present at trials who is specifically looking for potential in players from
under-represented communities.3. Investing in the development of
those players over the training squad period.4. Reaching out to
local female coaches who can contribute to the Wild Dogs campaign.5. Considering potential to
contribute to development of South African ultimate as part of selection
criteria.We
believe that taking these actions will ensure that the 2018 Wild Dogs squad is
more representative of our community.
We have also established a Google Group to discuss
short-, medium- and long-term plans to improve diversity, inclusion and
representation in SA Ultimate via email. The group's immediate goal is
to discuss this in relation to the 2018 Wild Dogs campaign, including funding
for players from a disadvantaged socio-economic background who are selected for
the training squad. It also intends to be a space for broader brainstorming and
action. To join this group, please email travis....@gmail.com.
Beyond
that: true transformation is not just about “looking good” to the world. It’s
about building a different world, from the ground up. As those who are involved
in development know well, there are other critical opportunities we need to
seize as a community to ensure that future worlds squads are more
representative.
We
believe that this is a vision shared by all members of our community: a South
African ultimate scene that represents the diversity of our nation at every
level, and a community that is inclusive and welcoming to all.
To get
there, we need to ask, “What do we want South African ultimate to look like in
five years’ time?” and work backwards.
We need
more administrative capacity within SAFDA and regional bodies, to pursue formal
recognition from provincial and national government and relevant sporting
bodies, so we’re better able to access funding for schools development and
transformation.
We need
more conversations like these - at the national level, and in our own teams and
spaces. They are going to be messy. We will have to hear things that are hard.
White players need to ask, "Is our team truly a welcoming space for people
of colour?" Male players need to ask, "What more can we do to develop
our women as players, coaches and leaders?" Straight
players need to ask, "Is this a safe space for players who are
queer?" We need to be honest; to listen to one another with compassion and
humility; to be willing to challenge our assumptions and deeply-held beliefs
and put ourselves in others’ shoes.
And quite
frankly – we need people to pitch in. If we are going to accomplish this
vision, we need more hands.
So here
is SAFDA's appeal to the SA Ultimate Community: if you're passionate about this
issue or believe you have something to contribute, we invite you to step up.
Join SAFDA's Development Team and help us build a more inclusive and
representative community on all fronts. Sign up for the email list (email travis.myburgh@gmail.com)
and get actively involved in the conversation and the action. And keep up and
grow the good work happening at a local level.
Thank you
for helping spark this critical conversation. Let's keep it going.
Sincerely,
SAFDA
Executive TeamDale
Franklin - ChairJay Hart
- Vice ChairKatie
Huston - Co-TreasurerNick
Zaloumis - Co-TreasurerChe
Makanjee - Secretary
On Mon, Dec 12, 2016 at 9:43 AM, Robin Willis <rwil...@gmail.com> wrote:
Dear South African Ultimate,
As the former Development Manager
for SAFDA, I have had the distinct privilege of being involved in conversations
and projects aimed to grow our sport nationwide. In this past two years, we have seen
incredible growth in our sport, both in established Ultimate communities and in
new, developing communities. SA Ultimate
is now diversifying at an unprecedented rate, with more and more female players
and players of colour joining our community weekly. This is, frankly, wonderful and speaks to the
hard work and dedication of leaders around the country to recruit players and
provide resources to new communities.
However, as South Africa becomes
more and more involved in the world Ultimate community, we must pause and
assess how the world sees us, as well as how we would like to be viewed.
In 2016, South Africa sent three
teams to Worlds. While the emergence of
our first Women’s and first Master’s team on the international stage is
remarkable, it is also notable that South Africa, a national of incredible diversity,
did not send a single player of colour to Worlds in 2016. This is, in all honesty, troubling. While the 2016 Worlds campaign is behind us,
the Wild Dogs’ 2018 campaign is before us and we, as a nation, have a new
opportunity to define our image.
I strongly urge the coaching
staff of the Wild Dogs to carefully consider the future of our sport in their
selection decisions. I encourage coaches
to look not only at the skills of individual players now, but to imagine the
growth and potential in players over the course of the next year. I urge them to imagine what potential there is
in selecting players from all over South Africa, from all communities. Imagine the Wild Dogs coming back from their
Worlds campaign and spreading their newfound knowledge not only in Cape Town
and Johannesburg, but also in Orange Farm, Soweto, and Zithulele. Worlds campaigns are an opportunity not only
to compete at the international level, but also to grow and develop players
from all around our great and diverse nation.
With so many incredible players of colour in South Africa, it is
embarrassing to take another all-white squad to Worlds.
Additionally, although the
coaching staff chosen to lead the Wild Dogs in their 2018 campaign is comprised
of skilled coaches and leaders, it is deeply troubling that none of these
leaders of this Mixed Ultimate team are women.
In South Africa, we have a wealth of fantastic female players and
coaches. Why are they not represented on
this staff? It is not sufficient to say,
“they did not apply.” How has SAFDA
targeted female ultimate players and sought to grow them as leaders? To have a coaching squad of five men for a
mixed team of men and women is, in all honesty, appalling.
The Wild Dogs campaign is not
only about winning games; it is about representing our country. How do we, as the South African Ultimate
community, want to be viewed? I urge the
members of our community to join me in putting pressure on SAFDA and the Wild
Dogs’ coaches to ensure equity in our leadership and in our national teams. Let us strive to ensure that our sport
represents our Rainbow Nation.
Sincerely,
Robin Willis
Former SAFDA Development Manager
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