[BD] And another thing!

[Jack]

Title: And another thing!

Now, I’ve been playing this sport for a long time, and it has always relied on a small group of people who donate a lot of time and energy for the sake of keeping the whole thing going (not that I’m one of these people – I get paid).  A few years ago the whole organisation (then the BUF) quit on mass, leaving the whole thing to it’s fate. Why? Because if you spend your spare time trying to organise a series of tournaments and deal with all the emails from people who haven’t read your last email properly, you get a bit pissed when instead of gratitude you get some kind of ridiculous conspiracy theory:

(James Harmmersley):
For example, I know of capable, committed, but unknown players who have
asked and requested to host for tours every year for the last few years.  I
have seen the facilities, they are awesome.  They have been rejected because
the bids can not be verified / benchmarked against anything, accept the
prevailing views of the same of group who have been doing this for years.  
Because the organisation is shit - we end up firefighting.

Because of the incompetent and shambolic way that UKU is run, ensures that
the whole of UK Ultimate is dependent on the decisions of a few people.

Obviously I can’t comment about this particular case, but James, as a regular TD yourself (or is that a rumour) I’m sure that you could
talk directly to the DoC rather than using this kind of attitude on BD. Imagine what effect this kind of email will have on people who are new to the sport.

Secondly, as far as I am aware, very few of the UKU officials ran tournaments last season, so why would they be biased against your ‘unknown’ friend? Are you suggesting there are back handers going on between the committee and TD’s? Maybe you should tell Mr. anonymous to put some cash in a brown unmarked envelope with his next bid.

Or get elected and reap all the benefits for yourself.  


>Does anybody know how many players play Ultimate in the UK.   
About 700 paid members last year, + about 300 free ones.

In reply to Simon Johnson’s email some time ago:

> The glossy Ultimatum
> was very nice and seemed worthwhile, but the photocopied newsletter that
> periodically drops through my letterbox seems nothing more than a
> regurgitation of 2 month old Britdisc articles with added spelling mistakes.

I’m sorry, I wanted to let this pass, but it’s been annoying me.

Firstly – it’s not photocopied. I’m sorry if the difference in quality is lost on you.
Secondly, here is a paragraph from my proposal to UKU for the content of the Newsletter:

Newsletter
The newsletter will be produced 4 times a year, and will consist of between 4-8 A5 pages, black on white.
This will, in some ways, be a record of what appears on Britdisc, but better presented and organised. It will contain:
� Results
� Tournament Invites (if provided by TDs)
� Tournament Reports (if provided by TDs)
� Britdisc Gossip (This will be brief comment about the highs and lows of Britdisc, chosen and worded by Lenny Sands)
� Photos
� UKU announcements (if provided by UKU)
Publication timing to be as seems appropriate, but roughly May, July, September and February.


- Now let’s have a look at what that involves: I have to collect the articles, take photos, design and layout the newsletter (results are a b!*ch), edit the articles – carefully adding spelling mistakes for your amusement -  get it to the printer, address 700+ envelopes, collect the printed newsletter and stuff them in the envelopes before taking it to the Post Office. How much do I get paid for each edition? £150 for between 3 -4 days work. Really. I also spend about £30 on pizza or beer or something to jolly along the people who help me stuff envelopes. Admittedly  there are other benefits, for example this year there was some money left over from the budget, so I’m buying myself a scanner which means I won’t have to drive across town and waste my mate’s time every time someone sends me a photo for the newsletter. Oh and I get a free disc or something every once in a while.

So what the hell is my point? Well basically I know that there is room for improvement in both the Newsletter and the UKU as a whole, but really, can’t you try being a bit more positive with your critisms and if possible address them to the relevant people rather than in this public forum, otherwise you’re in danger of of really annoying the people you should be buying a drink and grovelling in gratitude too so that they don’t walk out on us again.

Jack