School Fields

This is just an idea for those out there looking for 'permanent' fields (hello Sydney/Melbourne).

Now of course, what we're talking about are fields with lights for League play, and ideally toilets and somewhere to store some stuff.

If you've exhausted yourself talking to Councils (mostly because the fields that they do have are already heavily used by others), perhaps its time to talk to schools.

Last year's Crawford Report noted that the obvious way to increase the number of sporting facilities available to the community is to work out ways to make school ovals available.

A REAL key of course is having a link to a school. Is there someone in your Ultimate community who works at the school, or is an alumni from the school, or even on their children's school's P&C? Can they have a yarn to the Principal or Sports Master?

Many schools have a history of putting lights on their tennis courts and hiring them out - this is the model to take on. The school gets a better facility, it gets a regular income stream, its security is improved by having responsible adults on site at night, and it strengthens its links to the local community.


There are of course some practicalities. Can the field be easily accessed without visitors having to walk through the school grounds? Is there scope for parking? Is there access to toilets without walking through the school?

Committing to a school can also involve making that school a real centre for teaching kids Ultimate.

So the goal - can your Ultimate group develop an agreement whereby you cooperate to fundraise (both via seeking government sporting and school building grants, and directly via car washes and all that stuff) to upgrade a schools' field to put lights and so forth on it?