When Does Next Season Start?

So barely had the disc settled onto the stubby grass at Annerley last week before someone started asking when next season starts.

The short answer - start thinking about it after Australia Day (and that special beach Ultimate tournament on the Gold Coast), and it’s likely Leagues will begin in mid-February.

Traditionally, December and January is the ‘off season’ for Ultimate Leagues in Brisbane. It’s the summer and Christmas holidays, Uni and school is out, its pretty hot, and after ten months of Ultimate its time for a break for organisers and players.

That said, many stronger players train through December and January as part of their preparation for Nationals in April, so if you’re looking for an extra run and a chance to improve your skills, ask around for training times.

Pickup games (including weekend beach trips) also get a new lease of life over Summer, so make sure you’re on the right email lists.

A big challenge with establishing the start date for 2011 is that our field providers are focused on supporting their Winter sports, and so tend to not get going until after us. As a result, they can be hesitant to commit fields and times to us that they may wish to use for themselves.

The field providers are also aware that they want to give the fields the biggest possible rest to regenerate before their seasons begin (those noting the state of Annerley Field 3 will recognise that it could really use a lot of time off).

That said, QUDA and the League Directors have worked very hard in recent years to give us robust relationships with our field providers, so hopefully they’ll be able to announce firm starting dates as early as possible.