By Mat LaBranche
There is a big buzz in Ottawa’s thriving ultimate community as the Ottawa Outlaws get set to bring pro ultimate to the capital for their April 25 home debut in the American Ultimate Disc League at Carleton University’s Keith Harris Stadium.
“When we announced the team back in August of last year and made a Facebook page, it got more than 1,000 likes in less than 10 hours,” notes Outlaws operations vice president Christiane Marceau. “All of the comments were saying how it’s about time, and how everyone was looking forward to the season. So that was really eye-opening.”
The Outlaws are certain to also provide a shock to the system for any outsiders who haven’t seen the sport played at a competitive level in recent years. Long gone is the image of hippies tossing around a Frisbee and opponents singing to one another after games.
The existence the four-year-old AUDL is proof of that evolution. Self-officiated games are toast in favour of referees in stripes with whistles. The circuit’s recent nine-team expansion that included the Outlaws brings the total to 25 franchises split into four divisions.
Ottawa will play 14 regular season games on weekends from April 18 (beginning on the road against the D.C. Breeze) until July 19 against its east division opponents from Philadelphia, Rochester, New York, D.C., Montreal and Toronto – the opponents for their 5 p.m. home opener.
Players receive a just small amount of pay but have their expenses – from field rental to physiotherapy – covered by the teams, who make their money from partnerships, merchandise and ticket sales (a seven-game season ticket package starts at $64.99).
It was a “no-brainer” for owners Levy Champagne, Patrick Bazinet and Karl Loiseau (also one of the team’s three captains) to setup a team in Ottawa, says Marceau, especially after seeing the success of fellow Canadian clubs in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.
“Last year, the three Canadian teams combined made up for 60% of the league’s attendance, so Canada is a success story, and it’s obvious we need more teams here,” indicates the former executive director for Ottawa-Carleton Ultimate Association, one of the team’s partner.
The sport’s strong tradition in Ottawa also made it a natural market, Marceau adds. OCUA’s membership numbers have reached as high as 5,000, and the association owns its own set of fields at Ultimate Parks Inc. in Manotick.
The sport enjoys widespread participation at all levels, from recreational and high school through to university and the competitive ranks. The city is also home to the highly-successful Phoenix open team – a largely self-funded group that finished 13th at last year’s club world championships in Italy, and provided the bulk of the talent that now makes up the Outlaws.
“I’ve played in Ottawa for a few years now, starting in high school and then at the university level at Carleton, so it feels like more of a transition to another competitive team, rather than playing in an inaugural season,” signals Mathew Berg, a 4th-place finisher with Canada at the March 8-13 Beach Ultimate World Championships in Dubai. “We already have a few guys who have played in the AUDL before, so it’s great to have that knowledge and experience to hopefully guide us in the right direction.
“But playing professional is that one level that hasn’t been achieved by many of us yet, and also playing in front of a home crowd is something I’m really excited for.”
Nick Boucher is another Outlaw with a fair bit of international experience, having twice represented Canada at both the under-19 and U23 levels, although his sports path began in hockey and basketball.
“I think they translate very well with ultimate, especially basketball, because there’s so much pivoting, jumping and catching involved,” highlights Boucher, who was recently selected to represent Canada in the open division at the July 12-18 U23 worlds in London, UK along with fellow Ottawa natives Kristina Cowan and Sarah Innes (women’s team) and Hannah Dawson, Jeremy Hill and Kinley Gee (mixed).
“Hockey has helped me a lot with lower core strength, which I definitely notice benefiting me out here now,” Boucher adds. “I think a lot of sports where conditioning is the main factor can easily translate onto the frisbee field. The good thing about ultimate is the only things you really need to know to excel on the field is how to run, catch and play defence.”
Boucher says he and his teammates, who have held late-night practices out of the Louis-Riel Dome lately, are very excited to debut as the inaugural generation of Ottawa Outlaws.
“We’re going to be the ones known as being a part of the very first professional team here in Ottawa,” he underlines. “That is something to be proud of, and something I will remember for the rest of my life.”