The Brewhouse Meeting

After conversation with our BPL supercoach Matt Boevink re: club incorporation, I got thinking about why I play Ultimate and what I want to get out of it, then whether the efforts of incorporation are worth it. So I did some soul searching and some reading (on the office of fair trading website) and called a meeting of Heroes and Discheads captains and vc's (plus a few extras) to get their opinions/thoughts on these same questions. Why do I play Ultimate? What do we want to get out of it? Is incorporation for us? That meeting happened today 20/06/10 at 2.30 at the Brewhouse (ex Clarence Corner Hotel).

The obvious bonus question which needed to be settled first though was that of Discheads involvement/affiliation with the Heroes club. Jo and Sebastian (Discheads captains) along with the Heroes present agreed that these two 'clubs'/teams should come together under one unified banner. This made sense because of the large numbers of Discheads and Heroes being part of the same friendship group/families outside of Ultimate. Plus the combined training sessions had been very successful. Discheads captains will of course still retain full control over their teams roster, and for the short term this 'merger' will not change any other aspects of how these teams are run. And so we officially welcome the Discheads to the club, considering them no longer as estranged second cousins, but rather as sisters and brothers.


Now as far as incorporation goes, very simply it would involve filling out some forms (with a small processing fee), voting people into offices (pres, secretary, tres), and holding an AGM. The rest would be up to us to decide. We could then apply for Government grants and be more professional in approaching potential sponsors if we want to.

With this in mind the rest of the meeting went something like this: (when talking about myself I'll be using third person for this part)
Present: Gavin, Jo, Michael, Bev, Carl, Chris B, Sebastian, Chantelle, Dstrel

-Gavin welcomes everyone, and all enjoy mocking Chris' inappropriate use of the Clem7 tunnel making many late.
-Beers ordered, tone of meeting set.
-Danny gives a history of the club 2007-present
-Carl points out that the seed planting by some Heroes is what led to the origin of the Discheads
-Incorporation discussed.
-Goals discussed (involving 'why do I play Ultimate?,' 'what do we want out of it?' and 'thoughts on incorporation' as well as 'if we became incorporated and gained grants and sponsorship money how would I like to see it spent.'):

Chris- 'I just want to play frisbee!' (exclaimation point added later for effect)

Sebastian- Sustain current teams (3 Div2, 1 Div1 and BPL) and regular training schedule. New discs to new players and/or new discs given to members each year. Uniform subsidies. Field hire (possibly establishing a 'home ground')

Chantelle- There for the social benifits.

Bev- Cones. Portable field tape. Becoming more professional while maintaining our enjoyment. Disc golf. Coaching is important - assisting interested members to do Level 1 coaching through QUDA. Ability to better help new teams coming in, eg. the possible Prince of Persia team Bev will play in. Make it into Firestorm 2011. (added later for effect.)

Jo- Shirts. Discs. Sensibly raised concerns about sustainability of leadership but thought formal leadership will be a benifit/way to move forward. Also possibly filling a 'need' that we could cater to already. Thought it was a worthwhile endeavour though.

Danny- Mentioned that Heroes lose a lot/haven't won many premierships. Our teams to be more successful/competitive. Maintain our good naturedness and spirit. (a defining characteristic). Helping new players learn to play and new teams to set up. Playing in and hosting tournaments. Roadtrips.

Michael- Free/half price first season. Discs. Shirts. Headbands. Other merch. Coaching for Div2.

Carl- Getting Heroes logoed discs ($600 for 50 - cheaper per disc the bigger the order). Looking like professional teams (looking good) - Agent Orange and Discheads getting proper shirts. Updated email lists/good communication. Promote blog which develops club (and even inter-club) community. Helping beginners.

Gavin- Likes playing good Ultimate. Skills dev/training days. Coches/coaching courses for interested members. Likes Ultimate as a sport. Hosting come and try days. Ultimate and Club advertising. Hosting more social events/trophy nights (drinking more beer at the brewhouse). Winning a BPL Premiership. Dominating Div2. Cultivate bonds across teams and also other clubs based around a culture of good spirit employed on and off the field. Starting a Heroes club related comic strip that makes at least a couple people laugh.


So that is basically what we got up to today. Carl had a quote which sums up the sentiment regarding incorporation: 'It's a layout in the right direction.' From here we would like to invite the rest of you Heroes to get involved in the discussion. Do some reading (if you have time) http://www.fairtrading.qld.gov.au/incorporated-associations.htm. Post your thoughts and questions. Why do you play Ultimate? (Don't be afraid to say 'just social' if that's the case - we all love social). There will be an open meeting in a few months time (no date set yet) which will likely be our first AGM - keep an eye/ear out for that.


Next season Div2 was also briefly discussed - with possibilities still being sorted out and to be posted on the blog soon.