Our History

Ultimate is alive and well in Canada's capital! In fact, Ottawa is currently one of the two largest leagues in Canada (alongside the Vancouver Ultimate League), and has once been the largest ultimate league in the world - in 2004, we had 354 teams in our summer league and approximately 5000 members! The following chart shows the league’s overall growth since its inception in 1986:

Taken from the total number of league teams per year, we can make a breakdown in terms of team formats. Note the rapid rise in popularity of the coed 4/3 leagues since they were first introduced in 1993, which ultimately lead to the demise of coed 5/2 in 2002.

OCUA offers its members a large variety of league formats throughout the entire year as Ultimate is played indoors during the winter and spring. The following chart can give you an idea of the diversity of our summer leagues!

Even more exciting is the fact that we have purchased 100 acres of land near Manotick Station and have developed it into a new permanent field site (UPI) to supplement our other field sites! For more information, please see the OCUA Land Purchase page. Your support is needed for numerous volunteer projects on this site.

In general, OCUA is a not for profit organization whose primary mandate is to organize and promote the growth of the sport of Ultimate Frisbee in the Ottawa-Carleton region. The association incorporated in 1993 and operates under the provisions of our bylaws that have met Industry Canada’s approval. Information about the league's bylaws, rules, and other policies can be found on the Bylaws and Policies page.

The association is run by a Board of Directors. The board consists of 7 elected members and serves as the primary decision-making body for the organization. The Board of Directors is responsible for employing staff to manage the day to day operations of the association. As of 2012, OCUA has 2 full-time staff positions: an Executive Director and a Program Officer, a part- time position, as well as occasional seasonal positions (interns, co-op students, etc).

For a great history of Ultimate Frisbee in the Ottawa region and the roots of the Ottawa Carleton Ultimate Association, you can download the History of Ultimate in Ottawa.