Code of Conduct
Tidewater Ultimate is committed to creating a safe, fun atmosphere for ultimate players in the Tidewater region of Virginia. This Code of Conduct exists to help us uphold that commitment; by playing in a Tidewater Ultimate league or tournament, you agree to be bound by this code. Every player that registers to play for that season must agree to the code, as well as the media waiver.
Players will uphold Spirit of the Game set forth by USAU, which is grounded in mutual respect, conflict resolution, and knowledge of the rules. Spirit of the Game violations may result in penalties listed further below.
Violence, discrimination, and harassment of any type are not permitted. Fighting, including excessive shouting and cursing at another player, is also not permitted.
Players agree to follow the rules set out by the venues where we play and respect that property, as well as following the laws governing that area. This also means players will not steal from each other.
Players may not misrepresent themselves when registering for or participating in our events. In particular, the creation of fraudulent email addresses or other online accounts that pose as another player or as Tidewater Ultimate is strictly prohibited.
If you feel unsafe or harmed by possible violations of these rules, we encourage you to take action.
If you are comfortable addressing that person directly, feel free to do so.
If not, reach out to a team captain or directly to a member of the Code of Conduct Committee.
The Code of Conduct Committee serves to hear and respond to allegations of code violations. When necessary (e.g., conflict of interest), members will recuse themselves. Any investigation they undertake will be done as privately and speedily as possible. Not all allegations will merit corrective action beyond a conversation, but when necessary, temporary and permanent bans from Tidewater Ultimate events may be issued. Importantly, any allegations will be addressed individually, factoring in the severity, repetitiveness, and impact of the actions. Code of Conduct Committee will consist of that season's captains and commissioner(s).
We expect most issues to be settled between players firstly. If not, we expect players to notify captains and commissioner of any people violating these rules of conduct.
The Code of Conduct is meant to be a set of guidelines and not an exact law.
Permanently banned players may submit a petition after 1 year of the ban listing the reasons why the committee should overturn their ban. It may or may not overturn the ban. Season banned players are not allow to submit these petitions.
Captains or the commissioner(s) may give the infractions for verbal warnings. Suspensions for games and season should be discussed with as many captains and commissioner(s) as possible. Permanent bans will come from the commissioner(s).
In the event of an unspirited on-field discussion, captains have the option to call a spirit timeout and substitute the players in the discussion off the field. This is an attempt to defuse the tension and reset the tone of the game.
Offense determines the punishment.
Cursing excessively- start with verbal warning. several verbal warnings (3) per game day would be allowed. Next would be being benched for that game. Then benched the rest of the game day.
Spirit of the Game/other miscellaneous violations-
The intent of these violations is to prevent repeated bad behavior across leagues. These would be intended for repeated behaviors of bad faith actions. Examples include berating a foul call, belittling someone’s point of view, mocking a player, etc. For these violations to be logged they should be reported to captains to both teams to allow the captains the chance to talk with the violator. The players involved would have the option to resolve it amongst themselves prior to being reported. The commissioner(s) reserves the right to assign violations if they witness activity.
Punishments for repeated violations:
Any player with multiple violations will have their count reset to one at the end of a league season-if a player only has one violation at seasons end it resets to zero.
1st infraction-verbal warning
2nd infraction-sit out the next game
3rd infraction-sit out the next week
4th infraction-not asked to return for that league season.
Dangerous Play-
Any existing dangerous play counts reset down to one violation at the end of the league season-if a player only has one violation at season’s end it resets to zero.
Enforcement of Dangerous Play: There are several options:
If a dangerous play is called and upheld on the field, then it will be automatically logged as a dangerous play.
If it cannot be resolved, treat it as a contested foul, & send the disc back and let the captains discuss it post game in the captains' chat. If it is upheld, then the player will receive their penalty during the next week or game.
If captains see it during the games, they have the option of discussing it with that player’s captain and letting the captain talk to the player. They can discuss it in the groupchat later but still let the captain of that players team notify the player.I
If the person committing a dangerous play is a captain, any other player may bring it to the commissioner’s attention, and the commissioner will talk to the other captains. If the play is deemed dangerous, the commissioner will notify the captain of his/her dangerous play.
The commissioner(s) will make note of it in the draft sheet of the date infraction(s) happened.
Punishments for repeated violations:
At captains’ discretion, they may choose to enforce harsher punishments depending on the context.
1st dangerous play-benched for the point, not allowed back on until they talk with their captains.
2nd dangerous play-not allowed to play any more that game day.
3rd dangerous play (or second time being ejected)-out of the league season.
Fighting - automatic suspension for the rest of season. Multiple infractions in a 2 year span will result in a permanent ban.
Instigator & reactor do not have the same penalties. We are not going to penalize someone for defending themselves if they are being attacked.
Discriminatory language - automatic suspension for the rest of game day and 1 week after. Multiple infractions in a 2 year span will result in a permanent ban.
Harassment of a player or spectator - automatic suspension for the rest of game day and 1 week after.
Good spirited heckling does not equal harassment.
Sexual harassment of a player or spectator (inappropriate language/connotations/inappropriate touching) - up to the discretion of the commissioner. May result in a ban for the rest of the season at minimum.
Sexual assault is a permanent ban.
Fraudulent misrepresentation - permanent ban.