Are European female Ultimate players an endangered species?

I can’t but shake the feeling that European women’s Ultimate is not doing well. For years we had problems getting them to play, but they showed up anyway. However, this year there are 3 instances that make me think… hmmmm… are female Ultimate players becoming extinct?

  1. The European Championships Beach Ultimate could not find 6 countries that could field 9 women to play in France this year
  2. Wonderful Copenhagen Ultimate, spring’s biggest tournament, will not see any women participating this year
  3. Bar do Peixe, one of the most female friendly tournaments in Portugal, had more than its fair share of women canceling this year.

Are European female (Beach) Ultimate players an endangered species? I hope not! Look at what the alternative is:

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I think one of the big drops in euro women’s ultimate numbers this year has been because of Vancouver. Anyone travelling there this summer can’t afford, both money and time wise, to go to tournaments they wouldn’t normally miss. With National (grass) teams taking a large base of players from each country (especially the small ones)it becomes less feasible to get teams together. And those with less experience may feel a bit too intimidated to attend the big ones (WCU and ECBU would be expecting a high standard). I would say numbers will be back again next year as the big tournament, EUC, will be significantly less expensive.

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