Sign up as a full team with your friends! Players sign up as individuals, pay for themselves, and indicate your team or captain’s name.
League Details: (more…)
We’re excited to share our plans for our Spring Hat League!
Early Registration: $60 (February 25th to March 17th)
Late Registration: $70 (March 18th to March 20th)
No registrations accepted after March 20th.
We will also be hosting a Spring Social and Hat League Team Reveal Party! Keep an eye on your emails and our social media for more info!
If you have any questions, email us at hi@milezeroultimate.com.
We are excited to announce the details for our upcoming winter league!
Our 2024 Winter League will run on Monday nights from January 8th until March 18th. You have the choice of two different league formats (explained more below). Registration for both leagues will open on Sunday December 3rd at noon. From December 3rd until December 27th, you can register for one of the two league formats. After December 27th registration will open to allow you to register for both formats if you wish. Registration for both league formats will close on January 3rd.
Here is some more information about each league format: (more…)
This year’s MZU AGM is just around the corner! During this meeting, the MZU Board of Directors will present key details and outcomes of this past years events. This is a great opportunity to learn more about how MZU supports the sport of Ultimate in St John’s, the state of the leagues that we provide, and a chance to engage with us in discussion and feedback on what you feel went well or could go better in the future.
Date and Time: Thursday, November 16th, 2023 @ 7:30pm (ical)
Location: Quidi Vidi Brewery
We also use this time to elect our new Board of Directors for 2024, giving committed members the opportunity to directly influence and impact the future of the sport we all love so much. Truth be told, we have a number of members of the board that will no longer be able to volunteer next year due to some major life changes. As excited as we are for them, we’ll miss them dearly and thank them so much for all they have done for MZU!
This does give us an opportunity to refresh and gain some new perspectives, but we need your help! Here is an overview of what we ask for members volunteering on the board:
What’s the time commitment? Board members serve a one-year term starting the first day of December. The full board meets 6 times per year, with sub-committees having one to two additional meetings. Meetings are usually virtual, with the main in person meeting being a longer planning session for the coming year. In addition to meetings, board members undertake various duties to ensure smooth running of MZU. The busiest times for the board are just before the start of different leagues.
Who should apply? People with a passion for making their Ultimate community a better place and want to see our membership and leagues grow. Players of all skill levels and with diverse expertise and lived experiences are welcome. Eligible nominees must have played in an MZU league in the past 18 months.
How do I nominate? Individuals can self-nominate or nominate a friend or teammate by completing the online form or by self/nominating in person at the AGM.
Nominated members will have the opportunity to accept or decline their nomination at the AGM (they must be present, or have a proxy). If more than one individual is nominated for a position, MZU members in attendance will vote to decide who will fill the role. There will also be an opportunity for members who cannot attend to assign their vote to a proxy. We’ll send details on proxies closer to the event!
If you feel you or someone you know would be a good fit, read ahead on the roles that support our organization. We hope to hear from you, and see you at the AGM!
2023 Fall Hat League registration is NOW OPEN!
Come play under the lights @ King George V field!
Games will be Sunday nights at either 6, 7, or 8 pm. League starts Sept 10th and goes to Oct 29th.
Sign up solo or with a friend! Registration deadline is September 5th.
Register here
We’re closing in on Playoffs for MZU’s Summer League so we wanted to clarify a few things around subbing to make sure things flow smoothly. Full details can be found on our Subbing Policy Page.
Teams are only allowed to have subs so that they have a maximum of 5 open and 5 female matching players. You also cannot have more subs than rostered players for the game. (i.e.: You cannot have 3 female matching subs and 2 female matching rostered players. In this case, you can only have 2 female matching subs)
Both Registered and Non-Registered players can sub for ONE GAME ONLY. The same person cannot sub for more than one game, even if it is with another team.
All playoff subs MUST be accepted by the opposing team captain and the league. Please include vpleague@milezeroultimate.com in your communication with the opposing team. Advanced notice is appreciated but we understand the nature of the playoff schedule will make this difficult.
Yes! The subbing cap was for regular season only.
If you need assistance with finding a sub, MZU has a subbing page on Facebook: Mile Zero Ultimate Subbing Page
The score penalty that was in effect for the regular season is NOT in effect for playoffs. Last minute requests are still subject to confirmation and approval by the opposing captain and the league, as discussed earlier.
All other standard subbing rules apply:
If you have any other questions or need clarification, please contact vpleague@milezeroultimate.com
Good luck with your playoff games!
Recently the Board asked me for some input on playing surface and risk for injuries as this past indoor season there seemed to be a spike in reported injuries while playing. This blog will discuss the different playing surfaces and their inherent risks, how your footwear choice can mitigate that risk, and some general tips for transitioning from the different surfaces.
Firstly, the playing surface. MZU runs leagues on a variety of grass fields of differing quality, as well as outdoor and indoor turf fields, and some of you may also play indoor on a multipurpose floor as well. All playing surfaces have their respective rate of injury, typically they are compared to grass as that is the most accessible and has been used the longest. One of the perceived risks with artificial turf is a higher prevalence of knee injuries, and while that was true with the 1st and 2nd generation turfs primarily installed in the 1960-1990s, more recent turf installations have negated that risk. While the knee injury prevalence has decreased, there remains a risk any time you change surfaces. This is seen from the transition from indoor winter league to outdoor summer, summer to the outdoor fall league, and then back into the winter league playing surface. Each surface has it’s own distinct stressors that it puts on your body, and if you go from playing 2-3 hours per week on one surface and then switch to another, those stresses can cause overload or overuse injuries.
Secondly, your shoes. For the many recreational players in MZU, your cleat choice may have been directed on price point, look of the shoe, or how comfortable they were. There are a variety of cleat choices that offer benefits depending on the sport, the playing surface, even what position you play, so it can be daunting for a rec player to make an informed choice. The reality is that while certain cleats offer advantages in certain situations, for most players those small advantages are negligible, and so perhaps the most beneficial decision is to make one based on injury reduction. The only type of cleat you want to be cautious about wearing on multiple surfaces is a “bladed” cleat. Most cleat tips are circular or conical in design, where bladed cleats are longer and designed to give enough grip to turn and generate force on a hard dry field. This same design on a softer wet field, or artificial turf has been shown to increase rates of knee injuries as the blades sink into the surface and stick. Wearing turf or general cleats on all MZU surfaces are safe bets from an injury prevention approach.
Finally, as you start gearing up for the glorious summer league, there are a few tips that you and your team can take to try to minimize the risk of injuries. Building capacity in your tissue before taking on an increased load or intensity such as in games. Convince your team to run a few practices, or get out and go for a toss, or play some mini games. This concept also applies if you are changing your cleats, either from turf shoes to grass cleats, or maybe you just got a new pair. To limit injury wear them for the first 25% of practice, or your toss around, and then increase that percentage over a couple weeks. One of the big gaps I see with many teams is the warm-up is lacking. Having a good warm up that increases your heart rate, increases blood flow to the extremities and gets muscles ready to work will improve performance and most importantly decrease injury rates in the game!
So to bring us back full circle, any time you transition playing surfaces you have a higher risk of injury, however none of the surfaces you play on in MZU have an inherent increase in risk. Your cleat choice can play a part, but mostly bladed cleats on wet grass or turf. Having a proper transition with surface or footwear change can help mitigate risk as can getting in a 5-10 minute warm up before the game. Hopefully this information helps you have a full year of fun with MZU regardless of the playing surface!
Matthew Moore is a Certified Athletic Therapist and co-owns Premier Athletic Therapy & Sports Medicine. He is an avid MZU player and is currently an Assistant Athletic Therapist with the Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club that competes in Major League Soccer.
Effective start of 2023 Summer League, we are updating our MZU substitute player policy.
There are some key changes from the previous version, so again we ask that you read carefully. If you have any questions at all, please email: hi@milezeroultimate.com
Why are we making these changes? Our reasons are many but here are some of the primary ones:
You can find the complete policy on our Subbing Page.
Thank You!
MZU Board of Directors
We are super excited to announce that Summer League registration is NOW OPEN!!!
For all the details on both our traditional Summer League as well our new Wednesday Summer Hat League and where to register, please click here
