Rules of Ultimate — Appendix v4.0

Appendix D: WFDF Eligibility and Roster Guidelines

D1. Team Eligibility – General

  1. D1.1. WFDF membership is a requirement for registering and competing in WFDF sanctioned championship events. Only regular, organizational, and associate member organizations in good standing may register teams.
  2. D1.2. All players on a Roster must be members of the National Federation in good standing, and must meet whatever other requirements are placed on them by the National Federation.
  3. D1.3. A National Federation is a WFDF Member recognized by WFDF as representing the sport of ultimate for a country.
  4. D1.4. A single player may not participate on more than one team during a single WFDF Event.
  5. D1.5. The team roster must be inspected by an official of the National Federation who represents the team before being submitted. This official must countersign the roster to indicate they have inspected it and found it to be in accordance with player eligibility.
  6. D1.6. WFDF reserves the right to invalidate a submitted roster if it is felt that the team does not adequately represent the country the team is intended to represent.

D2. Team Eligibility – National Team Rosters

  1. D2.1. WFDF World Ultimate Championship Events for National Teams are:
    1. D2.1.1. WFDF World Ultimate Championships (WUC)
    2. D2.1.2. WFDF World Junior Ultimate Championships (WJUC)
    3. D2.1.3. WFDF World Under 24 Ultimate Championships (WU24)
    4. D2.1.4. WFDF World Masters Ultimate Championships (WMUC)
  2. D2.2. A country which fulfils the following criteria will be considered a small Ultimate community for the purposes of National Team roster eligibility per division (for Juniors events, only the number of eligible registered players for that division shall be used for the calculations):
    1. D2.2.1. Mixed Divisions: A maximum of one hundred and fifty (150) female ultimate players or a maximum of one hundred and fifty (150) male ultimate players are registered with the National Federation (Ultimate Federation, Flying Disc Federation or similar) according to the WFDF census data from the calendar year prior to the event.
    2. D2.2.2. Open Divisions: A maximum of one hundred and fifty (150) male ultimate players are registered with the National Federation (Ultimate Federation, Flying Disc Federation or similar) according to the WFDF census data from the calendar year prior to the event.
    3. D2.2.3. Women’s Divisions: A maximum of one hundred and fifty (150) female ultimate players are registered with the National Federation (Ultimate Federation, Flying Disc Federation or similar) according to the WFDF census data from the calendar year prior to the event.
    4. D2.2.4. Under-20 Mixed Divisions: A maximum of seventy-five (75) U20 female ultimate players or a maximum of seventy-five (75) U20 male ultimate players are registered with the National Federation (Ultimate Federation, Flying Disc Federation or similar) according to the WFDF census data from the calendar year prior to the event.
    5. D2.2.5. Under-20 Open Division: A maximum of seventy-five (75) U20 male ultimate players are registered with the National Federation (Ultimate Federation, Flying Disc Federation or similar) according to the WFDF census data from the calendar year prior to the event.
    6. D2.2.6. Under-20 Women’s Division: A maximum of seventy-five (75) U20 female ultimate players are registered with the National Federation (Ultimate Federation, Flying Disc Federation or similar) according to the WFDF census data from the calendar year prior to the event.
    7. D2.2.7. The country has been a National Federation for less than sixteen (16) years.
  3. D2.3. Player Classes – All players on a National Team Roster must belong to one of the following classes:
    1. D2.3.1. Legal Citizen - Players are deemed to be “Legal citizens” if they own a passport or equivalent legal document issued by the country's government
    2. D2.3.2. WFDF Citizen - Players are also deemed to be “WFDF citizens” if they have moved to the country at least four (4) years prior to the start date of the event and spent more than 75% of those four (4) years in the country.
    3. D2.3.3. Resident Non-Citizen - Players are deemed to be “Resident non-citizens” if they own a legal certificate of permanent residency issued by the country's government; or if they have moved to the country at least twenty (20) months prior to the start date of the event and spent more than 75% of those twenty (20) months in the country.
    4. D2.3.4. The following rules will replace rules D2.3.2. and D2.3.3 in 2025:
    5. D2.3.5. WFDF Citizen - Players are also deemed to be “WFDF citizens” if they have moved to the country at least forty (40) months prior to January 1st of the year of the event and spent more than 75% of those forty (40) months in the country.
    6. D2.3.6. Resident Non-Citizen - Players are deemed to be “Resident non-citizens” if they own a legal certificate of permanent residency issued by the country's government; or if they have moved to the country at least twelve (12) months prior to January 1st of the year of the event and spent more than 75% of those twenty (20) months in the country.
  4. D2.4. Team Roster Composition – A National Team may have on its roster:
    1. D2.4.1. any number of Legal Citizens or WFDF Citizens
    2. D2.4.2. a maximum of four (4) Resident Non-Citizens
  5. D2.5. Team Roster Composition – Small Ultimate Community
    1. D2.5.1. Teams from small Ultimate communities will be allowed to add one (1) extra Resident Non- Citizen to their Roster.
    2. D2.5.2. For Teams from small Ultimate communities, the length of time for Resident Non-Citizens referenced in section D2.3.3. will be reduced to ten (10) months.
    3. D2.5.3. For Teams from small Ultimate communities, the length of time for Resident Non- Citizens referenced in section D2.3.6 will be reduced to six (6) months.

D3. Team Eligibility – Club Team Rosters

  1. D3.1. WFDF World Ultimate Club Championship Events are:
    1. D3.1.1. WFDF World Ultimate Club Championships (WUCC)
    2. D3.1.2. WFDF World Masters Ultimate Club Championships (WMUCC)
  2. D3.2. Club team names must not include any wording that could reasonably be considered as offensive or inappropriate, as determined by WFDF.

D4. Player Eligibility – Gender

  1. D4.1. In order to be eligible to play in the following WFDF playing divisions, players must meet the specified criteria.
  2. D4.2. The eligibility of transgender athletes is governed by the WFDF Transgender Policy.
  3. D4.3. Mixed Divisions – Any player eligible for the Open Division can play as a male player. Any player eligible for the Women’s Division can play as a female player.
  4. D4.4. Open Divisions – All players are eligible to participate in the Open Divisions of all competitions.
  5. D4.5. Women’s Divisions – All female players are eligible to participate in the Women’s Divisions of all competitions.

D5. Player Eligibility – Age

  1. D5.1. In order to be eligible to play in the following WFDF playing divisions, players must meet the specified criteria.
  2. D5.2. Mixed, Open and Women’s Divisions – A player participating in these divisions must be sixteen (16) years old or older during the calendar year in which the tournament concludes.
  3. D5.3. Master Divisions
    1. D5.3.1. A player participating in a Master division as a female player must be thirty (30) years old or older during the calendar year in which the tournament concludes.
    2. D5.3.2. A player participating in a Master division as a male player must be thirty-three (33) years old or older during the calendar year in which the tournament concludes.
  4. D5.4. Grand Master Divisions
    1. D5.4.1. A player participating in a Grand Master division as a female player must be thirty- seven (37) years old or older during the calendar year in which the tournament concludes.
    2. D5.4.2. A player participating in a Grand Master division as a male player must be forty (40) years old or older during the calendar year in which the tournament concludes.
  5. D5.5. Great Grand Master Divisions
    1. D5.5.1. A player participating in a Great Grand Master division as a female must be forty- five (45) years old or older during the calendar year in which the tournament concludes.
    2. D5.5.2. A player participating in a Great Grand Master division as a male must be forty- eight (48) years old or older during the calendar year in which the tournament concludes.
  6. D5.6. Under-24 (U24) Divisions – A player participating in these divisions must be fourteen (14) years old or older and must not be twenty-four (24) years old or older during the calendar year in which the tournament concludes.
  7. D5.7. Junior: Under-20 (U20) Divisions – A player participating in these divisions must during the calendar year in which the tournament concludes, be
    1. D5.7.1. fourteen (14) years old or older, or
    2. D5.7.2. twelve (12) years old or older with the approval of all of those players Parents or Guardians, Head Coach and National Federation, and
    3. D5.7.3. must not be twenty (20) years old or older.
  8. D5.8. Under-17 (U17) Divisions – A player participating in these divisions must be twelve (12) years old or older and must not be seventeen (17) years old or older during the calendar year in which the tournament concludes.
  9. D5.9. Under-14 (U14) Divisions – A player participating in these divisions must be ten (10) years old or older and must not be fourteen (14) years old or older during the calendar year in which the tournament concludes.
  10. D5.10. Under-11 (U11) Divisions – A player participating in these divisions must be eight (8) years old or older and must not be eleven (11) years old or older during the calendar year in which the tournament concludes.

D6. Roster Details

  1. D6.1. Rosters that are submitted for all events must include the following information for all players:
    1. D6.1.1. Full Name
    2. D6.1.2. Jersey Number (0-99)
    3. D6.1.3. Date of Birth
    4. D6.1.4. Gender
    5. D6.1.5. Nationality
  2. D6.2. Designated WFDF Officials can require teams to provide evidence around these roster details.

D7. Roster Eligibility – Continental Championships (AAUC, AOUC, PAUC)

  1. D7.1. WFDF Continental Championship Events are:
    1. D7.1.1. WFDF All African Ultimate Championships (AAUC)
    2. D7.1.2. WFDF Asian Oceanic Ultimate Championships (AOUC)
    3. D7.1.3. WFDF Pan American Ultimate Championships (PAUC)
  2. D7.2. WFDF allows either “National” or “Club” teams to attend Continental Championships to encourage participation. Teams must be designated as either “National” or “Club” teams and National Federations must use the appropriate eligibility criteria when approving rosters.
  3. D7.3. For countries sending more than one (1) team to an event, a maximum of one (1) team may use the “National Team” eligibility rules, and all of the other teams must use the “Club Team” eligibility rules.

D8. Exemptions

  1. D8.1. For exceptional circumstances Federations or Teams may apply to the WFDF Ultimate Committee for exemptions to the Eligibility and Roster Guidelines listed in Section D.