Monday, Jan 13, 9 am PST

Hey Everyone,

We’ve been getting a bunch of inquiries from players about how the recent fires here affect the prospects for Throwback this coming weekend, incl. issues of health, impact on the recovery efforts, alternatives, and a bunch of other stuff. We’ve also been fielding requests for info from captains whose players are directing those questions at them.  We’d like to address as many of those questions as possible so that everyone’s operating from a common understanding.

Each year we invite all captains to a Captains Slack workspace where they can ask questions directly. There is a lot of back and forth happening there, so your captain will have access to a lot of updated info, but we wanted to send this out to all of you so that you hear it from us directly. We hope that everyone appreciates all the work captains put in and are putting in to keep abreast of the situation, respond to the concerns of players, and make the best decisions for everyone concerned. In our opinion, it is team captains who do most of the organizing work that makes Ultimate possible for us all, and all of that work is unpaid.

To summarize the current situation:

1. The tourney is on until and unless local authorities deem it unsafe. That is a call we will leave to them, not make ourselves, as per our policy, which was announced when we opened registration.
2. Our contact in the SM Rec Dept emailed us in response to our inquiries this morning. They requested that we move our event south of the pier due to the PCH closure adding, “Sorry for the inconvenience, but other than location there shouldn’t be anything preventing your event.”  We are presently inquiring whether, if the PCH reopens by midweek we can relocate to our usual location.
3. We look forward to hosting you but we understand if you decide not to come. We ask any players or teams that cancel to please be patient and make refund requests after the tournament, at which time we will process your refund requests promptly, as per our existing refund policy posted on our Ultimate Central site. We will have limited bandwidth to issue refunds this week and appreciate your patience.
4. Right now in the immediate vicinity of the fields things appear relatively normal, though there are fewer people and cars out and about than usual. For example, on both Saturday and Sunday the rides on the Santa Monica Pier were operating and there were many visitors on the pier and on the bike path. Many locals were playing volleyball on the beach north of the pier. The Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), however, remains closed to the public but not obstructed and service vehicles travel on it regularly.
5. Air quality is back to normal here. All areas in the vicinity of the fields and for 50 miles in any direction are listed as Good or Moderate on the linked map (as of Mon Jan 13 8 am PST). That could well change if the fires north and east of here grow in size and the wind conditions change. [UPDATE 1/16 9 am] AQMD has a warning at the top of their linked page regarding ash, which sensitive people should consult. Ash of the sort described is not obviously visible in the vicinity of the fields but could be present depending on specific location and winds.
6. The City of Santa Monica has not restricted beach access that we are aware of – many people were out on the beach over the weekend, especially south of the pier. Access to the beach north of the pier is limited due to the closure of PCH, but a number of people were out at the beach immediately north of the pier over the weekend as well.
7. We do not believe the 750 players (probably fewer now) coming from out of town represent a strain on local resources (water and housing) or disaster recovery, and no statements have been issued by local authorities not to come to LA. However, the evacuated areas remain off-limits.
8. We contacted our water supplier to see if the 130 5-gallon bottles of drinking water we have ordered for delivery on Friday a) are still on course for delivery, and b) will represent any kind of strain on their ability to provide water for others in need. Dave spoke with their representative (Jan 13, 8:35 am PST) who indicated that our water order is still scheduled. He asked whether existing demands on their ability to provide water are stressing their system, and the representative checked existing supply and orders and said that they have ample supply to fulfill any new orders and their system is not stressed.
9. One of us will go visit and film the local evacuation center in Santa Monica to see the extent to which those centers are presently stressed, as we cannot find good information on this online.
10. Even today, with many evacuation orders still in effect (though some have already been rescinded downgraded) there is plenty of accommodation in LA (including Santa Monica) available for tourists. You can check booking.com and see for yourself. Los Angeles hosts on average over 130,000 tourists a day year-round, and January is the low point of the season.
11. Although conditions in and around Santa Monica have stabilized – despite continued fire activity to the north and east, “The National Weather Service has issued a Particularly Dangerous Situation Red Flag Warning for Los Angeles and Ventura counties, effective from 4 a.m. on January 14 to 12 p.m. on January 15. During this period, damaging northeastern and eastern wind gusts between 55 to 70 mph are expected, accompanied by continued low humidity conditions.” These conditions refer to weather conditions that exacerbate the risk of fire. Whether they lead to additional conflagrations and damage remains to be seen.
12. In any event, we will try to post regular updates and information as we get it. Key updates will be posted in this Google Doc and/or on our Ultimate Central tourney registration site.
13. We understand that some players may feel uncomfortable coming to an area where a recent disaster has taken place and respect their personal choices. During the event we hope to stimulate discussion among our player community about the larger issues of displacement and climate chaos, and particularly as these relate to questions of migration and housing security. We hope such a discussion continues online after people return home.
14. We recognize that many teams may face the loss of some number of players, while many other players may still want to attend. We will assist players and teams in finding free agents or in combining with other teams.

The bottom line: if things get no worse there should not be a problem with holding the event. We have been asked by the city of SM to plan to relocate to the areas south of the pier, which we are able to do. If things worsen, there may be changes in this status. We will follow the mandates of local authorities.

We will be sending out a follow-up email that goes into more detail in the next day or two if the situation changes or we deem it necessary.

Thanks very much for your support.