Jimmy Roney – Program Coordinator

Lives on lək̓ʷəŋən-speaking peoples territory of the Songhees and Esquimalt nations, and WSÁNEĆ territory of the Tsartlip, Tseycum and Tsawout nations.

Jimmy founded the Ultimate Spirit program in 2017 with the vision of creating transformational connections between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities through the sport of ultimate. He is the Community Ultimate Spirit Program developer, coordinator and coach and seeks to build an authentic and long lasting relationship with Indigenous communities. Jimmy is a certified coach through the National Coaching Certification Program with specialization through the Aboriginal Coaching Module and Indigenous Long Term Participant Development (ILTPD) pathway. Jimmy takes an empathy-led approach to building trust with Indigenous communities, and seeks to be a living example of non-Indigenous allyship.

Lara Mussell Savage – Ultimate Spirit Direction and Support

Lives on the traditional territory of the Skwah First Nation (Stó:lō).

Lara Mussell Savage is presently Chief of her Skwah First Nation (Stó:lō). She is also currently the Director of Sport for the Indigenous Sport Physical Activity Recreational Council (I·SPARC). 

In 2005, Lara was awarded the National Tom Longboat Award for Female Aboriginal Athlete of the Year in Canada and has competed in four World Championships in the sport of Ultimate. Lara’s career includes management roles with the Air Canada PGA TOUR Championship, and the BC Sports Hall of Fame & Museum. Lara was the Project Manager, Aboriginal Sport & Youth, for the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games.

On January 30 2021, Traffic Ultimate hosted a conversation with Ultimate world champion and Indigenous leader, Chief Lara Mussell Savage, moderated by founding co-captain of Traffic (2007-2016) Sanya Pleshakov, who currently works for the Tsleil-Waututh Nation. 

Various topics were explored, such as Lara’s Ultimate journey, her work in Indigenous sport and with ISPARC (Indigenous Sport, Physical Activity and Recreation Council), growing up in the Sqwá First Nation, the meaning of truth and reconciliation in context of sport, and how ultimate players – and other members of sport communities – can contribute to advancing truth and reconciliation.

Brian Gisel – Program Manager

Lives on xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) traditional territory.

Brian Gisel joined the VUL in the early 1990s, and quickly became a driving force in organizing events around the Vancouver ultimate scene. He always retained a focus on playing, whether it be with league teams or touring teams with which he participated in a number of national and world championships, winning WFDF WUGC 1998 (Mixed), CUC in 2000 (Mixed) and 2005 (Masters), but his real strength lies in having a vision and being able to pull the strings and bring in together people who can make things happen.

Brian first dipped his toes into organizational matters when in 1993 he, along with Dahl Gent and Nylene Geyer, founded Babes ‘N Hats, the popular coed hat tournament, an event that continues to this day. The next step came when he spearheaded Vancouver’s first foray onto the world ultimate stage by acting as Tournament Director of the 1997 WFDF World Ultimate Clubs Championships. He was also the TD for the 2008 World Ultimate and Guts Championship, and helped Vancouver host Canadian Nationals in 2000, 2004, 2013 and 2018. Apart from his various roles organizing tournaments, Brian currently holds the position of Vice President and Chair of the Ultimate Committee for the World Flying Disc Federation, and has attended over 25 World Championships as a player and/or organizer, including 4 World Games.

Brian served on the Board of Directors of the BC Disc Sports Society from 1995-1997, of VULS in 2000 and from 2008-2012, and of Ultimate Canada from 2002-2005. Since 2015 he has held the position of General Manager for BC Ultimate.

Destiny Marston/Underwood – Ultimate Spirit Coach

Lives on the traditional territory of the Quw’utsun, Malahat, Ts’uubaa-asatx, Halalt, Penelakut, Stz’uminus, Lyackson, Pauquachin, Ditidaht & Pacheedaht Peoples.

Hello! My name is Destiny Marston/Underwood. My family is from Tsawout and Stz’uminus First Nation. I’m currently completing a MSc of Kinesiology at the University of Victoria. I’m a BCAK Certified Kinesiologist and CSEP Certified Personal Trainer. My research interests include exercise as it relates to cerebrovascular health, and Indigenous-Western research convergence. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to volunteer with Ultimate Spirit as I seek to reconnect with my community and share my knowledge with our future leaders. 

Claire (Remy) Remington – Ultimate Spirit Coach

Lives on lək̓ʷəŋən-speaking peoples territory of the Songhees and Esquimalt nations, and WSÁNEĆ territory of the Tsartlip, Tseycum and Tsawout nations.

Claire is an Ultimate Spirit Coach/Mentor. Remy is an NCCP Certified ultimate coach and has received certification through the Aboriginal Coaching Module. She started playing ultimate in college and played for various nationally ranked women’s teams in the U.S. including Oregon Schwa and Atlanta Ozone. In addition to playing as much ultimate as possible, she has spent the past ten years focused on achieving sustainable development outcomes through resilient systems, meaningful in-community collaboration, and innovative service approaches. This included working in Haiti for 3 years where she supported the development of an ecological sanitation service for urban households while spending her free time coaching ultimate to kids in the cities of Cap-Haitien and Port-au-Prince. Following her time in Haiti, she moved to Victoria, BC to do a master’s in civil engineering at the University of Victoria. This is where she found – and fell in love with – the work and play of Ultimate Spirit.

Mike Grant – Ultimate Spirit Coach

Lives on lək̓ʷəŋən-speaking peoples territory of the Songhees and Esquimalt nations, and WSÁNEĆ territory of the Tsartlip, Tseycum and Tsawout nations.

Mike is an Ultimate Spirit Coach/Mentor. Mike is a NCCP Ultimate Competition Certified coach, and has received certification through the Aboriginal Coaching Module. After an extensive playing career representing Canada at 6 World Championships and winning 4 gold medals, Mike found passion in coaching youth ultimate. This passion led Mike to travel to Ashkelon, Israel to coach for two years at Ultimate Peace Project, a project using Ultimate and Spirit of the Game to bring together youth of diverse Middle Eastern backgrounds. Experiencing the powerful impact ultimate and SOTG had on youth in the Middle East, Mike was eager to begin sharing ultimate in BC’s Indigenous Communities with a vision of peace and togetherness amongst Indigenous and Non-Indigenous youth. Mike’s work at the Youth Empowerment Society as an Addictions and Mental Health Counselor, combined with his love and passion for coaching and playing ultimate make him well suited to coach and mentor with Ultimate Spirit.

Claire Bates – Ultimate Spirit Coach

Lives on lək̓ʷəŋən-speaking peoples territory of the Songhees and Esquimalt nations, and WSÁNEĆ territory of the Tsartlip, Tseycum and Tsawout nations.

Claire Bates is a student at the University of Victoria, and Ultimate Spirit Coach. They were a competitive dancer until they began university, where they found a home in the wonderful ultimate community. This is their first year holding one of the Spirit Captain titles on the UVic Vikes, where they have enjoyed coordinating events between the Vikes and Ultimate Spirit. Events such as, a joint practice celebrating Halloween between the Vikes and W̱SÁNEĆ Wolfpack, in costume! Claire will continue their education in Gender Studies and Professional Writing and Journalism while contributing to Ultimate Spirit, and aspires to be as cool as their colleagues one day. 

Abba Brudney – Ultimate Spirit Coach 

Lives on lək̓ʷəŋən-speaking peoples territory of the Songhees and Esquimalt nations, and WSÁNEĆ territory of the Tsartlip, Tseycum and Tsawout nations.

Abba joined ultimate spirit in the fall of 2022. She’s currently a second year student at UVIC and a member of the vikes ultimate team. Over the summer, Abba competed on the national team in Wrocław, Poland. She’s looking forward to playing with the u24 women’s team in London this year. ABBA’s favourite memory from ultimate spirit (so far!) was catching a full field flick from an athlete working on their forehand throw. She looks forward to more times like these and building new connections with players.

Keith Turner- Organizational Development

Lives on Nlaka’pamux traditional Territory

I started volunteering with Ultimate Spirit in 2020. I am a co-parent, and was taxi cab driver and basketball coach when Covid hit. Everything except co-parenting just stopped. I’d been following the growth of Ultimate Spirit from a distance, when I was unexpectedly asked if I could help collaborate in writing the Ultimate Spirit guide? I’d never played ultimate and knew very little about Indigenous perspectives. I didn’t feel remotely qualified, but offered to help if I could. During many awesome conversations, a hypothesis consistently emerged that the culture of ultimate and Spirit Of the Game is a healthy model. I’m learning that many Indigenous cultures share some of these values, and these shared values are becoming the foundation for the guide and program. We all know that so often in this world, things aren’t the way they should be. But things start to get complicated when we ask why, and what can we do to make things better? If you’re like me, you might be wondering “What can I do”? Fundamentally I feel it starts by simply showing that we care about each other. 

Juli Ohsada – Ultimate Spirit Coach

Lives on lək̓ʷəŋən-speaking peoples territory of the Songhees and Esquimalt nations, and WSÁNEĆ territory of the Tsartlip, Tseycum and Tsawout nations. 

Juli started playing Ultimate in 2018 at the University of Victoria, and instantly fell in love. To her, Ultimate stands out from other sports as it strives for excellence in both athleticism and spirit. Juli wears many hats in community; She is an Ultimate Spirit Coach, an Elementary School Teacher, and a Research Assistant at the Victoria Native Friendship Centre. Juli is also a certified coach through the National Coaching Certification Program with specialization through the Aboriginal Coaching Module and Indigenous Long Term Participant Development (ILTPD) pathway. Her experiences forging connections with Indigenous youth through the Ultimate Spirit program has transformed the way Juli approaches teaching and coaching. She strives to bring warmth, kindness, and empathy to all aspects of her life as a non-Indigenous member of the community.

Emily O’Dea – Ultimate Spirit Coach

Lives on lək̓ʷəŋən-speaking peoples territory of the Songhees and Esquimalt nations, and WSÁNEĆ territory of the Tsartlip, Tseycum and Tsawout nations.

Emily found herself welcomed into the ultimate community in 2015 and has been taking every opportunity to play that she’s come across since then. After years of playing and coaching in the eastern parts of the country, Emily relocated for graduate studies at UVic. She found Ultimate spirit through a joint session with the UVic Vikes in early 2022 which involved a thrilling game of capture the flag that inspired her to get involved with the organization. She is passionate about Spirit of the Game and the incredible opportunities for learning, teaching, and inclusion that ultimate presents – especially with young people. Emily is deeply grateful for the learnings, joy, and meaningful connections that she has found with the participants and staff of Ultimate Spirit.

Ryley Breiddal – Ultimate Spirit Coach

Lives in the traditional territory of the Lil’wat Nation. Ryley is a trained coach through the National Coaching Certification Program. He has been playing ultimate frisbee since graduating from university in the early 2000s. He shares a passion for defense with Jimmy, partner Megan, and one day (we hope) baby Axel. Ultimate frisbee has given him community wherever he lives, and he hopes to share that through Ultimate Spirit.

Megan Kidston – Ultimate Spirit Coach

Lives in the traditional territory of the Lil’wat Nation. Megan joined her first ultimate practice while studying kinesiology at university. Already interested in sport and sport performance, she was welcomed into this new community that combined fun, learning and competition and held spirit of the game as its core value. She has played, coached and mentored since then in ultimate leagues, pick-up games, and at a competitive level. Megan is a trained coach through the National Coaching Certification Program. She joined Ultimate Spirit with the Xet̓ólacw Community School in 2022. She aims to foster an inclusive and fun space for new players to discover ultimate and develop as players, people and teammates on and off the field.

Roger (Raj) Mennell – Ultimate Spirit Coach/Facilitator

I feel very lucky and grateful to live on lək̓ʷəŋən-speaking peoples territory of the
Songhees and Esquimalt nations, and WSÁNEĆ territory of the Tsartlip, Tseycum
and Tsawout nations.

In 2009 Roger was introduced to the sport of ultimate and quickly fell in love. It
was the community, how the disc flew through the air, and most of all the
importance placed on “Spirit Of The Game”. It was these connections that led to
working alongside Jimmy and discovering the passion of connecting with youth.
Roger is accredited with the NCCP Ultimate Competition Certificate, the
Aboriginal Coaching Module, and Psychology of Performance Module. He feels
honoured to work in community and is thriving when creating connection,
particularly through play.

Amira Maddison – Coach

Lives on lək̓ʷəŋən-speaking peoples territory of the Songhees and Esquimalt nations, and WSÁNEĆ territory of the Tsartlip, Tseycum and Tsawout nations.

Amira fell in love with ultimate in highschool where they were able to find a community that encouraged both sport excellence and spirit. Since then ultimate has connected them with a like minded community all over the world. The spirit of ultimate is what keeps them coming back for more. Amira is a certified coach through the National Coaching Certification Program with specialisation through the Aboriginal Coaching Module, and Indigenous Long Term Participant Development (ILTPD) trained. Amira aims to bring the community together through sport, art, and culture, and strives to become an ally every day.