Dangerous Plays

In the USAU 2020-2021 rules update, "Dangerous Play" jockeyed its way up to the first spot (previously fourth) in the Fouls section. The definition, examples, and details of dangerous play saw significant expansion from the prior version. This update is reflective of the growing concerns among ultimate players over what the USAU and our community as a whole is doing to define and prevent dangerous plays. 

To educate ourselves on the new guidelines and discuss the lingering gray areas, NYGL used some of our team time to talk about dangerous plays. Eileen and I showed the team a few video clips of fouls — some dangerous, some not, and some that walked the line — followed by a side-by-side comparison of the former and updated section on dangerous play. Players had insightful comments and questions about defense having an equal right to space as offense, playing hard without tipping into "win at all costs" behavior, and what to do with players displaying repetitive disregard for safety. We did not arrive at concrete answers to all of our questions and we found there often exists a subjective gray area between a highlight and a dangerous play.

However, I believe just starting this conversation and increasing awareness around unacceptable dangerous play will help keep NYGL players and opponents safer the next time we get to take the field.

~ Sarah Johnson (she/her)