Community

Equity & Gx committees

BUDA has two standing committees that report to the board: the Equity Committee, formed in 2018, and the Gx Ultimate Committee, formed in 2024. Different scopes, same question — who isn't on the field yet, and what would change that?

Gx Ultimate Committee

"Gx" refers to players who are girls, or who don't fit the gender binary and believe this is the right division for them. The committee formed in 2024 to recruit and retain Gx players through ages 11 to 17 — the years when most sports lose girls and nonbinary athletes, and ultimate's numbers nationally haven't recovered since the pandemic.

In its first full year the committee organized the first BUDA Gx Workshop, an in-person session for coaches, parents, organizers, and players, and ran a community survey on gender matchup language together with the Equity Committee. Current goals:

  • Recruit and train more female and nonbinary coaches into the programs that need them most
  • Add Gx-focused material to BUDA's standard coach training
  • Create optional Gx-only scrimmage time within existing youth leagues
  • Host the Gx Workshop annually

The full group meets about twice a month, with smaller project groups in between.

Equity Committee

Formed in 2018 to promote diversity, inclusion, and equity across the organization — racial, gender, and economic. The committee gathers community feedback and advises BUDA leadership on what to change. Recent work:

  • buDEI pickup games — free, DEI-focused pickup that field-tests equitable language and play
  • The post-season player survey, and the changes it drives each winter
  • The captain and commissioner guides that ease new volunteers into leadership
  • Supporting Learning Leagues and free public events that bring new players into BUDA
  • Youth partnerships with BAM (Becoming a Man) and Boston Centers for Youth & Families

The committee meets monthly as a full group.

Policies they steward

Committee work turns into policy: the non-discrimination policy, the gender identification policy, and the DoC/DoW/DoM matchup language all live on the policies page and got there through this route. The matchup survey running this year will shape the next revision.

Join a committee

Both committees are open to anyone interested in the work — current or former player, coach, parent, regardless of gender. Expect one or two meetings a month plus whatever project you raise your hand for. Contact us and name the committee; a member will reply with the next meeting date.