FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 21, 2009

BOULDER, Colo. – The Ultimate Players Association, the National Governing Body for the sport of Ultimate in the United States, today announced that Matt Farrell (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Chief Marketing Officer of USA Swimming, was nominated to the UPA Board of Directors. Farrell will serve as an At-Large Representative during a three-year term (2010-12) after filling the final remaining position through a new Board of Directors nomination process.

Farrell’s accomplished 17-year professional career includes significant experience with the United States Olympic Movement and U.S. National Governing Bodies (NGBs). As Chief Marketing Officer of USA Swimming in Colorado Springs, Colo., he currently oversees all marketing and communications strategies for the organization, including corporate partner sales initiatives, and directs a department of 14 staff members. He re-joined USA Swimming in 2005 after serving as Communications Coordinator there from 1993-97.

Prior to his accepting his present role, Farrell enjoyed two stints at the United States Olympic Committee in Colorado Springs. He served as Associate Director of Internet Marketing within the U.S. Olympic Entertainment and Broadcast Properties Division from 2000-05, and as Manager of Online Projects from 1997-99. Farrell left the sports world from 1999-2000 to work with Warner Bros. in Burbank, Calif., as Director of Internet Marketing for Warner Home Video. The University of Arkansas graduate was also a Sports Information Assistant at Purdue University from 1992-93 and an Olympic Games Researcher for NBC Sports leading up to, and during, the 1992 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain.

The UPA also released the final voting results from last month’s Board of Directors elections, which resulted in three new members for the 2010-12 term: Ben Banyas (Pittsburgh) – Mid-Atlantic Region Representative, Audrius Barzdukas (Los Angeles) – Southwest Region Representative, and Jason Chow (Amherst, Mass.) – At-Large Representative.

At-Large Representative (1)
Jason Chow: 234
Sam Dinning: 157
Alexander Ghesquiere: 146
Dave Clauson: 135
Kathy Broome: 77
Bryce Merrill: 48
Benjamin Brin: 39
Tauren Kristich: 2*
Ben Banyas: 1*
Carson Mailler: 1*
Idris Nolan: 1*
Graham Smith: 1*
Josh Suskin: 1*

Mid-Atlantic Region Representative (1)
Ben Banyas: 127
Gregory Heltzer: 2*
Jonathan Neeley: 1*
Stephen Poulos: 1*
David Soles: 1 *

Southwest Region Representative (1)
Audrius Barzdukas: 24
Gary Foreman: 1*

Total Votes Cast: 1,000

*Denotes write-in candidate

This year’s four new volunteer leaders will replace the following Board members whose term expires on Dec. 31: David Lionetti (Pittsburgh) – Vice President and Mid-Atlantic Region Representative; Doug McLaughlin (Northridge, Calif.) – Southwest Region Representative; Mike Payne (Oakland) – At-Large Representative; and Kyle Weisbrod (Atlanta) – At-Large Representative.