FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 6, 2009

 
BOULDER, Colo. – The Ultimate Players Association, the National Governing Body for the sport of Ultimate in the United States, today announced three new members of the UPA Board of Directors following the close of elections on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Ben Banyas (Pittsburgh) – Mid-Atlantic Region Representative, Audrius Barzdukas (Los Angeles) – Southwest Region Representative, and Jason Chow (Amherst, Mass.) – At-Large Representative, were voted onto the 12-member Board of Directors by the UPA’s national membership and will each serve a three-year term from 2010-12.

In addition, one final At-Large Representative spot for next term will be filled through a new Board of Directors nomination process.

This year’s four newly elected volunteer leaders will replace the following current 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.

“On behalf of the entire UPA, I would like to thank outgoing Board of Directors members David Lionetti, Doug McLaughlin, Mike Payne and Kyle Weisbrod for their invaluable contributions, vision and tireless efforts to advance the sport and our organization,” said UPA President Peri Kurshan (Boston). “As we continue to chart a path for Ultimate in the United States, we are proud and excited to welcome the newest members of the Board. Beginning next year Ben Banyas, Audrius Barzdukas and Jason Chow will each complement the UPA with their own experience, skill set and area of expertise, and will no doubt play an integral role in our future success.”

Banyas is a longtime player, coach and administrator at various levels in the sport of Ultimate. A former team captain for Edinboro (Pa.) University’s Ultimate squad in the early 2000s, he is now a captain for the Pittsburgh Forge club team. This year he also became the Open Division Commissioner for the Pittsburgh High School Ultimate League, which is comprised of more than 600 players and is one of the largest high school leagues in the nation.

Barzdukas serves as Head of Athletics at Harvard-Westlake School, an independent coeducational college preparatory school for grades 7-12 in the Los Angeles area. He was previously the Associate Director of Coaching for the United States Olympic Committee in Colorado Springs, Colo., where he served as a staff member on the USOC’s Athlete Performance Group. There he worked with all 45 National Governing Bodies to develop programs for sustained competitive excellence.

Chow has coached Ultimate camps in Amherst since 2004 and has volunteered as a Junior summer league coach for as many years. He played four years of college Ultimate at Syracuse University in the Metro East Region. Chow is currently coaching at Amherst Regional High School, where he operates the fall intramural and winter indoor leagues, and guides boys’ and girls’ programs in the spring. In addition, he coaches the BUDA YCC Open team at the National Ultimate Training Camp.