Dear Jeremie Kuypers and the MODS Board of Directors: We are writing in regards to the passing of a new policy preventing pregnant women from playing ultimate in the Winnipeg ultimate league. This rule is stated to be in place to protect expectant mothers and also to prevent other players from feeling uncomfortable with how other players may affect their play. To address the first point suggested by MODS: if a woman is already physically active before pregnancy (assumed for an ultimate player) then there should be no reason to prevent that person from continuing their normal physical activity. It should be up to the expectant mother to decide if some physical activity is too much for a person and not a governing body of a sport that is meant to encourage physical activity at a grass roots level. Ultimate is supposed to be a non-contact sport that allows players from many athletic backgrounds to compete in a fun fast paced sport. There is no way that a woman’s pregnancy should be a hindrance to the fun that all can have playing this wonderful sport. To address the second point: One should play this game with the highest regard for the other player since ultimate is a non-contact sport and there are no referee’s to enforce rules. Although some people use rules such as incidental contact and horizontal disc space to allow for their own lack of body control. The expectant mother, if she wishes to participate, is aware of the risks and is knowingly accepting those risks once she agrees to participate. A player with a large external brace will also make people feel uncomfortable if they were to collide with them. It should be up to a woman and her caregivers to decide when she is no longer able to participate in sports. This prevention of participation would be akin to asking a player that has a physical or mental disability to stop playing a sport due to other players not feeling that they can play to their full potential due to the presence of this disabled person. In summary I think this new rule is not only a discrimination of woman’s rights to be treated equally during a temporary medical condition, it may set a precedence for further prejudice in the future. I would request that this policy be removed from the MODS rules immediately.

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