The World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) today has released its strategic plan for the period 2015-2018. This four-year strategic plan was developed by the members of the WFDF Board of Directors during its recent face-to-face meeting in Toronto after reviewing input from Member associations and 3,400 individual members of the disc community through a global questionnaire. This document spells out WFDF’s vision and values, its core strategies, and the tactics for achieving them.
WFDF President Robert “Nob” Rauch commented: “The underlying theme was to work toward encouraging disc sports as a lifetime past-time and a lifestyle, taking advantage of the entire array of disc sports that can be played by people of all ages and abilities. Key elements include continuing to improve the quality of our events and the playing experiences for both elite and grass roots athletes. We also seek to increase the public face of flying disc sports and make them more entertaining on the world stage. Despite our aspirations for increased professionalism and recognition within the Olympic sports family, we continue to maintain a commitment to the culture that has made Frisbee sports unique and allowed them to grow so rapidly: spirit of the game (personal responsibility and self-officiating), a focus on the athletes, the inclusive nature of our approach, and the element of fun.”
WFDF has reaffirmed its Mission Statement, which is “to support and promote the global advancement of disc sports and spirit of the game.” It has articulated the values of the organization: the Frisbee lifestyle of playing disc sports over one’s lifetime; Spirit of the Game; passion, community, and inclusiveness. WFDF has also outlined six strategic goals:
1. Put programs in place to encourage disc sports as a lifetime past-time and a lifestyle
2. Focus on providing higher quality events
3. Support member associations more fully
4. Showcase spirit of the game as an essential element of disc sports
5. Increase the public face of disc sports and make them more entertaining
6. Create a more effective and sustainable organization
For each of these strategies, a number of tactics to contribute toward its achievement is outlined and a board member has taken ownership and committed to a deadline for the achievement of each of them.
“The WFDF board and officers will be using this strategic plan to guide our decisions over the next four years,” Rauch added. “We see it as a document that will help us make explicit decisions about our activities, program investments, and priorities based on strategic considerations within the context of our limited resources. At a stage where the IOC has fully supported the Olympic Agenda 2020 proposals we feel prepared for the tasks and challenges derived from these decisions.”
This document is the second formal strategic plan by WFDF. The first was adopted for the period 2012-2014 and was used as a purely internal guide by the Board. It provided a three year roadmap leading up to our quadrennial World Ultimate Club Championship in 2014, with an underlying theme to grow the global Flying Disc Sports family beyond the traditional strongholds while simultaneously pursuing recognition by the International Olympic Committee.