Scobel Wiggins Photography

For the College Division: How many college women's teams have ever seen Elite Women's Ultimate? How can College Women improve if they don't even know what they are aiming for? How can ultimate attract athletes from other sports without raising the level of athleticism in the College Division?

For the Club Division: How can we expect to raise the overall level of Elite Ultimate if we don't cultivate college talent? How can we get fans to care about our sport if we don't promote ourselves or even support our own most obvious fan base?

What better solution to these problems than fusing the divisions together?

Philly Fusion (http://phillyfusion.wordpress.com), a fall collaboration between Showdown and Brute Squad, will not be your average Ultimate tournament; it represents the important fusion of two historically separate divisions, Women's Club and Women's College, to form a symbiotic relationship towards the overall improvement of Women's Ultimate.

This tournament will be the first time that Elite Women's, Club Women's, and College Women's teams will have a chance to play side by side with one another. Rounds will be scheduled so that College Women's Teams will all have a bye during key Elite Club matchups, in an effort to showcase the top level of Elite Ultimate. After rounds end on Saturday, Elite Women's teams Brute Squad and Showdown will hold a free skills clinic, inspired by the one at Midwest Throwdown, with stations taught by some of the best players in the game for the College Women's Divisions.

As a member of Brute Squad, our team could not be more excited about Philly Fusion. Brute Squad has made giving back to the New England College Women's scene a cornerstone of our team philosophy, and the impact on the Club and College scene has been incredible. Each year, about half of our team coaches either college or high school Women's teams all throughout New England.  Additionally, each spring, we run skills clinics for college teams, where 8-10 members of our team visit colleges all throughout the region to either focus on team strategy, fundamental skills, or simply to play side-by-side college women to push them to improve.

The response from college teams who have had Brute Squad clinics has been incredibly positive, with the biggest takeaway being mental: Teams become more aware of what they "don't know." (Team members often give us feedback such as "I didn't even know I could run that hard" or "Wow, this is what it's supposed to be like?"). In return, I credit our close alignment with the College Division a key factor in attracting the region's best college talent, who our veteran players continue to push to become better and better, and who then turn around and start the process over again by coaching at the college level. And repeat. And repeat...

It's clear that the Women's Division can't solely depend on others — we need to be activists in order to ensure the growth of our sport. The drive, passion, and opportunities have to come from ourselves. As we take the ownership in our own sport, we can each do our part to give back, ensuring more and better opportunities for the youth, high school, and college divisions. I honestly see Philly Fusion as an important step for the Women's Division, I am incredibly grateful for all the club and college interest in it so far, and I'm looking forward to planning more similar events in the future!

Sara Jacobi, former Boston University captain, current Boston University coach, Boston Brute Squad