Candidates' Information
2026
Please find in the following the candidates, vetted by the Nomination Committee, listed by role and alphabetically by last name (i.e., LAST NAME, First Name [Country Code/Endorsing Member]).
Chair - Grass Ultimate Subcommittee
Bautista, Jose Maria (PHI)
Flying Disc Experience: Ultimate player since 2002. national team player coach manager for Pilipinas Ultimate. Owner of JMJ SPORTS TRAINING SERVICES, a sports company which organizes Ultimate events locally in the Philippines and has assisted in organizing several Ultimate events in the Asian region for the WFDF and AFDF. Consultant for the LOC for the 2026 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games for Flying Disc in Bangkok Thailand.
Professional and Educational Experience: Graduated Integrated marketing communications from the University of Asia and the pacific in 2007. Currently the Sports & Recreations Manager of Alabang Country Club located in the Philippines.
Candidate Statement: My goal is to make Ultimate events and other Flying Disc Sports more regular, accessible, and affordable for National Federations (NFs) across each Continental Region. By creating more opportunities for participation and competition, I hope to empower National Federations to strengthen their local flying disc communities and expand the reach of our sports in their respective countries. Ultimately, this will help promote Flying Disc Sports not only as competitive disciplines but also as accessible recreational activities that encourage greater participation, community engagement, and long-term growth.
Vetting and Conflict of Interest Statement: Yes
Member Letter of Support: Yes
Conflict of Interest Statement: I am currently sitting as the President of the Asia Flying Disc Federation. I am not sure if this would act as a form of conflict of interest.
Bulos, Nicole (DOM)
Flying Disc Experience: Nicole brings to this position more than fifteen years of meaningful involvement in ultimate, spanning grassroots development, competitive play, team leadership, national and international governance, event operations, and Spirit of the Game. Her experience gives her a particularly broad understanding of the needs and opportunities within grass ultimate, from the perspective of both an athlete and an administrator.
Professional and Educational Experience: Beyond her ultimate experience, Nicole's professional background brings additional strengths to the role. She holds a degree in Clinical Psychology from Universidad Iberoamericana in Santo Domingo, a postgraduate degree in Social Cognitive Therapy from the University of Barcelona in Spain, a certifi cate in School Management and Leadership from Harvard Business School, and is currently fi nishing her Master’s Degree in Education, specializing in Educational Administration. She currently serves as Academic Director and IB Coordinator at Ikigai SISU School in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, where her work involves leadership, strategic planning, communication, collaboration, and the development of people and organizations. She is fl uent in both Spanish and English, an important asset for a committee working across the international ultimate community.
Candidate Statement: Ultimate has been an important part of my life for more than 15 years, not only as an athlete, but as a builder of community and opportunity. I was one of the founding members of Project Ultimate Femenino in the Dominican Republic, helping create some of the country's first women's ultimate teams. Since then, I have continued to contribute to the growth of the sport as a player, captain, organizer, coach, and advocate for greater participation and opportunity.
I am seeking the position of Chair of the WFDF Grass Ultimate Subcommittee because I believe in the potential of grass ultimate to continue growing as a truly global sport while preserving the qualities that make it unique. My experience developing ultimate in a country where the sport was still emerging has given me a particular appreciation for the importance of creating pathways for new communities to participate, compete, host events, and have a voice in the international development of the sport.
Vetting and Conflict of Interest Statement: Yes
Member Letter of Support: Yes
Conflict of Interest Statement: None
Chair - Ultimate Game Advisors Subcommittee
Browne, Oliver (GBR)
Flying Disc Experience: I have been a GA for ten years. For the past seven I have also been a WFDF GA Trainer. I am part of the WFDF working group that this new subcommittee will replace.
I am one of only two people to have been a GA at all three World Games with GAs (2017, 2022, 2025). I have also worked eight Worlds, as well as Nationals in six countries. I was Head GA at WBUC 2025, our first beach Worlds with GAs, and Deputy Head GA at WUCC 2026.
As a Trainer, I have run GA trainings in Poland, France, Germany, Denmark, the UK, India and the Philippines. Each time I worked with the federation on what would suit their country. GAs I trained made up nearly a third of the GAs at this year's Worlds events.
In the working group, I have focused on how GAs and players interact, and on the quality of GA'ing worldwide. I have also helped federations see the value GAs can bring. I helped rewrite the GA Manual in 2024.
Alongside that, I built TOSS, the app GAs now use to schedule and report at events. I also started a WhatsApp community where GAs share ideas and news. This year I designed new ways of training GAs for WFDF. I am trialling them with federations in Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.
Beyond GA'ing, I have played since 2007, including at WUCC 2014 and WMUCC 2018 and 2022 (as player-coach in 2018). I coached GB Masters at EBUC 2019 and the first Scottish women's club team at WUCC 2022. Since 2020 I have also been a disc golf coach-caddy at DGPT events, Worlds and The World Games.
Professional and Educational Experience: I have a PhD in climate modelling from the University of Reading. I worked as a climate scientist from 2010 to 2016, including on material used by the UN's IPCC. I am now using those research skills to measure how GAs affect games.
Before Ultimate, I trained crews to sail around the world in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race. My trainees were often far older and more senior than me. My job was to help them be their best under pressure. That is still how I approach every game I GA.
Since 2016 I have worked full-time in Ultimate. I have been a club development officer and a university coach in the UK. I am co-owner of the Ultimate Athlete Project, which trains players around the world. From 2016 to 2023 I helped run the URCA Online Coaching Conference. It delivered over 160 presentations to more than 2,000 coaches from over 50 countries.
For this role, that means I know how to design training that works across countries and cultures. I am also used to working remotely with volunteers in many time zones, which is how this subcommittee will work.
Candidate Statement: Game Advisors help players keep the game theirs. Spirit of the Game and self-officiating are at the heart of Ultimate. GAs are there to support them, not to replace them. A good GA stays quiet when the game is going well. They are there at once when players need advice. And they help the game back to its best when it starts to slip. I want to help GAs around the world do this, and do it even better.
As the first Chair of the new GA Subcommittee, my main job would be helping a talented group get things done. Together we would focus on five equally important areas.
Helping more federations train and use their own GAs. A GA programme keeps experienced people in the sport and adds prestige to top events. It also gives a federation a lever on the field when it wants to nudge its community. For example, on a rule or how to respond in a call.
Making one training pathway available to all. Every federation should be able to use the new Academy courses, with the resources and facilitators to run them. By listening to federations, we can find what else holds them back and work together to remove it.
Raising the quality of training at every level. Players rightly expect the same quality from every GA. Continuous re-training for WFDF GAs would help. So would a Head GA course that is open to any GA and required for every Head GA.
Looking, listening and learning. The GA role was created to meet the needs of our sport as it evolves. GAs should continue to be open to change. Listening to federations, and research on how GAs affect games, should shape how we recruit, train, select and use GAs.
Looking after our GAs. Sometimes a GA has to absorb stress from players. This lets the players calm down and get back to playing at their best. That can be hard, and GAs deserve good support.
I have been a GA for ten years and a trainer for seven. I have been fortunate to train and work with GAs from around the world. I would chair the way I GA: listen first, give others space to make decisions, and keep things moving. Together we can support the global GA community, and the sport that has given me so much for two decades.
Vetting and Conflict of Interest Statement: Yes
Member Letter of Support: Yes
Conflict of Interest Statement: I have three interests to declare:
- I am a paid contractor to WFDF, contracted to build Game Advisor training for the WFDF Academy. The current agreement runs to mid-2027 and may be extended.
- I built and run TOSS, the app GAs use to schedule themselves at WFDF and non-WFDF events. WFDF has no commercial relationship with it at present. WFDF may cover its running costs in future, and whether WFDF takes ownership of it has not been decided. I earn nothing from it.
- I am a co-owner of the Ultimate Athlete Project (Ulty Results LLC), an online training business for Ultimate players. At present it has no commercial relationship with WFDF.
As Chair I would declare these at the start of any relevant discussion. I would step out of any decision about my own contracts or about TOSS. The same goes for commissioning GA training or tools. The other members of the GA Subcommittee would vote on those decisions. Any decisions would then be recommendations passed to the Ultimate Committee and/or WFDF staff.
Candidate Video:
Trapp, Meret (GER)
Flying Disc Experience: After starting playing Ultimate Frisbee in 2015, Meret Trapp became a WFDF Game Advisor in 2019. Since then, Meret has been at several WFDF World Championships, including WUCC 2022 and 2026, and The World Games 2025 in Chengdu. Meret also was Head Game Advisor for two events (WU24 in 2025 and WMUCC in 2026) and Deputy Head Game Advisor at several others.
Since 2023, Meret has been part of the GA working group and the WFDF Ultimate rules subcommittee. As part of these, they have advocated for rules that enable player agency and centre player and participant safety. They have developed (in cooperation with others) several new GA procedures and protocols that have been included in the GA manual, such as post-game feedback for coaches and/ or captains, additional guidance on spirit stoppages, and handling cultural differences between teams. The focus of these newer procedures is always to both enable better self-officiation and ensure the integrity of our sport in the long term.
The post-game feedback is a key example of how Game Advisors can positively influence players' experience at WFDF Events and help bridge differences between different regional ways of playing Ultimate across the world. Building better rapport with coaches and captains enables the GA program to develop in cohesion with direct feedback from the player community. Highlighting good spirit, such as great body control or fair mindedness following tense games, is also one of the few moments GAs, and WFDF at large, have to give positive feedback. This also gives the GAs an opportunity to educate teams on the tools available to proactively engage with their opponents when spirit issues arise.
Meret has also been captain and spirit captain for jinx (Berlin) competing in the Women's division at German Nationals and the European Ultimate Club Season.
Professional and Educational Experience: Meret studied law at Humboldt University of Berlin from 2015-2020 and has a Master of Laws Degree from SOAS, University of London, from 2022. Since 2022, they have been pursuing a doctoral degree in law at Humboldt University of Berlin. The focus of that thesis is citizenship law in India and the European Union.
This law background, especially their experience in intersectional feminist legal studies at SOAS, provides Meret with the necessary skills to analyse how the rules of our sport and societal norms affect, enable, or hinder self-officiation. It also informs their understanding of how Game Advisors as mediators, and as an extension of the Tournament Rules Group, can help maintain the spirit of the game, player and participant safety, and the integrity of the competition.
Additionally, they have a certificate for good safeguarding practice, developed by International Safeguards for Children in Sport. Unfortunately, (sexual) harassment of – and (gendered) discrimination against – (especially) female-presenting GAs has been a recurring issue across several events. WFDF has a responsibility of care towards the volunteers who enable LOCs and WFDF to host events. This includes providing a safe working environment for volunteers, including, but not limited to, GAs. Having experience in this area enables Meret to advocate for better safeguarding guidelines and requirements at Ultimate events.
Candidate Statement: I deeply care about spirit of the game and self-officiation as a cornerstone of our sport. Every game I work as a GA, I ideally want to watch great ultimate without being needed in the management of the game, have a lovely post-game chat with team representatives, and go work the next one. This is fundamentally how most, if not all, GAs describe their ideal game. If GAs must get involved, my goal is that the GA presence at a game increases player enjoyment, made it safer for them to play, and made the outcome fairer.
This mindset grounds the agenda I want to pursue, if elected, as the inaugural Chair of the Game Advisor Subcommittee and a member of the Ultimate Committee. I want to focus on three main areas: Game Advisor training and knowledge sharing, diversity in GA crews, and setting up a committed and collaborative Subcommittee.
Game Advisor training and knowledge sharing
The GA training standards aim to provide consistent and reliable experiences for players at WFDF Sanctioned Events. But there is always room for improvement. Creating more materials for GAs to practice outside of events would be one of my goals. For example, one of the main complaints we have heard the last couple of years is that GAs are not always able or willing to provide a perspective on a play. Many circumstances (position, angle, time spent in the discussion, language barriers etc.) affect this. I want to develop more modules for GAs to improve this and other skills, but I also want to discuss with relevant stakeholders what other factors and procedures can be adapted to deliver a better player-GA interaction.
At the same time, GAs have a lot of experience handling difficult and tense games and spotting pressure points before they escalate. Developing modules and materials to share our knowledge benefits the wider community, especially players not directly participating in WFDF Sanctioned Events. If elected, I want to collaborate with the SOTG commission in developing more spirit (captain) education.
Diversity in GA crews
At the last couple of World Championships, most GAs were men and from the Global North. I want to work towards higher diversity amongst Game Advisors at WFDF Sanctioned Events, especially the representation of female presenting GAs, and GAs from the Global South or marginalised communities.
Among the many possible steps towards more diversity, I want to focus on two in particular.
Firstly, supporting interested National Federations in developing national or regional Game Advisor programs to broaden the GA community. This would provide GAs with more local opportunities to practice and improve their skills. Players and teams can get accustomed to working with GAs prior to arriving at a WFDF Sanctioned Event. Also, a broader GA community increases our awareness of cultural and regional playing differences. This awareness should positively influence the GA training.
Secondly, I want to develop strategies and protocols for better safeguarding of GAs and all participants at WFDF Sanctioned Events. Safer working environments for GAs and other volunteers benefit everyone, but they could encourage female presenting GAs, or GAs from marginalised communities, to return or sign up in the first place.
Setting up the Subcommittee and other procedures
With my administrative law background, setting up the new Game Advisor Subcommittee for success is another goal of mine.
The GA Subcommittee should work on the following areas: GA selection for Events, GA training, GA evaluation, GA safety, GA manual (updates), making our knowledge and tools accessible to the wider community.
Game Advisors should not exist in a vacuum. I want to regularly consult and collaborate with the Athletes’ Commission, because they represent the players who we do this for, and with the SOTG Commission, because caring about spirit of the game is the foundation for every GA-player interaction.
Encouraging Game Advisors from across the world to join the Subcommittee would increase the diversity and thereby the cultural knowledge and communal experience represented at the organisation’s highest level. I aim to increase the membership from the six that are currently in the GA working group to at least ten in the Subcommittee. Taking on responsibilities within the GA community, such as joining the GA subcommittee, becoming a country or regional coordinator, a WFDF GA trainer, or even becoming a GA itself, should be a transparent and accessible process, so that everyone who wants to get involved knows the necessary steps and requirements.
Vetting and Conflict of Interest Statement: Yes
Member Letter of Support: Yes
Conflict of Interest Statement: None