March 21st, 2025

By Weldon Genies

CHICAGO – The Chicago Union is offering vast opportunities for youth ultimate players during the 2025 season to foster improvement and better understanding in the sport of ultimate frisbee. The options include spring leagues and summer camps in the Chicago area, which members of the Union will lead. For more information on youth offerings, click here. 

For the first time, the Chicago Union is hosting an overnight camp at Northwestern University from June 29th to July 4th. Campers have the opportunity to play alongside Union players and will stay in dorms, and the university's dining hall will provide all meals. This camp is open to youth ages 11-17 years and to all skill levels, with a hard cap of 40 campers. Registration closes April 9th so campers should sign up soon! Registration can be found here. 

A day camp is also open for youth ages 9-17 years for a lower price. If interested, registration can found here.

Jake Rubin-Miller, the Chicago Union's youth director and current Union player, noted that this overnight camp is “...a great opportunity to spend a full week playing ultimate and spending time with other players from across Chicagoland.” 

"Campers will get high level coaching from Union players and other elite players in the area, as well as lots of fun activities off the field on Northwestern's campus," Rubin-Miller said. "Being able to spend time with other ultimate players from across Chicagoland as well as getting to play at Martin Stadium where the pros play will be a great opportunity for the kids."

The Chicago Union is hosting two spring leagues in the Chicago area, starting in Oak Park, which runs from 5-7 p.m. at Anderson Park on Mondays from April 7th to May 12th. The second spring league is in River Forest and runs from 4-6 p.m. at Willard South on Wednesdays from April 16th to May 21st. The Union offers six-week sessions where campers can learn the fundamentals of ultimate frisbee and split up into teams for scrimmage. There is also a summer clinic in Evanston, which runs from 5-7 p.m. at Robert Crown on Tuesdays from April 1st to May 20th.

The Union is hosting a plethora of summer camps in the Chicago area, starting as early as June 9th and ending on August 15th. The locations that are hosting include: 

•  Evanston

• Oak Park

• Wheaton

• Glen Ellyn

• Lincoln Park

• River Forest

• Mount Prospect

• Parkridge

• Winnetka

• Glencoe

• Elmhurst

• Barrington

• Lake Bluff

• U-Chicago Lab School 

Rubin-Miller stresses the importance of promoting and advancing the sport of ultimate towards the youth in the Chicago area, noting reasons to build up the ultimate scene in Chicago.

"Ultimate is very cheap to play and easy to learn while emphasizing respect for your opponent and playing fairly and safely," Rubin-Miller said. "Having another sport option for kids in the city is great for keeping kids active, especially since ultimate has a way lower risk of head injury than other sports."

"COVID hit a lot of high school teams hard and many have folded since 2019, so we hope that our middle school programming across the city and suburbs can help to revitalize high school programs," Rubin-Miller mentioned. "That would in turn help college programs and raise the whole level of the UFA."

The Chicago Union values the youth's development in ultimate and is very excited to help mold the next generation of the ultimate frisbee players.

To learn more about our youth programming options and to register - check out our youth programming page.