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Premier Ultimate League

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Premier Ultimate League
SportUltimate
Founded2019
First season2019
No. of teams12
Most recent
champion(s)		New York Gridlock
(2024)
Official websitepremierultimateleague.com

The Premier Ultimate League (PUL) is a professional women's ultimate league that formed in 2019. The mission of the PUL is "to achieve equity in the sport of ultimate by increasing accessibility to the sport for, and visibility of women, transgender, intersex, non-binary, genderqueer, and genderfluid people through high-quality competition, leadership experiences, and community partnerships". The league strives for gender, racial, and economic diversity in the sport of ultimate frisbee.[1][2] PUL players are paid $40 per league game.[3]

The PUL is organized as a 501c6 nonprofit entity.[4] In its inaugural year it raised funds by holding a "Sponsor-A-Player" program, raising $120,000 in one week.[5][6] This program was repeated for the 2020 and 2022 seasons with similar success.[7][8][9] The PUL is also sponsored by apparel company VC Ultimate.[6]

History

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The league began with eight teams in 2019. The inaugural championship was won by the Medellin Revolution.[10]

The 2020 season saw the addition of four new teams and the organization of the league into two divisions, Central and East.[4][11] On April 24, 2020, the PUL announced the cancellation of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[12]

In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the PUL elected to hold a limited 2021 competition season with games occurring across three weekends in August 2021 in New York,[13] Milwaukee,[14] and Portland, Maine.[15] With three teams competing at each event, the Raleigh Radiance,[16] Milwaukee Monarchs,[17] and Medellin Revolution[18] emerged victorious.

Starting in 2022 the league was divided into three divisions; Midwest, South, and East.[19] The Medellin Revolution defeated the DC Shadow in the 2022 championship game to win their second successive championship.[20]

In December 2022 it was announced that Medellin would be leaving the PUL to join a new Latin American league,[21] and that they would be replaced by the Philadelphia Surge.[22]

In November 2023 it was announced that Columbus would be leaving temporarily, and the remaining teams would be redistributed into two divisions, North and South.[23]

After the 2024 season it was announced that the Los Angeles Astros, formerly of the Western Ultimate League, would be joining the PUL.[24]

Rules

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The PUL rules are a hybrid version of USA Ultimate 11th edition rules with influences from both World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) rules and Ultimate Frisbee Association (UFA, formerly American Ultimate Disc League or AUDL) rules.

The playing field is 80 yards long and 40 yards wide, with 20 yard end zones. Games consist of four 12-minute quarters with 2 minutes between quarters and a 10-minute halftime.[25] Play at the end of the first three quarters concludes with the end of the current possession once the clock expires. In the 4th quarter and overtime (which lasts 4 minutes), play ends when the result of the throw is determined once the clock hits 0:00.[26] If a tie exists at the end of the first overtime period, a second sudden death overtime occurs in which the first team to score wins. The clock does not run between the scoring of a goal and when the subsequent pull is touched.[25] There are 70 seconds allotted between pulls.[25]

PUL games are self-officiated with the assistance of observers, not referees. Marking and throwing fouls follow USAU 11th edition rules, while receiving and positioning fouls follow the WFDF rules. This, along with the end-of-quarter rules, are intended to reduce the likelihood of dangerous contact and injuries.[26] Observers actively call up/down, in/out of bounds or end zone, offsides, and delay of game infractions.[25] Foul discussions must move quickly: before asking an observer for a ruling, players may only discuss for 10 seconds, and observers must rule within 10 seconds or the play is considered contested.[26]

Time-outs allow teams to substitute any number of players on the field, as well as reset the stall count to zero. Defensive players must be within two yards of the offender they are covering in order to call a pick.[25]

The PUL employs a player overrule option similar to the UFA's integrity rule so that players can reverse a call made in favor of their team if they feel the ruling was incorrect or unfairly benefited their team.[26]

Teams

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Premier Ultimate League is located in the United States
Atlanta Soul
Atlanta Soul
Austin Torch
Austin Torch
Columbus Pride
Columbus Pride
DC Shadow
DC Shadow
Indianapolis Red
Indianapolis Red
Los Angeles Astra
Los Angeles Astra
Medellin Revolution
Medellin Revolution
Milwaukee Monarchs
Milwaukee Monarchs
Minnesota Strike
Minnesota Strike
Nashville Nightshade
Nashville Nightshade
New York Gridlock
New York Gridlock
Philadelphia Surge
Philadelphia Surge
Portland Rising
Portland Rising
Raleigh Radiance
Raleigh Radiance
class=notpageimage|
PUL teams (North in red, South in green, Former in orange)
Team City/area Founded First season
North
Indianapolis Red Indianapolis, IN 2018 2019
Milwaukee Monarchs Milwaukee, WI 2020 2021
Minnesota Strike Twin Cities, MN 2019 2022
New York Gridlock New York, NY 2019 2019
Philadelphia Surge Philadelphia, PA 2023 2023
Portland Rising Portland, ME 2020 2021
South
Atlanta Soul Atlanta, GA 2018 2019
Austin Torch Austin, TX 2019 2019
DC Shadow Washington, DC 2020 2021
Los Angeles Astra Los Angeles, CA 2019 2025
Nashville Nightshade Nashville, TN 2018 2019
Raleigh Radiance Raleigh, NC 2018 2019

Former teams

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Team Location First season Last season
Columbus Pride Columbus, OH 2019 2023
Medellin Revolution Medellin, Colombia 2019 2022

Champions

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PUL champions
Season Date Champion Final score Runner-up Venue Location
2019 June 29, 2019 Medellin Revolution 20-14 Raleigh Radiance Silverbacks Park Atlanta
2020 NA Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic NA NA NA NA
2021 NA Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic NA NA NA NA
2022 June 19, 2022 Medellin Revolution 17-15 DC Shadow Fortress Obetz Obetz, OH
2023 June 18, 2023 Raleigh Radiance 18-16 New York Gridlock Carlini Field Washington, D.C.
2024 June 23, 2023 New York Gridlock 16-10 DC Shadow Vidas Field Philadelphia

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Home Page". Premier Ultimate League. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  2. ^ "Disc sports keep on growing – and aim to expand their empires". the Guardian. 2021-09-10. Retrieved 2022-03-22.
  3. ^ Zagoria, Adam (2019-06-28). "Born of a Boycott, a Women's Ultimate Frisbee League Charts Its Own Path". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-07-27.
  4. ^ a b Zagoria, Adam. "Women's Professional Ultimate Frisbee League Announces Expansion". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  5. ^ Eisenhood, Charlie (2019-03-19). "PUL Raises $120,000 With Player Jersey Fundraiser". Ultiworld. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  6. ^ a b "Premier Ultimate League Player Sponsorship Program". VC Ultimate. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  7. ^ Hayden, Kelsey (2020-03-03). "PUL Sponsor-A-Player Fundraiser Off To Hot Start". Ultiworld. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  8. ^ Raynor, Keith (2020-03-09). "Opening Pull: PUL Player Sponsorship Program, Coronavirus Reactions". Ultiworld. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
  9. ^ comments, Keith Raynor in News with 0 (2022-03-14). "Opening Pull: WUL Kickoff, PUL Player Sponsorship". Ultiworld. Retrieved 2022-03-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ Stephens, Edward (3 July 2019). "PUL Championship Weekend 2019: Revolution Wins Inaugural League Title". Ultiworld. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  11. ^ "Professional women's Ultimate is coming to Minnesota". Twin Cities. 2019-12-16. Retrieved 2022-03-22.
  12. ^ "League Update April 24, 2020 - What We Can Do". Premier Ultimate League. Retrieved 2020-05-16.
  13. ^ Terhune, John (2021-07-19). "Portland Rising set to host Maine's first pro Ultimate games". Press Herald. Retrieved 2022-03-22.
  14. ^ "Ultimate Frisbee Tournament Coming To Wauwatosa's Hart Park". Wauwatosa, WI Patch. 2021-07-12. Retrieved 2022-03-22.
  15. ^ "2021 Champ Series". Premier Ultimate League. Retrieved 2022-03-22.
  16. ^ Raynor, Keith (2021-08-18). "PUL Championship Series 2021: East Recap". Ultiworld. Retrieved 2022-03-22.
  17. ^ Rubin, Alex (2021-08-31). "PUL Championship Series 2021: Midwest Recap". Ultiworld. Retrieved 2022-03-22.
  18. ^ Stephens, Edward (2021-08-18). "PUL Championship Series 2021: International Recap". Ultiworld. Retrieved 2022-03-22.
  19. ^ "2022 Schedule Drop!". Premier Ultimate League. 2022-02-23. Retrieved 2023-07-09.
  20. ^ Weiner, Jenna (2022-06-28). "Premier Ultimate League 2022: Championship Weekend Recap". Ultiworld. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
  21. ^ "Update: Medellín Revolution". Premier Ultimate League. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  22. ^ "2023 Season Update". Premier Ultimate League. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  23. ^ "PUL Divisional Structure to Shift for 2024 Season". Premier Ultimate League. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
  24. ^ "Los Angeles Astra Joins the PUL South Division". Premier Ultimate League. Retrieved 2024-12-07.
  25. ^ a b c d e "Rules". Premier Ultimate League. Retrieved 2020-05-27.
  26. ^ a b c d comments, Ultiworld in Preview with 0 (2019-04-19). "Premier Ultimate League: 2019 Season Primer". Ultiworld. Retrieved 2020-05-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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