West Perspective: Chaos and Mid-Season Clout

- Pawel Janas

Note: The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the WUL.

This edition is long enough without an unhinged soliloquy from yours truly, so I will keep this short: some people in this world are cowards.

I am specifically referring to my fellow talking heads (Editor’s note: who I appreciate very very much despite their shortcomings.). This week, we dish out clout and simulate trades, and no one (besides Ben) chose to upgrade their hypothetical roster with a trade. Oh, you don’t want to offend your friends? Econ 101 pal, nothing in this world is free - if you want to trade for Paige Applegate, you gotta give something up.

But Pawel, my roster is perfect, I don’t need anyone else!

Oh really? You are the GM of the team that has the 20+ best players in the league? Are you undefeated? Get a grip and throw someone (or something) under the bus and upgrade your roster, you cowards. 

Question for April 13th, 2023:

Week 5 is in the books, and we are officially halfway done with the season. Besides Utah, every team has played at least four games. No team is undefeated. No team is winless. There is complete chaos in the standings. Besides San Diego, every team is still fighting for a spot at Championship Weekend. Let's start with this weekend's games: which win impressed you more, Colorado (home-field advantage?) or LA (villains getting payback for Week 1)? Is it time to panic in Arizona? Taking a step back and looking at the big picture, which individuals have stood out? Who is on your mid-season All-WUL first-team ballot? Finally, imagine you are the GM of your favorite team - who are you trading for (and what/who are you giving up) to make a push in the second half?

Impressive!

Ange:  Colorado's roller-coaster win impressed me a ton. They put together runs in each half to come from behind and take the lead - that's really hard to do and requires a lot of focus and resilience. They also had a packed home-field stadium, which was both inspiring and impressive. Good job, Alpenglow players, coaches, and fans!

Lexi: My favorite game this weekend was from LA Astra. This team struggled last year and has come out firing this season. Their energy is high, and you can see the chip on their shoulder. I am here for the villain era of Maggie O’Connor. I want to be a villain after seeing that last game. 7 assists and 4 goals create a monster stat line. Weaver and Childress have been exciting to watch.  Astra is full of players viewers might not know, but fans of the league will look up their number afterward.

 I am going to offend Colorado. (I would be offended, but let’s have some spice.) Their win was partly due to home-field advantage and the timely absence of Dr. Kat Songer from Utah Wild’s backfield. Songer had 4 assists and threw for 378 yards in their last match-up. She is a game-changer in an up-and-down game and eventual loss by 3, especially since Colorado seemed to be at full strength.

That being said, Rory Veldman was a d line anchor for Colorado (as was Molly Robbins for Utah) and was all over the field. The deep shots for Colorado were connecting, especially the acrobatic grab by Jess Larson! Seeing Colorado win their first-ever home/game in front of a large crowd is why this league is important. Women-matching players are worth watching and are making plays! (Please go watch the statement-making endzone layout ds and grabs by McLaughlin, Dietrich, and Staller.) Give us the field and turn the cameras on.

Ben: LA really impressed me. Their offense looked so much smoother than it did in the first game against San Francisco, even in the windy conditions. There was a clear plan in place with how they initiated offense off the pull and off turnovers, and it really allowed their stars to shine. Additionally, they looked hungry. Just like San Francisco and Arizona did in their opening weekend wins, Astra was flying around the field on defense - I think I counted seven layout blocks over the course of the game? If each team keeps this energy, the fight for second place in the Southwest is going to be a joy to watch coming down the stretch.

Michael:  Perhaps not everyone would know this but, with all due respect to LA, Colorado should be the easy answer to this question. Homefield advantage is a very real thing across professional ultimate, and Colorado had, by far, the best home crowd of any WUL game I've been to or watched. In addition to that crowd, no one should underestimate the difficulty of turning around less than one week after getting shellacked by Seattle and Oregon and facing off against another in-division opponent with, seemingly, the season on the line, and putting together your best performance of the season. Shout out to Colorado's coaches and players for staying mentally tough and to the home crowd for willing the Alpenglow on. If I had games yet to play in Denver, I would not be looking forward to playing a team that is hitting its stride in what may be becoming the toughest place to play in the league.

Nicole: Colorado winning at home was cool, and I'm happy for them, and all, but LA's win against SF was more impressive. Not necessarily because of the point differential or because it was on SF's home turf, but because did you see how they played? There were some huge highlight reel plays (shoutout to Audrey Brown) and some impressive stats. What I find most impressive is the increase in chemistry and defensive intensity from Week 1. They've improved as a team and used their losses to fuel their villain era, and they've got Champs weekend in their sights.

Pawel: You could see the LA win coming from a mile away. Fueled by their Week 1 embarrassment, a homecoming of sorts for the villain herself, and a generally positive trend over the last few weeks made LA an easy pick this week. Colorado winning, on the other hand, was actually impressive, especially after getting blown out on their Northwest trip. That’s some resilience right there.

Panic!

Ange:  I'm very against panicking of any kind (too much stress is objectively not helpful to winning games - check out the Optimal Arousal Theory by Yerkes & Dorson). Arizona needs to continue to work on using their athleticism and mildly chaotic style of play to their advantage - when they find that perfect balance of organized chaos, they'll be a force to be reckoned with. I expect them to come out to San Diego this week with everything they've got to give us a tighter game.

Lexi: Looking to Arizona, that win against Seattle in Week 1 is well in the rearview mirror and perhaps was an overconfidence boost (again, spice.) The Week 3 losses (13-14 to LA and 9-11 against SF) make sense when you factor in the absence of Paige Applegate. The duo of Chang and Applegate has been impressive to watch. However, for Arizona to lose both games in Week 3 and get beat down by San Diego in Week 5 puts Arizona in a back-against-the-wall position. If I am Arizona, I feel the pressure, and I revel in it. My predictions for Week 6 are for Arizona to go 1-1. I think SD will win with ease. The real question for me is, if Arizona goes down early, will coaches rest star players for a must-win game the next day against the Astra? Will O’Connor lead Astra to the murder of Arizona's dreams? Will Arizona dig deep and pull out the fangs to survive? 

Michael: Arizona, much like any team that goes on a three-game skid, should be quite concerned. With San Diego locking up a Championship Weekend spot, that means that Arizona is fighting for the last spot in the Southwest. With LA streaking and San Francisco showing plenty of signs of life, Arizona does not have room for error going forward. That being said, Arizona got underestimated in the offseason, and anyone who underestimates them going forward risks looking very foolish.

Nicole: There's no reason for Arizona to panic. I think they just need a reset. They came out strong on their home field in Week 1, and they know as well as I do, that they're more than capable of being that team again. They will have to work for it, and I'm sure they will. But I have no doubt we'll see some more big plays from players like Kez Gesell and Nora Landri. If AZ is great at anything, it's surprising everyone when it seems like they're down. 

Pawel: It’s time to panic and burn it down to the ground. Find the big red button and press it before the season unravels this week versus Astra.

Clout!

Ange:  My mid-season All-WUL first-team ballot includes Chip Chang and Paige Applegate from Arizona (have you seen their creativity and upside down throws?! *chef's kiss*); Jasmine Childress & Maggie O'Connor from LA (has Jasmine EVER missed a throw from Maggie?!); Rory Veldman from Colorado (I'm a sucker for great pulls and D line players who score break points); Jaycee Jones (four foot high layouts on offense and defense? sign me up); and Jamie Eriksson from Seattle (an absolute nightmare to guard). You'll notice I did not include any Super Bloom players...can't be playing favorites with my own players, you know?

This one is a little awkward - because I am effectively the GM of my favorite team. Also, I'm very pleased with the team we have here in San Diego this season, so I'm rolling with all of them to Championship Weekend. Trade window is closed. Thanks, though! 

Lexi: My All WUL ballots for each conference are below. My metrics: 1 person from each team, no more than 2 from the same team, and using the weekly data as best as an English major can. I need to be honest; this is a more O-line-focused recognition list; my apologies to the d line folks out there. Like the middle child, you are getting overlooked, and I feel bad!

Northwest Conference:

• Sadie Jezierski (SEA)

• Kat Songer (UT)

• Julia Sherwood (OR)

• Frances Gellert (SEA)

• Jade McLaughlin (CO),

• Akane Kleinkopf (CO)

• Tina Snieder (OR)

Southwest Conference:

• Chip Chang (AZ)

• Kaela Helton (SD)

• Blair Messner (SD)

• Maggie O’Connor (LA)

• Gina Schumacher (SF)

• Malina Wiebe (SF)

• Kez Gesell (AZ)

If I were the GM of Tempest, I am not trading for anyone. See you on the field.

Ben: All-WUL midseason first team:

• Avery Jones (SD):  After playing a hybrid role on the Super Bloom offense last year, Jones has moved into a main handler role for this season and has taken to it with aplomb. She's hit on hucks at a good rate, moved the disc in that patented San Diego handler motion, and got open whenever her teammates needed an option. Perhaps most importantly, if I were a coach, there's no player in the league I'd trust more with the disc in their hands. There's a reason San Diego's worst offensive outputs of the season came without Jones in the lineup.

• Maggie O’Connor (LA): Similar to Jones, O'Connor has also moved into the backfield after spending the 2022 season downfield and has done a tremendous job. She's putting up numbers that would make any center handler proud (3.5 assists and 300 throwing yards per game) while keeping turnovers to a minimum (1.5 per game). The big reason for that? She's hit on 12 of her 15 hucks - an 80% completion rate!

• Paige Kercher (UT): Another game, another Paige Kercher 500-yard day. Kercher has picked up right where she left off as the league's yardage leader last year, setting a new single-game record with 708 total yards against Colorado this past weekend. In her six career WUL games, she has failed to total over 500 yards just once - a 483-yard effort against Oregon last year. You can't argue with production.

• Gina Schumacher (SF): While San Francisco has, by and large, gotten their results by committee this year, Schumacher has played a pivotal role as an initiating cutter who can push the disc downfield. This has resulted in her leading the team in assists by 5 and in receiving yards by almost 300. Additionally, she's the only Falcons player to be top five on the team in both offensive and defensive efficiency.

• Jade McLaughlin (CO): McLaughlin does everything for Colorado, and is a major reason they aren't staring down the barrel of a winless season right now. She's first (or tied for first) on the team in goals, assists, blocks, and receiving yards. No other player in the league leads their team in more than two of the five major categories (the four listed and throwing yards).

• Kaela Helton (SD): If you're building the perfect athlete, it doesn't get much better than Helton. She's the best player every time she steps on the field, and she doesn't take a point off. She's near the top of team and league leaderboards in nearly every major category. Not much more to say.

• Frances Gellert (SEA): With Seattle's strategy of rotating players through three lines each game, it's hard for any of them to stand out on the stats leaderboards. But Gellert's consistently great play has resulted in her leading the team in goals and total yards while contributing over an assist and block per game as well. Overall she's been the best player on one of the best teams in the league.

There are so many players I want to talk about, so here's a second team: Hana Kawai (SEA), Avalon Igawa (LA), Abby Thorpe (CO), Malina Wiebe (SF), Dena Elimelech (SD), Kristen Pojunis (SD), Kody Lippincott (AZ)

I’m gonna take the helm of LA here (fight me for it, Pawel) because there is a fun, mutually beneficial trade I want to make with them, and totally not because I bought an LA Megafan jersey this year. I already discussed why I’ve been so impressed with how Maggie O’Connor has stepped into the center handler role, but ideally, I don’t want to have to sacrifice her goal-scoring ability. 

Last year LA used Kaitlyn Weaver in that role, but I really like how she’s played as an initiating cutter this year as well. So, I’m trading for the handler with the biggest throws in the game - Sadie Jezierski. It took Jezierski just two games to set the WUL single-game assist record, and I’m drooling at the thought of her hucking to O’Connor, Weaver, and Jasmine Childress (speaking of, this move would also allow me to play Childress on defense more, and add some aerial prowess to a defense that generates most of their pressure in the under space). Now, obviously, a player like Jezierski is gonna demand a hefty fee, so in return, I’m giving Seattle Ava Hanna (a budding star who will thrive in that system), Naomi Guzman (a versatile handler who can be played with any line), and free practice facility usage whenever they get tired of waking up to dreary, grey skies.

- LA gets: Sadie Jezierski

- Seattle gets: Ava Hanna, Naomi Guzman, good weather

Michael: My midseason All-WUL Ballot (the Wild has only played two games, so I'm going with first-team non-Wild players... after Wild Wild Weekend, I expect this list to be seven Utah players:

• Jade Mclaughlin (CO)

• Sadie Jezierski (SEA)

• Malina Wiebe (SF)

• Dena Elimelech (SD)

• Helen Eifert (AZ)

• Julia Sherwood (OR)

• Kristen Pojunis (SD)

If I were a GM for the Wild, I would make exactly zero trades. There's an urge to count the Wild out and count a lot of other teams in. One thing I'm confident in is that there is no other team in the WUL that is from a broader geographic range that cares so passionately about representing the places they come from as a collective. We have no holes in our roster and have only scratched the surface of the product this team can put together, and we don't need any folks from other rosters to reach our potential. 

Nicole: I might have a little too much fun with this question. I've already mentioned Gesell and Landri from AZ, and I stand by those as some players that have stood out. Gesell is doubly impressive because, as many people have mentioned, she's still fairly new to the sport (I was there for her first-ever Ultimate League, shoutout Tucson Ultimate!) But she's certainly not new to being an athlete. She's passionate, hungry to win, and her defensive intensity has set her apart. There are good players, and there are dynamic players. Gesell is dynamic. She is the kind of player that makes the sport so much fun to watch. 

Speaking of dynamic players, did you see Rory Veldman this weekend? Holy cow, why didn't I know about Rory before? LA Astra is full of players who are absolute game-changers. Maggie O'Connor and Avalon Igawa are my top picks. Their stats speak for themselves. Chip Yen, Blair Messner, Julia Salvacion, Kaitlynne Roling, Shaela Wallen. There are just too many to name. 

If I'm the GM of my favorite team (Astra, duh), I'm trading for Rory Veldman and Lexi Garrity to have more deep looks available, and I'm also looking to add Sadie Jezierski and Paige Applegate to have more deep throwers (you know, for when Maggie can't be at a game.) I am going to politely decline trading anyone from this team. Thank you.  

Pawel: If I’m the GM of LA, I am picking up a third job and signing Avalon Igawa to a 7-year deal. Center handlers are overvalued, and block-getters are undervalued.

LA gets - a long-term contract for Igawa

Pawel sacrifices - the last remnants of a personal life (it’s sad anyway) and sanity.

---

This Week’s Contributors:.

• Michael Aguilar (he/him) is a co-head coach of the Utah Wild. He owes all his success in life to his wife Kendall. You can find him on Twitter @aguilar_eua and Instagram @justfathering.

• Nicole Garnes (she/her) has played Ultimate frisbee since 2016, playing Club in both the Women's and Mixed Divisions in Arizona, and currently resides in Los Angeles, CA. Follow Nicole on Twitter @bring_snaaacks.

• Lexi Garrity (she/her) had a great time contributing to this week's coverage. Lexi plays for Seattle Tempest and Seattle Mixtape. You can find her on Twitter @lexigarrity10.

• Pawel Janas (he/him) is the curator of West Perspective, so send your complaints his way. He plays for the Los Angeles Aviators in the AUDL and Chicago Machine in the USAU Men's Club Division. You can find him on Twitter and Instagram at @secondarypotato.

• Ben Sadis (he/him) is a data collector and statistician for the WUL. He plays for Washington DC Rally in the USAU Mixed Club Division. He can be reached on Twitter at @ben_sadis.

• Angela Wells (she/her) is the head coach of San Diego Super Bloom and San Diego Wildfire. For nearly two decades, she has coached and played for women's teams in San Diego. She is unapologetically loud and bossy, and endlessly supportive of providing opportunities for female, trans, and non-binary athletes of all ages to play sports together in her community.

West Perspective: Men Lie, Women Lie, Spoons Don't

- Pawel Janas

Note: The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the WUL.

This week, we welcome Seattle superstar Lexi Garrity to the show. Thank goodness, because I am in no mood to sing Seattle’s praises. And someone has to after they didn't get broken once and put up historic numbers last Saturday. Je refuse. Adele lyrics are all you’re getting from me today.

Lexi Garrity (she/her) had a great time contributing to this week's coverage. Lexi plays for Seattle Tempest and Seattle Mixtape. You can find her on Twitter @lexigarrity10.

(Editor’s note: If there is anyone on Colorado who would like to contribute in the future, my DMs are open)

Question for April 7th, 2023:

Well, it wasn't the weekend Colorado was hoping for. After going down early in the Seattle game on Saturday, Alpenglow could not seem to bring the game any closer against the cohesive and experienced juggernaut. In your view, was the 28-16 blowout a testament to how good Seattle actually is (they did break a bunch of records), or is it more about Colorado still figuring things out? The next day, Onyx picked up their first win of the season in a commanding fashion. After three 1-2 point losses to start the season, do you think this win will give Oregon the confidence to steal a victory from Seattle in Week 6? Finally, what are the odds that Colorado will upset Utah in their home opener this weekend?

Is Seattle even good?

Ange:  The start of every season is hard. Maybe not for Arizona, but that seemed temporary. (Editor’s note: ka-boom!) The shift from preseason practice to in-season games is tough for players and coaches, and Colorado is at a massive disadvantage because it's their first time ever experiencing that. It didn't help that Seattle wanted to prove they don't have any weaknesses (despite the fact that Arizona found some in Week 1) and that Oregon had to win to right the ship (and not slip further from a playoff berth). Colorado will figure it out.

Lexi: Biased perspective as one of the captains of Tempest, but as a wise man once said, "Men lie, women lie, buckets don't." (Editor’s note: spoons don’t lie, either.) Tempest came out firing in our home opener against the newcomers to the league. Numerous game-day records were broken, which gives us confidence that this was an earned result versus a lucky fluke. The mindset for Tempest after a loss to Arizona (a loss in which Tempest had 34 turnovers, including numerous unforced errors) was to be aggressive on offense and to back it up on defense. 

The depth of Seattle is our true weapon, and this is where we separated from Colorado. Colorado has star players in McLaughlin, Dietrich, Kleinkopf, Pesch, and Reed (among others). However,  Seattle was able to counter with fresh legs every point (1 point on and 2 points off for each line) and go hassle Colorado's players with a variety of defensive looks.  It will be interesting to see how Seattle responds next month to altitude when we face Alpenglow on their home turf.

Ben: Colorado is still figuring things out, but Seattle’s dominant win on Saturday proved to me that we’re going to look back on their loss to Arizona as merely an early-season stumble rather than a portent of future struggles. Their offense was back to what we’ve come to expect from the Tempest - shooting deep with abandon and winning up-lines in the red zone - and adding Sadie Jezierski, Abby Hecko, and others has made it all the more lethal.

Colorado is absolutely still figuring things out, though, particularly on defense. They got their first break of the weekend late in the game against Oregon on Sunday (Editor’s note: yikes) and needed to cross Jade McLaughlin and Abby Thorpe over to the D line to do it. For the season, they’ve gotten breaks on 10% of D line points - no other team is below 20%. It’s easy to take McLaughlin, Thorpe, Kristen Reed, and others and throw them on O line and say: “score goals.” Players of that caliber will make it work. But no team can play perfect offense for four full quarters, and they need to figure out the right player combinations and schemes to string some breaks together soon if they want a shot at championship weekend in their inaugural season.

Helen:  It’s me, hi, talking about home-field advantage again. Seattle is a talented team, and I think getting their first game home after three on the road gave them the opportunity to tie everything together nicely to put on a truly dominant performance. I think the most impressive stat is that they weren’t broken once. This is particularly noteworthy because Seattle doesn’t really have set O and D lines and usually rotates amongst 3 lines evenly. So this isn’t just one really solid O-line not getting broken, it’s the entire Seattle roster not getting broken. Granted, many weren’t clean holds often because Tempest would get a bit impatient to score. There are cracks in the Seattle armor. Give Alpenglow some time to keep ironing out their systems, and they’ll give them a fight in Colorado at the end of the season.

Pawel: Helen is totally right. Hello, it’s me. I was wondering if after all these years you’d like to meet. To go over everything. They say that time’s supposed to heal ya, but I ain’t done much healing. Hello, can you hear me?

Is Onyx back on track?

Ange: While Onyx played a lot better this weekend, I'm not sure they have what it takes to beat Tempest in Seattle on April 15. Maybe if they continue to limit their turnovers and consider tightening up on Seattle's very dynamic throwers, they'll be able to hang. I'll keep my other coaching tips to myself and my squad, though. (Insert nail painting emoji here.)

Lexi: Oregon had a solid win over Colorado at home, featuring a monstrous and somehow yet routine grab by Jaycee Jones. This could be the start of a mid-season push for them. The talent of their roster, with both veterans and young up-and-comers, can't be underestimated. One of the great perks of pro is the joining of players from different eras of ultimate. Oregon is bolstered by savvy vets such as Julia Sherwood, Chelsea Putnam, and Murl Hammond (welcome back!), and young talents such as Greta Eisenbrey, Trout Weybrigh, and more. Those loud costumed Onyx fans might even make the trek to Seattle to cheer on their squad. (Editor’s note: we love costumes.)

Tempest beat Oregon in the last two head-to-head match-ups but lost some momentum in the second half of their most recent game. In the second half,  Tempest was up 12-7 but only won 15-13.  A drop on a centering pass gave Oregon a chance to bring the score to 14-15.  Seattle was able to generate a high-risk throw and run out the clock to win 15-13. This performance added fuel to the fire for Tempest, and it might remind Oregon of how close this matchup is when they play their best. The plethora of talent on Oregon Onyx will make this rematch exciting. Will Seattle be able to stifle the deep throws of Julia Sherwood and Greta Eisenbury and limit the goals of speedy cutters such as Jones, Coles, Snieder, and Zajonc, or whoever else streaks deep?

Ben: Oregon certainly played the best game of their season against Colorado, but I have a hard time seeing them playing similarly against a Tempest squad that was firing on all cylinders this past weekend. Onyx went a perfect 6/6 on hucks against Alpenglow, but in the game against Seattle earlier this season, they went 5/14. Unless Aly Steinfield shows up out of nowhere, I can't see them replicating Sunday's success against Jamie Eriksson, Kaitlynne Roling, and company. (Editor’s note: only if we put Aly on all the graphics that week.)

Helen: No.

Pawel: Why are we hating on Onyx? They should be 4-0 now. Onyx over Seattle by 2, book it. Never mind, I’ll find someone like you. I wish nothing but the best for you, too. Don’t forget me, I beg, I remember you said. Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead. Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead. 

Colorado home-field advantage?

Ange: Every time I play frisbee in Colorado, it sucks. (Editor’s note: okay, bye) I can't breathe, the disc goes way farther than I expect, and the weather is wild. As a temperate sea level gal, it's a nightmare. Maybe Utah doesn't care as much as I do about playing at altitude, but I expect Colorado to have a lot of advantages on their home turf and in front of their home crowd for the first time ever. It's hard to bounce back from a pretty demoralizing weekend - but I think they can do it. 

Lexi: The Colorado vs Utah game is a do-or-die game for Colorado. I hope Colorado's mindset is reminiscent of Han Solo with a "never tell me the odds" swagger. Expect Colorado to come out aggressive on offense. (Editor’s note: it’s the defense I’m more worried about.) I am expecting their cutters to be attacking the deep space and their big throwers to be shooting for the endzone. The Tempest vs. Alpenglow game saw some gorgeous deep throws from Itoh, Thorpe, and Kleinkopf. On defense, it will be imperative for Colorado to slow down the dynamic O-line handler duo comprised of Kat Songer and Paige Kercher. If the Wild home opener was an indication, those two are must-shut-down matchups for opposing teams.

Utah started the season off with a comfortable win at home. Albeit the first point was a little sloppy with multiple turns for both teams but morale in Utah seems high. Wild's offense looks good and significantly stronger than last year, with additions such as Brooke Stanislawski, Kat Songer, Ellie Sjordal to name a few. Cass Williams has been popping off downfield, and Cori Bigham still has a nose for the endzone. Shae Wallen is back from Europe to anchor their D- line with long-term stalwarts Molly Robbins and Kendra Miller. This game is a must-watch for WUL. fans. I am expecting fireworks.

Ben: I picked Colorado in the first matchup against Utah, and the Wild taught me a lesson, one I don't need to learn twice. Kat Songer has fit so well into the Wild O-line, and alongside Paige Kercher gives them one of the best handler duos in the league. In addition to the defensive struggles Colorado has faced, I just don't see their handlers able to keep up with Songer and Kercher's conversion rate. I'm predicting that Colorado prevents an early Utah lead from getting out of hand and rides the energy of a raucous home crowd to tie the game by the end of the third quarter, but Utah is a little cleaner over the last few points and pulls out a close one. (Self-edit: looks like Songer isn’t playing this weekend, so give me an Abby Thorpe layout on an away shot from McLaughlin to win on the last possession.)

Helen: You know what I’m going to say. There’s this thing that I think might give Colorado the boost they need to finally take care of business.

Pawel: There's a fire starting in my heart, reaching a fever pitch and it's bringing me out the dark. The scars of your love remind me of us, they keep me thinking that we almost had it all, the scars of your love they leave me breathless, I can't help feeling, we could've had it all (you're gonna wish you) (Never had met me) Rolling in the deep (tears are gonna fall) (rolling in the deep)

---

This Week’s Contributors:

•  Helen Eifert (she/her) is a player and captain of the Arizona Sidewinders. She is a perpetual travel player in the USAU club division and has played for many teams across this country and internationally since 2016. Find her on Instagram (@heleneifert) and Twitter (@HelenEifert46).

• Lexi Garrity (she/her) had a great time contributing to this week's coverage. Lexi plays for Seattle Tempest and Seattle Mixtape. You can find her on Twitter @lexigarrity10.

• Pawel Janas (he/him) is the curator of West Perspective, so send your complaints his way. He plays for the Los Angeles Aviators in the AUDL and Chicago Machine in the USAU Men's Club Division. You can find him on Twitter and Instagram at @secondarypotato.

• Ben Sadis (he/him) is a data collector and statistician for the WUL. He plays for Washington DC Rally in the USAU Mixed Club Division. He can be reached on Twitter at @ben_sadis.

• Angela Wells (she/her) is the head coach of San Diego Super Bloom and San Diego Wildfire. For nearly two decades, she has coached and played for women's teams in San Diego. She is unapologetically loud and bossy, and endlessly supportive of providing opportunities for female, trans, and non-binary athletes of all ages to play sports together in her community.

League Update April 2023

Apr 3, 2023

WUL community,

I can’t believe we are almost halfway through our second season!  We’ve already had plenty of exciting matchups, and it looks like who will qualify for Championship Weekend will come down to the wire!  As always, you can catch the replays of any of our games on our YouTube channel.  These games are available free of charge thanks to the generous donations you made to our GoFundMe last year.

We also need to take a moment and offer our gratitude for your support of our Be A Megafan (BAM) jersey fundraiser.  With over 1000 jerseys purchased, our teams and league brought in $122K+ in total revenue. This money helps the teams and league cover the cost of travel and gameday operations. Breakmark has been an invaluable partner in advancing the visibility of this league and currently is working tirelessly to deliver these one-of-a-kind jerseys to you and others around the country. You will see them in your mailbox soon!

If you missed a chance at getting one of the BAM jerseys, no worries! You can still represent your favorite teams and players with Official Replica apparel by visiting the Breakmark WUL Store and customizing your favorite gear. Also, I hope you’ve been enjoying the Breakmark Breakdown videos on our social media channels which highlight the unique features on each teams’ jerseys.

As we near the halfway mark of our season, I want to spotlight the incredible work being done by our stats team. If you haven’t yet checked out our new stats dashboard – which has an array of detailed search and filter functionalities – you are missing out!  After every weekend of games, our stats team works diligently to extract some of the most advanced stat metrics available in the game today, and each week we feature these stats in our social media updates.  Have a question about the stats? Just ask WULinsider on Twitter @WULinsider! Be sure to follow along so you’ll be ready for our Fan Fantasy Contest for Championship Weekend!

Speaking of Championship Weekend, the event will take place in Seattle on June 3-4, 2023 at Memorial Stadium.  We are thrilled to announce that we will, once again, feature an all women and non-binary observer crew and livestream commentators. It is going to be an incredible event, and you can get your tickets here!
Thanks for continuing to support our league and the incredible performances of our athletes. I hope that you find your way to a game soon! Ticket information for ALL games can be found on our website.

Felicia Yang 

WUL Executive Director

West Perspective: Southwest Soirée

- Pawel Janas

Note: The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the WUL.

Besides close games, nothing upsets me more than fair-weather fans.

You can see them coming from a mile away. But it’s the smell of comfort and privilege that hits you first, followed by a whiff of wishy-washy fandom that you wish you could vacuum seal and store by the nosebleed section. Away with you! You know those glass cubicle smoke lounges in European airports? Oui, something like that, but for people who only support teams when it’s CONVENIENT for them.

I’m saying this because the San Diego fanbase stank this past weekend. To be sure, they packed Mira Mesa for the Super Bloom games. They were loud and a little too respectful for my taste - a special shout-out to what looked like a UC Santa Barbara/UC San Diego contingent for getting rowdayyyy in a crowd of innocent parents. The stands had a club semifinal feel to them, and the Super Bloom reciprocated by playing well.

But for the other games? Poop. You could hear my beer drop. And then you could hear the second and third ones drop. And then the fourth…never mind. What I’m trying to say is that there was complete silence as the fair-weather fans decided to go to brunch instead. Let’s just hope the Utah supporters can show the rest of the league what REAL fans look like at the Wild Wild Weekend in three weeks.

Until then, I urge you to sniff yourself and ask: what kind of fan am I?

(Editor’s note: I promise that we will be discussing the Northwest conference next week as Colorado takes on Oregon and Seattle. For now, please enjoy this Southwest-only content.)

Recap

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to inform you that it’s over. It’s all over. Cancel games, refund tickets, and rebook travel plans - San Diego is running away with the Southwest, and nobody can stop them. No need to waste time and resources on future lopsided games. When a team goes +18 in one weekend, it’s time to call it quits, especially during the year of the p-word. (Editor’s note: I’m talking about parity, you perverts.) Sidewinders had their moment, the Falcons have consistently overperformed, and Astra got their one win - everyone has something to be happy about as we head into the 2024 off-season. Right?

Question for March 30th, 2023:

Alright, let's break down the Beach Bowl. As expected, parity in the Southwest conference died this weekend, as San Diego took care of business handily - are you surprised by their +18-point differential? Is the Super Bloom coasting from here on out? On the other hand, Arizona was on the wrong end of two heart-breaking losses. Their next two games are against San Diego. Is now the time to hop off the Arizona bandwagon, or will they rebound? And finally, what impressed you more: Astra grinding out their first victory of the season or the Falcons quietly showing that they are a legitimate contender for Championship Weekend?

San Diego blooms

Ange: Obviously, I am not surprised by Super Bloom dominating the Beach Bowl on our home turf. What I am pleased about is using the entire depth of our incredibly talented season roster to do it...and that we are getting better every single game. That should scare the rest of y'all. (Editor’s note: I am shaking in my boots.) We know there is a (bigger?) target on our back now, and that the Sidewinders have something to prove when we return to Arizona in less than two weeks. They are amazing athletes who leave everything on the field - that is a recipe that can beat anyone on any given day. Fortunately, Super Bloom is already cooking, and we're not planning to drop another game this season.

Ben: Honestly, I was more surprised that it took this long for San Diego’s offense to kick into high gear. They played great this weekend, and I expect them to continue rolling. In addition to the star power, the biggest reason for their offensive success is the trust they have in their offensive systems. They are all comfortable slowing the game down, running the reset system, and hitting break throws, and it's hard for defenses to force a team like that into many mistakes. Compare their huck rate and huck completion % from opening weekend to their past three games:

- Huck rate: 6.7% over the first two games, 3.9% over the past three games

- Huck completion %: 40.5% over the first two games, 73.5% over the past three games

They're playing within their system and taking shots when it's smart - that's a recipe for success.

(Editor’s note: finally, a smart comment in this blog.)

Helen: First, I’d like to challenge that parity died this weekend because the games between both San Francisco and Los Angeles against Arizona were within 1-2. Am I surprised that San Diego took care of business this weekend? No. I am the firmest of believers that home-field advantage is massive in this league. Super Bloom clearly hit their stride this weekend, cleaning up a lot of early-season mistakes and dialing in the chemistry of key connections. I think a lot of that could happen this weekend, given the familiar conditions, lack of travel, and full team behind them. (Editor’s note: excuses, excuses.)

Nicole: Okay, listen, I am surprised by San Diego's +18-point differential. They're a strong team, for sure, I just still don't really understand what happened. (Editor’s note: rizz) I was rooting for an LA win. I don't know if I've just repressed it, but I can't really remember feeling like SD was playing all that much better than LA. It sort of just... escalated very quickly after halftime. So, no, I don't think SD is coasting from here. I think they're a strong team that will continue to win games, but those games will continue to be close ones. Believe it or not, parity is still alive and well in the WUL (I hope.)

Kenny: Super Bloom is already more than halfway through the season, sitting atop the league with a massive point differential. They can't quite coast yet, as they may need another couple of wins before locking that top spot, but it's looking to be a three-way race for second in the Southwest.

Pawel: I would love nothing more than San Diego losing all their games in April, but, sadly, I don’t see that happening.

Arizona bandwagon

Ben: Arizona seems to be full steam ahead on the CHAOS train, and I’m here for it. They’ll give the disc to you but then take it right back – I’m excited to see their intense person defense try to slow down the Super Bloom offense. Let’s be realistic, however: the Southwest is a battle for second place at this point. If Arizona has cleaned up their offense by the time they play Los Angeles in week six, they’ll take that second bid to championship weekend. If not… they’ll at least be entertaining to watch until the very end!

Helen: Speaking of home-field advantage, don’t count Arizona out yet. Enter bias. Arizona struggles on the road, but it’s not like our performance this weekend was a dumpster fire. The Sidewinder’s defense continues to stifle other teams’ offenses. Key players like San Francisco’s Schumacher and Los Angeles’s Childress were less of an impact against Arizona than in their other games on the weekend. Teams are lucky to put up a few clean holds against the Sidewinders. Some specifics: Oregon with 7, Seattle with 4, LA with 3, and San Francisco with 1. If Arizona can clean up a few things on offense, they are a championship-contending team (see all of our break chances :/). We see our hardest matchups at home, and you can expect the Sidewinders to bring everything to our next game against Super Bloom, including snakes from our favorite partner, the Phoenix Herpetological Society. (Editor’s note: you may have a shot if you release the snakes in the SD locker room.) Our schedule gets harder from here on out, but expect the Sidewinders to rise to the challenge.

Nicole: Here's the thing about AZ. None of their fans are bandwagon fans. AZ has done an amazing job of building a fan base as far as New York, not only because they're cool as hell and have an amazing brand, but because they make sick plays, they are entertaining to watch on the field, and they just simply play great ultimate. Many of their fans loved them before they beat Seattle in Week 1, and many of their fans will continue to love them even if they lose for the rest of their season. My opinion on their upcoming games is that their recent losses will only make them stronger. They'll prepare however they need to, and if they don't win at least one game against SD (they will), those will be two very close games.

Pawel: Hop off everyone, the next four stops are at the L station for this bandwagon.

Impressed with the rest

Ange: There were too many total turnovers (more than 60 by each team) and too few total points (25 or fewer for each team) for me to be impressed by Astra or the Falcons this weekend. Yes, it was kind of windy in San Diego. Yes, there were some super impressive plays. And yes, we will continue to accept turnovers and convert them into break points to grow Super Bloom's point differential this season.

Ben: LA and San Francisco both discovered the secret formula to beating Arizona - weather the storm, play within your systems, take smart timeouts in the middle of long points, and remind yourself you’re in an ultimate game, not a track meet. I was impressed by both of them, but if I had to give a nod, I’d give it to the Falcons. Coach Daryani has taken a roster with huge turnover and had them playing patient, team offense, and smart but intense defense in their very first game against Astra, and that hasn’t changed since. They're generating blocks at a high clip and are middle of the pack in most efficiency stats despite playing two games against San Diego. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them at championship weekend by the end of the season.

Helen: I’m more impressed by Astra grinding out their first season victory. Speaking from very personal experience, LA showed up on Saturday and played a hell of a game. I have to highlight two of our Sidewinders alumni, Cam Helm (#15) and Merideth Byl (#30). Helm scored the first break of the game with an impressive bid in the endzone, and Byl can only be described as a nuisance to our offense, racking up so many blocks throughout the game. It’s hard not to be proud of our snakes, even if they’re the opponents now. Astra’s only mistake was not trying to score on their last possession. That point differential could be the difference again this season. San Francisco learned and eked out one more point against the Sidewinders on Sunday in the same scenario.

Nicole: I'm impressed by both Astra and Falcons. But the Falcons are continuing to prove that they're in this for the long haul, and Champs weekend may look very different than it did last year. A lot of people were wondering why they're so silent on social media. They didn't make a huge deal out of their roster announcements, and they were simply unbothered that we all slept on them. And now we know why. They've been too busy to care. Busy grinding, working hard, and making sure they show out at each game they play. I'm impressed. Falcons are killing it.

Kenny: It's hard to make sense of LA edging out a win over a swelling Arizona team only to fall apart against San Diego. But at this point, anything can happen in the South. The Falcons are living their best life, LA is hit or miss, and Arizona isn't about to hand other teams any wins easily. I'm not surprised LA got a win--it's about time, in my opinion--but the Falcons proved my pre-season view of them wrong on week one, and they just keep doing well, so I'll award them with my ribbon for "Most Impressive" so far. 

Pawel: LA until I die. Astra is perfect, don’t tell me otherwise.

---

This Week’s Contributors:

• Kenny Baldwin (he/him) is a contributing writer for the WUL and a broadcast commentator for the AUDL's Salt Lake Shred. Catch him on Twitter at @FlatballKenny. 

•  Helen Eifert (she/her) is a player and captain of the Arizona Sidewinders. She is a perpetual travel player in the USAU club division and has played for many teams across this country and internationally since 2016. Find her on Instagram (@heleneifert) and Twitter (@HelenEifert46).

• Nicole Garnes (she/her) has played Ultimate frisbee since 2016, playing Club in both the Women's and Mixed Divisions in Arizona, and currently resides in Los Angeles, CA. Follow Nicole on Twitter @bring_snaaacks.

• Pawel Janas (he/him) is the curator of West Perspective, so send your complaints his way. He plays for the Los Angeles Aviators in the AUDL and Chicago Machine in the USAU Men's Club Division. You can find him on Twitter and Instagram at @secondarypotato.

• Ben Sadis (he/him) is a data collector and statistician for the WUL. He plays for Washington DC Rally in the USAU Mixed Club Division. He can be reached on Twitter at @ben_sadis.

• Angela Wells (she/her) is the head coach of San Diego Super Bloom and San Diego Wildfire. For nearly two decades, she has coached and played for women's teams in San Diego. She is unapologetically loud and bossy, and endlessly supportive of providing opportunities for female, trans, and non-binary athletes of all ages to play sports together in her community.

West Perspective: Balance, Basics, Beach Bowl

- Pawel Janas

Note: The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the WUL.

Ciao amici e benvenuti a un'altra edizione di…*record scratch* *freeze frame* 

*Commissioner’s booming voice from above: Noooooo

I don’t know about you, but I seriously do not enjoy watching sporting events between two evenly-matched teams. This is why,  after two weeks and eight games of the 2023 WUL season, I am sending an SOS to all the players and coaches reading this: please stop competing.

My issue is not so much ideological - local growth, the spread of talent, blah blah blah - as it is physiological. You see, the stress of not knowing the outcome one hour before the final buzzer does a number on my delicate tummy. All I want to do is get up and leave when I see a tied score at halftime (did I even bring my pepto? where is it?). By the 4th, if the score is within 2 or 3, I start questioning why I came to the game in the first place. Twenty bucks for this gastrointestinal inflammation? Never again.

Needless to say, this commentator is not enjoying watching WUL games this year nearly as much as he enjoyed watching them last year. The soothing 26-18 and 27-14 Tempest beatdowns were some of the best games of 2022. The Sidewinders’ 16-11 and 18-12 victories were a bit close to the bellyache territory, but still thoroughly enjoyable. This year? Pretty much every game has been too close for comfort, which, in my humble opinion, makes the product way less digestible. If the league wants to flourish in the entertainment industry, it has to put an end to the competitive discomfort that I - and many others - have to suffer through.

So please, let’s bring back the reassuring certainty of sports. Do it for the fans. And their toilets.

Recap

Did you know that the WUL has the best frisbee data infrastructure on the planet right now? And yes, putting the satire on hold, I am serious (Editor’s note: for once!).

All you have to do is go to https://westernultimateleague.com/, hover over “Schedule”, and click “WUL Stats Hub.” There, you can access detailed data on players and teams for both the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Special shout out to Ben Sadis - the in-house data wizard- and Ryan Kindell and Remy Schor for collecting this awesome data every week.

Scrolling to last weekend’s games, you would notice that Malina Wiebe (SF) had 6 goals against San Diego, which ties Blair Messner for second most in a single game. She’s already had 10 goals through the first two games, which is the most in anyone's first two games of their WUL career.  As a homework exercise, please look up the production of Avery Jones, Paige Kercher, and Kat Songer. Juicy numbers y’all.

Question for March 23rd, 2023:

It is clear that parity is the name of the game so far this season. There were no blowouts this past weekend, and teams were within 3 or 4 points of each other in most games. Of the teams that lost this past weekend (CO/SF/OR), which one - if any - should feel good about keeping the score close? Next, imagine you are the coach for all WUL teams at once. What adjustment would you work on at next week's practice (*cough* endzone *cough*)? And finally, who you got winning at the Super Bloom Beach Bowl?

Balance

Ange: After one quarter, the SD @ SF game had blowout vibes, so good for the Falcons for tying it up in the 3rd and staying close throughout the rest of the game. Since there are no longer moral victories for Oregon (who now sits at 0-3), I’ve gotta crown Colorado this week’s moral victor for their debut WUL match. But like my 96-year-old grandad says, “close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades”…and I guess point diff, but that’s not as catchy.

Bryce:  I'm feeling good about my team's performance if I'm San Francisco Falcons. Their O-line Defense especially played really well throughout the game and kept it a one-score game all the way into the fourth quarter. They lost a losable game (if making championship weekend is the goal) but will need to go at least 1-1 this upcoming weekend, with a win on day 2 against the Sidewinders, to keep the season on track.

Nicole: We love parity! Close games are so exciting (Editor’s note: *nausea incoming*) . Of the 3 teams that lost this weekend, San Francisco should feel pretty good about keeping the score close. San Diego came into the 2023 season being a favorite, and SF, by comparison, had to prove themselves. And they have. Especially because they were down by a bit at the start, generated a ton of turns, and converted against a really tough team.

Kenny: What I love about an eight-game regular season is that it's never too early to speculate about the playoffs. And it's very possible we see point differential decide which team or teams go to Championship Weekend this year. Of these three teams, San Francisco is probably going to care most about point differential right now. They took a game from LA on Week One with a six-point margin. That differential got cut a little bit with their loss to San Diego, but if they can pull off another divisional win or two, and take care of business against one of their other cross-divisional matchups later, keeping the games they lose close might be their way to punch a ticket to the big show in Seattle come June.

Pawel: Colorado has to get all the pity points this week, right? I mean, the first game in franchise history against a very good Utah team, on the road, and one 3rd quarter meltdown away from winning? Alas, I digress.

Basics

Ange: The only thing that keeps me up at night about the league is how often teams allow open-side, front-cone scores. Can someone - ANYONE - please stop the up-line score to the front corner so I can get my 10 hours of beauty sleep each night?! You have to know where your player is trying to score by this point in the season. So, Shut. It. Down. (Editor’s note: yaaaas.)

Bryce: Stepping back a bit and viewing the season from 30,000 ft, club ultimate players have been playing June-October for a long time (insert your personal favorite reference to Daiquiri Decks and Sarasota Winds and games to 21 or whatever makes you feel good about how old you are). Further, we're used to regular seasons that have a near-zero bearing on post-season play because everyone qualifies for the first round of the post-season in club ultimate, so it doesn't matter if you start the season slow. I LOVE the WUL (and all semi-pro games) because each time you're taking the field, the result of the game matters. So given the context and the fact that we're all collectively learning this transition, it makes sense that teams have been less-than-crisp in the details in these March games. But game 1 in the WUL matters; a slow start, no matter how great you look after the last regular season game, can relegate you to a fan in the stands for championship weekend. I hope coaches are preaching a sense of urgency for the finer details of the game. Red zone efficiency and break chance efficiency are the two that stick out to me. Get those numbers working for you instead of against you this weekend.

Nicole: If I'm the coach for all the WUL teams (thankfully I'm not, ya'll are doing a great job though), I don't know that I would coach more endzone. No need to set up an endzone, just throw more hucks and score. I'll leave that to Pawel. (Editor’s note: *finger snaps*) The only adjustment I'm making is "throw more hammers." PLEASE. I know the throwers on these teams have this in their back pocket. While we're at it, let's see some scoobers, push passes, and thumbers. I don't even care if they aren't completed throws, just give the people what they want! (Like I said, thank goodness for these teams that I'm not a Coach, I'd be terrible at it.) 

Kenny: If I have one message to give teams from a coaching soapbox, it has to be Defensive Line Offensive Efficiency. If you've got it, you will win. Defenses are doing a great job at disrupting the offense so far this season. We have turnovers aplenty. In Week One, teams averaged more than 30 per game. That's a lot of opportunities for a decisive D-Line to take control, and in fact, we saw it happen when San Francisco surprised Los Angeles. Their DLOE was around 30% that game, and the scoreboard showed it. Seattle's DLOE was 30% when they knocked off San Diego in Week One as well. It might mean moving a couple of key handles across lines or even just hammering disc possession into defenses. But at this point, we can expect the defense to get opportunities to score even against the teams sitting at the top of their divisions. If we see more great upsets this season, my bet is that it will come from good defenders making great offensive plays. 

Pawel: Respectfully, I am running a 3-hour practice with only end-zone reps, for both the O- and D-lines. Red-zone conversion in the 30-40% range is poop, and that’s where all the teams are at right now. Don’t blame the wind or first-game jitters. Utterly horrendous.

Boom Goes the Bloom Beach Bowl

Ange: I have no plans to drop a game at home this weekend, so Super Bloom is going 2-0 at the Beach Bowl. Write it down. Put that money in the bank. (Editor’s note: yeah, in Silicon Valley Bank, oh snap!)

Bryce: After Arizona and San Diego both go 2-0 this weekend at Super Bloom Beach Bowl, we'll get to see those two square off on April 8th; so that’s when we'll know who won the SBBB?

Nicole: This weekend will be super exciting for those of us that live in the Southwest, I finally get to see the AZ Sidewinders play live (yes, even as a practice player during their 2021 season, I still have not been to one of their games). As an LA transplant, betting on the LA v AZ game is tough... I can't pick a winner. I just want all my friends to have fun and make sick plays.

The other games, I will call easily: 

SF v SD - we're looking at another close game, but I'm betting on SD by 3.

SF v AZ - AZ looks strong, and I have to root for my hometown heroes. AZ by 5

LA v SD - I know Maggie O'Connor is in her villain era, and the team is looking to prove something. LA by 2.

Pawel: Everyone in LA is pissed. It’s been raining all winter. It’s cold. What the hell, man? And for that reason, Astra is going 2-0 this weekend.

---

This Week’s Contributors:

• Kenny Baldwin (he/him) is a contributing writer for the WUL and a broadcast commentator for the AUDL's Salt Lake Shred. Catch him on Twitter at @FlatballKenny. 

• Nicole Garnes (she/her) has played Ultimate frisbee since 2016, playing Club in both the Women's and Mixed Divisions in Arizona, and currently resides in Los Angeles, CA. Follow Nicole on Twitter @bring_snaaacks.

• Pawel Janas (he/him) is the curator of West Perspective, so send your complaints his way. He plays for the Los Angeles Aviators in the AUDL and Chicago Machine in the USAU Men's Club Division. You can find him on Twitter and Instagram at @secondarypotato.

• Bryce Merrill (he/him) is a youth ultimate organizer in Utah, Head Coach of the AUDL's Salt Lake Shred, and the inaugural coach of the Utah Wild for the 2021 Winter Cup.

• Angela Wells (she/her) is the head coach of San Diego Super Bloom and San Diego Wildfire. For nearly two decades, she has coached and played for women's teams in San Diego. She is unapologetically loud and bossy, and endlessly supportive of providing opportunities for female, trans, and non-binary athletes of all ages to play sports together in her community.

West Perspective: Manger le Corbeau à la Crotalus Cerastes

- Pawel Janas

Note: The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the WUL.

If you’re not careful, you will get lost in the City of Love.

Bonsoir mes petits haineux. We are coming to you live from the IVe arrondissement, where 17℃ feels sarcastically warmer than our usual whereabouts in Southern California. Our expert roundtable is leisurely making its way from underneath Notre-Dame’s arcboutants (don’t touch that, Nicole!) and onto the Pont d'Arcole. On our left, a couple, conjoined at the hip, whispering sweet nothings in the universal language of l’amour. She giggles, he smiles, the embrace tightens. On our right, the non-atmospheric river that engulfed the muse of Impressionnisme: la Seine.

We are only a 5-minute vėlo ride to the Louvre, but that is not our destination. We are headed to le Marais, the heart of medieval Paris, because we are très faim. We pass on the Michelin star Benoit - the escargot is a tad damp - and continue due north on Rue Saint-Martin. We find a nondescript door at the intersection with Rue de la Verriere and swing it open, praying that it’s not, in fact, an unsuspecting Parisian family’s home. To our relief, the stench is overwhelming - we made it. Readers, our experts have traversed the globe to dine at the only place that still serves the traditional meal of the Gauls.

Tonight, we are eating crow.

Recap

The only expert who did not join our escapade to Paris is Helen. That is because Helen killed it with her predictions. The only thing she got wrong was that SF won by 6, not by 8. She is not worthy of the crow.

Everyone else, shame on you. Kenny digs in first (starts with the face) with an incredible 0-3 prediction record. Ange and Nicole are next (may I suggest the wing?),  with one correct prediction between them. Me? I love crow. I’m ordering the beak dessert.

This week, we have an exciting new expert who can tell us a little about Utah: Michael Aguilar.

Michael Aguilar (he/him) is a co-head coach of the Utah Wild. He owes all his success in life to his wife Kendall. You can find him on Twitter @aguilar_eua and Instagram @justfathering.

Question for March 16th,  2023:

Who should be the most worried about losing: Astra, Onyx, Tempest, or Super Bloom? That is, for which team was this weekend just a bump in the road in an otherwise successful season, and for which was it an accurate precursor of more losing down the road? Is Arizona for real, or did they get lucky? Finally, who you got: Colorado or Utah?

Who Should Be Worried?

Nicole: I'd say Onyx and Super Bloom have nothing to worry about. They had close games, not on their home field, and played well despite missing some significant pieces of their roster. Astra, on the other hand, as much as I hate to say it, should worry. They got beat by their own lack of chemistry, despite some amazing plays by a lot of their players. Do I have hope their chemistry will build throughout the season? Absolutely. This is going to take some really hard work on Astra's part, though. But I believe in this team, and I know how hard they work and how much they want to win. And if anything, this loss just lit a fire under their bellies. Go Astra! I believe in you.

Bobby: I'm not truly worried about any one team's outlook, yet. The first weekend is such a huge shock of workload, nerves, playtesting strategies, player groupings, and finding your "stall 7" feet. I'll answer the question with my own team, Oregon Onyx, since we have the most losses in the league now. An 0-2 weekend on the road in week one, both really close games, and both filled with very fixable errors, does not have me deeply concerned. That said, there is definitely a heavier weight that we will have to shoulder in the rest of our games, since the season isn't too long.

Michael: Onyx has to be the most concerned about its losses this weekend. Not because they are indicative of some larger problem talent or skill-wise (we know that Oregon has plenty of both) but because it's TWO losses. The fact of the matter is that Oregon is 1/4 through its season and has no wins to show for it. With the WUL showing some solid parity across the league, Oregon is now in a position where it cannot afford many more missteps (if any!). I have no doubt that it's an organization that can play with its back against a wall, and with two losses in week one, it now has to.

Bryce: Who should be worried the most? Anyone who spent any time wringing their hands about “sustained growth” and “competitive balance” just a few weeks ago (Editor’s note: thank you.). Which team should be worried the most? Onyx. Dropping two on the road, especially two games by a total of three points, could prove to be the difference in a tight playoff race later this season.

Ange: No one should be worried. It has been TEN months since anyone played a WUL game. Everyone has new players, sets, and systems. No. One. Panic.

Kenny: Astra has got some problems. The blowout scoreline doesn't even tell the whole story. This game was 10-4 for San Francisco early in the second half. I hope that LA's team just got a case of the drops, but suddenly it's at the bottom of the Southwest division behind a star-studded San Diego. The Falcons' win is a warning that these four divisional teams will be at each other's throats all season long. The last thing LA wants is to be considered the easiest win in the Southwest, but it's landed itself right in that discussion.

Ben: Astra should be the most worried, simply because of standings math. Losing a home conference game means they are now likely going to need to beat either Arizona or San Diego twice, win the rematch at San Francisco, and do better than the Falcons in their out-of-conference games to make the playoffs. That seems like a tall order.

Pawel:  Honte à Los Angeles. Une très mauvaise performance dans des conditions très favorables. C'était pire que Les Bleus au Mondial 2002.

Is Arizona for real?

Nicole: Arizona, is, in fact, for real. (It's a real place, I've been there.) They didn't just get lucky, they played extremely well and made big plays. Even though I don't think they'll win as easily at away games, I do think they'll continue to give other teams hell. My initial prediction was wrong, thank you for making me eat my words. 

Bobby: I have no reason to think that anything I saw from Arizona was a fluke this weekend. All of their success came from repeatable actions, and every team had some low points that are fixable moving forward. Their roster is balanced, they clearly have playmakers, and they have good energy. They'll have to find that success on the road now, but again, I think it's all repeatable. I am stoked about how this league's season has started overall, and can't wait to see how everyone responds after this opening weekend.

Michael: Last season Arizona showed that if you combine high-level athleticism with a cohesive team system, then you can play elite ultimate. For some reason, in the offseason, a lot of folks seemed to forget that simple formula. The Sidewinders did not. Arizona made solid adjustments throughout both of its games and handled pressure in late-game situations extremely well. I expect this weekend is more of a display of Arizona's baseline level of play than an aberration. 

Bryce: Is AZ for real? Why are we even asking? Yes, their red zone conversion rate will need to improve quickly. And Onyx zone introduced some concerns for their O-line. But they were the best team on the field, on both sides of the disc, through large stretches of the weekend. A team with that many explosive playmakers (my goodness, Kez Gesell) is going places. They consistently won individual matchups in the backfield and on the openside unders. It's not much, but it's honest work. They've got a lot of season left, but what a start for the Sidewinders. Is it too early to start hoping for a Tempest-Sidewinders rematch during championship weekend semis?

Kenny: The Sidewinders' first point against Seattle says it all. They pull the disc to the reigning champs, then spend the next seven minutes of game time grinding on defense before breaking for the first point of the game.  They came out like a firecracker. They're hungry. I apologize for my prediction that they'd go 0 for 2 because they earned these wins. If they had dropped either of their games, it'd be easier to question the quality of their roster. But they came out over two days and knocked off first reigning runner-up San Diego, then gave Seattle their first-ever WUL loss (Editor’s note: Seattle lost games at the Winter Cup). With only six remaining games in the regular season, I see a lot of scenarios that enable Arizona to stay at the top of the Southwest.

Ben:  Arizona is for real. Specifically, the pressure they apply on defense is as real as it gets. Adding athletes like Kez Gesell and Paige Applegate has been huge, but another key ingredient was Megan Maxfield, who has absolutely leveled up this season. There was a point in the Seattle game that was a great snapshot of the Sidewinder’s relentless defense: with the score tied 3 to 3, they played straight-up force flick person defense the whole way down the field and forced the Tempest to throw 23 passes, none of which gained more than 15 yards, before forcing a turnover in the endzone. Maxfield was tasked with guarding Sam Rodenberg, one of the league's best cutters, and let her touch the disc once - this coming one day after dominating the Onyx to the tune of four blocks in one quarter. The offense was shaky at times, and replacing the production of Jade McLaughlin, LP Aragon, and others for a full season will not be easy, but a deep, athletic defense can take you a long way in ultimate, and the Sidewinders have one.

Ange:  Arizona did not get lucky. What they did get is a significantly better offensive system that works for their VERY fast receivers and savvy throwers. But if they don't think Super Bloom's D line is coming to capitalize on their offensive turnovers, they've got another thing coming.

Pawel: L'avantage du terrain est réel. C'était le meilleur week-end de l'Arizona, mais je ne m'attends pas à ce qu'il dure. Je suis toujours sceptique.

Utah or Colorado?

Michael: Utah

Bryce: Big Sky, Big Love. Sko Wild.  

Nicole: On the one hand, you got all the ex-Sidewinders that made their season so successful last year: Aubree Dietrich, Jade McLaughlin, and Marilyn Reich. But on the other hand: Jen Cogburn, Paige Kercher, Cori (Cori Bigham), Kayak (Kyra Khoroujnikova). Okay, but Colorado doesn't have many Molly Brown players? But they do have a lot of young talent.  But then again, this is a Utah home game, and we all know home games tend to favor the home team. I honestly have no idea who's going to win. I would love to see Colorado win their first game ever, but I can't root against Cori and Kayak. I think these teams are super evenly matched, and I hope for my sake (and all of ours) that it's a very close game that leaves us on the edge of our seats.  I just want everyone on both teams to have fun.

(Editor’s note: she wanted everyone to eat her words last week. How the turn tables.)

Kenny: Colorado will meet their match against Utah. The Wild is reloaded for 2022 with some significant improvements both in terms of roster adds and player development. Everyone who has been following the Utah player community for the past five years is excited about a few things. First,  some college-level talent has finally matured enough for the big stage. Second, the team now boasts several returning national club champs. And finally, the Wild has a secret weapon no one outside of Utah is talking about. (Editor’s note: ?????)

Ben: Utah is better than their record showed last year, and there’s no way to tell how a brand-new team will play together. But,  a line with McLaughlin, Dietrich, and Reed is gonna put up numbers. Give me the Alpenglow.

Ange: My money is on Colorado this weekend, mainly because I'm a big fan (and former teammate) of Coach Stephanie "Shaq" Schlosser. I think they'll hit the ground running...fast! Also, their kits are NICE. Look good, feel good, play-er - good? 

Pawel: Je vous salue, Marie pleine de grâce; le Seigneur est avec vous. Vous êtes bénie entre toutes les femmes et Jésus, le fruit de vos entrailles, est béni. Sainte Marie, Mère de Dieu, priez pour nous pauvres bisons, maintenant et à l’heure de notre mort.

---

This Week’s Contributors:

• Michael Aguilar (he/him) is a co-head coach of the Utah Wild. He owes all his success in life to his wife Kendall. You can find him on Twitter @aguilar_eua and Instagram @justfathering.

• Kenny Baldwin (he/him) is a contributing writer for the WUL and a broadcast commentator for the AUDL's Salt Lake Shred. Catch him on Twitter at @FlatballKenny. 

• Nicole Garnes (she/her) has played Ultimate frisbee since 2016, playing Club in both the Women's and Mixed Divisions in Arizona, and currently resides in Los Angeles, CA. Follow Nicole on Twitter @bring_snaaacks.

• Bobby Gough has been coaching in the USAU women’s club division since 2016 with Oregon Schwa. He spent the 2022 WUL season in the broadcast booth for Oregon Onyx, and in 2023 he joined the team as an assistant coach. You can find him on Twitter at @BobbyGough.

• Pawel Janas (he/him) is the curator of West Perspective, so send your complaints his way. He plays for the Los Angeles Aviators in the AUDL and Chicago Machine in the USAU Men's Club Division. You can find him on Twitter and Instagram at @secondarypotato.

• Bryce Merrill (he/him) is a youth ultimate organizer in Utah, Head Coach of the AUDL's Salt Lake Shred, and the inaugural coach of the Utah Wild for the 2021 Winter Cup.

• Ben Sadis (he/him) is a data collector and statistician for the WUL. He plays for Washington DC Rally in the USAU Mixed Club Division. He can be reached on Twitter at @ben_sadis.

• Angela Wells (she/her) is the head coach of San Diego Super Bloom and San Diego Wildfire. For nearly two decades, she has coached and played for women's teams in San Diego. She is unapologetically loud and bossy, and endlessly supportive of providing opportunities for female, trans, and non-binary athletes of all ages to play sports together in her community.

2023 Standings Tiebreakers Announced

The WUL announced 2023 standings tiebreaker procedures today, in advance of our season opening games to be played on Saturday, March 11, 2023.

The 2023 WUL schedule is a hybrid of traditional home vs away games intermixed with weekend-long special events. With the addition of an eighth team in 2023, we have also created two conferences: Northwest & Southwest. Each team will play every in conference team twice and play two out of conference teams during the regular season.  The top two teams in each conference will go to Championship Weekend.

Northwest Conference Teams: Colorado, Oregon, Seattle, and Utah
Southwest Conference Teams: Arizona, Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco 

All games (in and out of conference) are weighted the same and in the event of a tie, the following tie breaks will apply:

1. Win/Loss record overall

2. Head to Head record, between tied teams

3. Point Differential, between tied teams

4. Point Differential, amongst common opponents

5. Point Differential, full season

6. Coin flip

To keep up with all the exciting action, subscribe to our YouTube Channel, and keep an eye on our regularly updated Schedule & Standings page.

West Perspective: a Visit From a Crotchety Genie

- Pawel Janas

Note: The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the WUL.

The moral of the story this week: don’t rub anything unless you are absolutely certain it’s not a crotchety genie’s home.

After 300 days of offseason malaise, villain arcs, and players jumping ship, the WUL is back, baby! Finally, we've made it to Week 1 of the regular season. Four teams (Tempest, Super Bloom, Onyx, Sidewinders) are competing across four games in the Sidewinders Showdown, and the Falcons are taking on Astra in the beautiful “Pride of the Foothills,” Glendora, CA.

Since none of the experts know anything about Arizona (sorry, Nicole), we’ve brought in someone who does: Helen Eifert.

Helen Eifert (she/her) is a player and captain of the Arizona Sidewinders. She is a perpetual travel player in the USAU club division and has played for many teams across this country and internationally since 2016. Find her on Instagram (@heleneifert) and Twitter (@HelenEifert46).

I am really proud of the experts this week: all of the credible ones (sorry, Kenny) predicted a Seattle loss. As the resident Seattle hater, my heart is whole. Also, shout out to Helen for providing maximum spice and predicting flat tires and logistics nightmares. This is why we do what we do, folks.

Question for March 9th,  2023:

While walking across Death Valley to Sidewinders Showdown, you stumble across a lamp. Naturally, you rub it, and a crotchety old genie pops out: "I have been stuck in this sterile and cold piece of copper for two millennia. If you give me some spicy heat about Week 1, I shall grant you one wish. If you correctly predict an upset, I shall grant you another one. If you give an unhinged take about how the Falcons will beat Astra, I shall grant you a third." How many wishes are you getting?

ONE WISH

Kenny: My spicy take is that Arizona goes 0-2 on the weekend. Sadly, I have to give Arizona one of the worst off-season grades in the league. Losing Jade McLaughlin, Aubree Dietrich, and Liz Murphy to Colorado really hurts their chances. Oregon Onyx looks like a solid Championship Weekend potential team again this year, and there's no reason to think Seattle has become anything but better since last year. Sorry, Sidewinders. I hope you surprise me.

Ange: I'm getting two wishes out of this frisbee genie: one for a hot take and one for an upset. My hot take is this: obviously, I'm biased, but it's not fair that Super Bloom has cross-conference games with Seattle and Oregon (the top two teams in the Northwest Conference based on 2022 results). Super Bloom - the top team in the Southwest Conference based on 2022 results - should cross with the bottom two teams in the NW. Don't @ me. I don't care how exciting it is to have a finals rematch game to kick off the 2023 season (stomps feet).

Helen: Obviously, I’m going to be biased toward talking about the Sidewinders Showdown. This is the second time the Sidewinders have had the privilege of kicking off the WUL season with a big home weekend while the weather is still tolerable here in Arizona. This year it’s even spicier because it's a rematch of all the games at the 2022 Championship Weekend in reverse, starting with the championship matchup of San Diego vs. Seattle. It’s a bold start to the 2023 season, with an early chance to see how new rosters will influence last year’s results. With Seattle taking the 2022 trophy after an undefeated season, they’re coming in as the favorite for 2023. Seattle’s 2023 roster is sporting some serious turnover, albeit the new additions are names we know that aren’t unfamiliar to the Seattle ultimate scene. While Tempest is the most poised to build chemistry due to a fully Seattle-based roster and weekly practices, I think the integration of prominent new handlers, Cherry & Jezierski, provides an early season opening to upset this PNW powerhouse.

Pawel: Look, it’s not looking pretty. With gusts up to 20 mph predicted for Saturday afternoon/early evening in Mesa, I think games will come down to one or two upwind breaks. The winner in each game will score 15 or fewer points. There will be multiple 10-turnover points. At least one point with three total timeouts. I hope that warms you up, genie.

Nicole: (Editor’s note: she hands me her beer)

TWO WISH

(Editor’s note: I take her beer.)

Nicole: Alright, I'm going to keep this pretty simple: I think all the games are going to be upsets. Rather than calling it a "re-do of Championship Weekend," I'm calling the Sidewinders Showdown "the Revenge Tour." I would literally bet real money that Super Bloom and Onyx both take dubs over the teams that beat them at Champs weekend last May. I feel confident about both wins for many reasons, but mainly because nothing motivates a team more than losing. If you follow any of the Super Bloom or Onyx players on Twitter, you'd know they're in their villain era, and they're ready to blow things up.

But also, have you seen these rosters? Not only did Super Bloom add Dena Elimelech and Penny Wu to their already very long list of ballers (Kelli Iwamoto, Kaela Helton, Kristen Pojunis, the list is endless), but Seattle Tempest lost Qxhna Titcomb, who single-handedly dictated 90% of their offense last season. (Editor’s note: that's not a real stat, don't quote her.) I'm not saying Seattle won't still be a force, but... let's face it, these other teams know what they're up against this season, and they're not only prepared, they're hungry.

My final game predictions for all 5 games are as follows: 

Tempest v Super Bloom: Super Bloom by 2

Onyx v Sidewinders: Onyx by 4

Falcons v Astra: Astra by 5

Tempest v Sidewinders: Tempest by 7

Onyx v Super Bloom: Super Bloom by 1 in double overtime (I have no basis for this prediction other than it would be a super exciting way to end the first weekend of the WUL season.) 

If you're reading this and you're upset that I have your team losing, don't be mad. Just prove me wrong.

Kenny: Upset alert. I think the Onyx is coming for San Diego. It'll be a close game, and I can't wait to see Zajonc, Tajima, and Roberts face off against Pojunis, Elimelech, Jones, Salvacion, Helton--geez, maybe Onyx won't pull it off.

Ange: My upset prediction is that San Diego will beat Seattle in Game 1 of these NOT FAIR cross-conference games in Arizona. In the modified words of Nelly, here comes the Blooooom...

Helen:  My upset prediction is that Seattle won’t leave the Showdown undefeated. Either the upgraded Super Bloom roster will catch them off guard fresh off the plane on Saturday, or the Sidewinders will take advantage of a tired Tempest on day two in what only Arizona will consider a mild heat.

Pawel: You know what I’m about to say. Tempest boards the plane on Sunday with two losses and zero wins. Professor Utonium, I am not. Sugar, spice, and everything not nice.

Three wish

Kenny:  I wrote out arguments describing how the Falcons could take down  Astra and ended up deleting them. I'll have to be content with two wishes. I think LA has this locked down. Not only do you have Goal leader Maggie O'Connor (editor’s note: see villain arc) coming back, but Jasmine Childress is a Round 1 draft pick if I've ever seen one. But even if Childress is on the bench for some weird reason, what makes me most confident in the Astra is the chemistry their new crop of players will have with one another from college and club going into game one of the season. Meanwhile, the Falcons are a brand new team this year - they had more roster movement in the offseason than a city league handler trying to get open for a dump. (A lot. I'm trying to say it was a lot of movement.) I don't think San Francisco has yet found the stars that will rally and unify their roster, and while they have potential this season, a game this early against such a cohesive Los Angeles has this Northern California/Southern California rivalry decided.

Helen: This game was THE GAME that famously determined the final team attending championship weekend last season, and it wasn’t either of the teams playing. For those who don’t remember obsessively refreshing Twitter on April 30, 2022, since it wasn’t a streamed game, the Falcons, Astra, and Sidewinders were poised for a 3-way tie at the end of the regular season with losing 2-4 records. Home-field advantage played a large role in the few wins each team took. As long as San Francisco won this last game at home, it would come down to point differential between the three teams’ results against each other. If the Falcons took the game by 8 points or more, they would go to the ’ship, 4 points or less and it was Astra’s, but anywhere between 5-7 and the Sidewinders, whose regular season ended a week prior, would swipe it. The final score was 13-7, Falcons. A point differential of 6 sent Arizona to championship weekend after they were sure their season was done. In a way, it’s sort of poetic that these two teams also play during this first weekend rematch of the 2022 championship games since they both missed qualifying last year by 2 points. This rematch takes place on Astra turf, which gives LA the home-field advantage this year. I think I would still predict the Falcons to win regardless, but if I had to come up with an unhinged way, it would happen like this: Astra’s stadium is double booked, and they have to relocate last minute, putting LA on their heels. Wilson & Weaver get flat tires and don’t make it until the second half. Falcons win by 8 on a Callahan.

Nicole: And while it's not a Champs weekend re-do, Astra is most definitely seeking revenge on the team that kept both their teams from Champs weekend. While there was a lot of turnover in the Falcons roster from last season, Astra is seeking to maintain a lot of the chemistry that was built while adding players like Jasmine Childress to the mix. Call me biased, but this one seems like a no-brainer to me.

Pawel: Yo, this genie is insane. Astra by a million, book it.

---

This Week’s Contributors:

• Kenny Baldwin (he/him) is a contributing writer for the WUL and a broadcast commentator for the AUDL's Salt Lake Shred. Catch him on Twitter at @FlatballKenny. 

• Nicole Garnes (she/her) has played Ultimate frisbee since 2016, playing Club in both the Women's and Mixed Divisions in Arizona, and currently resides in Los Angeles, CA. Follow Nicole on Twitter @bring_snaaacks.

• Pawel Janas (he/him) is the curator of West Perspective, so send your complaints his way. He plays for the Los Angeles Aviators in the AUDL and Chicago Machine in the USAU Men's Club Division. You can find him on Twitter and Instagram at @secondarypotato.

• Angela Wells (she/her) is the head coach of San Diego Super Bloom and San Diego Wildfire. For nearly two decades, she has coached and played for women's teams in San Diego. She is unapologetically loud and bossy, and endlessly supportive of providing opportunities for female, trans, and non-binary athletes of all ages to play sports together in her community.

•  Helen Eifert (she/her) is a player and captain of the Arizona Sidewinders. She is a perpetual travel player in the USAU club division and has played for many teams across this country and internationally since 2016. Find her on Instagram (@heleneifert) and Twitter (@HelenEifert46).

WUL Releases Second Edition Rulebook for 2023 Season

The Western Ultimate League released the second edition rulebook to be applied for the 2023 season.

Changes to the ruleset are minor, largely consisting of clarifications in the following sections:

• Observers: added the option to signal active calls via hand signal in addition to whistle.

• Flip: added clarification that “Teams shall defend the same end zone at the start of the first and second quarters (Q1 & Q2) and will switch for the third and fourth quarters (Q3 & Q4), as shown in the graphic below.”

• Time Prior to the Start of Each Quarter and Between Points: Added clarification to the 60 second limit, “The receiving team has up to 40 seconds to signal readiness after the previous goal was scored, but must wait a minimum of 20 seconds to signal readiness. The pulling team must release the pull within 20 seconds of the receiving team signaling readiness.”

• Other Time Stoppages: Added the following clarification, “During the last two minutes of play in each quarter (and any overtime period), if the pull lands out of bounds, the clock is stopped as soon as the disc makes contact with the out-of-bounds ground. If the pull rolls out of bounds, the clock stops as soon as the disc crosses out of bounds. Restart of the clock occurs when the disc is put back in play.“

• Time Violations Between Points: added “If a time violation occurs, the pulling team has up to 20 seconds to check the disc into play. If the time limit is exceeded by either team, a player at the location where the disc is to be put into play may self-check the disc in without acknowledgement by the opposing team.  “

• Specific Usage of Pre-Stall: Added clarification to the “Do NOT Use” column to include Overruled Pick Calls and Overruled Stall Calls.

Finally, changes were made to the timing of dangerous play submissions and petitions.

View the first edition of the WUL rule set here.

West Perspective: Free Throws, Shot Clocks, and Handball

- Pawel Janas

Note: The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the WUL.

Let me save you some time: if you are a 60-year-old hippie whose daughter plays for the WUL, but you secretly loathe that Ultimate is played in cleats nowadays, close the tab now. This week is not a safe space for traditionalists: we’ve got 100-point Callahans, shot clocks, and the Metaverse on tap. 

But first, let me introduce our newest and most distinguished expert yet: Megan “Meagles” Tormey:

Megan Tormey (she/her) has served as a color analyst for USAU, WFDF, and the AUDL. She has played many years of ultimate for Nemesis and Public Enemy in the USAU’s women’s and mixed divisions, respectively. Twitter and Instagram: @Meagles000

On today’s show, we play the popular children’s schoolyard game “puck, carry, bill” with the WUL rulebook, except that all rules are fair game (I say: puck them all!). I don’t know what happened between Week 1 and Week 2, but the experts went full-on cuckoo-for-cocoa-puffs on me. All except for Meagles - she turned out to be the serious and professional commentator babysitting the rest of us, the sand-eating and rule-hating kids.

Question for March 1st,  2023:

Imagine you become the Tsar of the WUL Rules Committee and have the power to completely remove one rule (e.g., no clock), slightly rewrite another (e.g., 8, instead of 7, players on the field), and create a third from scratch (e.g., all games shall be played at Surf Cup Sports Park). What do you do?

Group 1: Rules we would eliminate (bill)

Ben:  No contested fouls. I don’t want to watch players talking to each other for sixty seconds just to replay what already happened. If there’s a contested foul, the observer immediately makes a ruling, and the game proceeds.

Ange: Spirit of the Game. Ok, I know I'm coming in hot here, but I can't drink the spirit Kool-Aid served on every ultimate frisbee field. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for a game in which athletes feel supported, celebrated, and safe. I just think there is a spectrum of sports-person-ship and games-person-ship, and there is no way the thousands of us who play this sport are on the same spot on that spectrum. A clear set of rules, and appropriate repercussions for violating those rules, hold us all to the same standard...instead of relying on a bunch of different interpretations of intentionality, respect, and moral codes. It would certainly be harder for observers (who I'd prefer to be referees) to manage games, but it's something I hope we continue to explore - especially as the professional and semi-professional arms of our sport continue to grow and have access to more resources.

Bryce:  I hate to be the tsar that brings a problem without a proposed solution, but too many possessions resulted in contested stalls. With player-counted stalls to the S of seven, a lot of possessions (especially catches where players left their feet, ran out of bounds post catch, etc) seemed unfairly rushed. Do you turn over stall counting to active observerees? Do referservers automatically weigh in on contested stall outs? I dunno. But the frequency of contested stalls ought to encourage some experimenting with other solutions.

Nicole: The field size rules. I'd just get rid of all lines, like Goalty. There are no out-of-bounds. The end zones are just random boxes placed on opposite sides of each other. Make the stadium seats playable. The world field is your oyster.

Megan: If I *had* to eliminate one rule, I’d eliminate the coin flip. Let’s get back to basics and decide who picks O or D to start with a double-disc flip. 

Pawel: Eliminate the outdoors. Move the game online to the Metaverse. Physical sports are OUT, e-sports are IN. Have you seen the money rolling into League of Legends?

Group 2: Rules we would modify (carry)

Ben: The biggest hinderance to watchable ultimate is the wind. It just sucks. And without weather-controlled stadiums available, there’s nothing to do about it, except for a very simple edit to the rules that definitely won’t completely change the entire structure of how the game is played: use a ball. Also, we will need a more appropriate name for a sport in which you pass and catch a ball but can’t move when you have the ball. Maybe… handball? Introducing the WUBHWIWL - the Western Ultimate (But Handball When It’s Windy) League!

Angela (Ange): Double teams. Right now, the WUL rulebook precludes double-teaming. I'd change this rule to allow double teams on the thrower in the last two minutes of each quarter. Throwers across the league are getting better and better - and I, for one, would love to see them be more challenged as the stakes get high during the end of quarters and games.

Bryce:  Five timeouts per half. 30 seconds. Keep the full subs and the resetting of the stall. I think we'd see some great redzone packages and teams rostering some really role-specific players with these additional timeouts. 

Nicole: I would add an addendum to the stalling rule: if a player calls a stall that the observer determines is not a stall, the player with the disc gets a free unmarked throw, and the defender is not allowed to poach off and defend another player. They just have to lay back until the throw goes off. 

Megan: If I *had* to slightly alter a rule, I would add a floater timeout. Having the ability to substitute players during a timeout can give your team such a unique advantage that I’d love to add the wrinkle of another timeout, but you have to be judicious about when in the game you play that card.  

Pawel: Modify nothing - keep a rule intact or burn it to the ground. Bad question posed by the noobie editor.

Group 3: Rules we would birth (puck)

Ben: When a team is up by a few scores as the game winds down, they generally play a loose zone defense and force the other team to throw a hundred throws to score while killing the rest of the clock. That’s boring to watch and stifles comeback opportunities. If I’m in charge, no zone defense is allowed in the fourth quarter. If you want to win, earn it by matching up person to person.

Ange:   Two points for a first-possession break score. I'll come clean before expanding on this one: defensive line players who can effectively convert a breakpoint are my favorite kinds of frisbee players. That shift from super intense, gritty defense to smooth, clean, and calm offense is beautiful to witness. It's also demoralizing for your opponent. I'd create a new WUL rule to award two points to a defensive line that converts a breakpoint in one "d'offensive" possession. I think it would incentivize better play on both sides of the disc...the original D-line players would be more methodical in their first attempt to score a break, and the original O-line would be desperate to stop a two-point break conversion after turning it over. 

Bryce: Mandatory statisticians/athlete trackers. Give the coaches the tools to level up. Give the talking heads all the data points we could ever handle. I need yards per game. I need # of sprints per quarter. Help us quantify the greatness we're seeing on the field beyond the box score. 

Nicole:  Catching a Callahan (a defensive score) adds 100 points to the team that scores the Callahan. Similar to the golden snitch rule in Quidditch, except it doesn't end the game completely, just makes it very hard for the other team to catch up. Last season, there were no Callahan scores between all 7 WUL teams. This rule would incentivize teams and players to play tough defense and encourage Callahan attempts to pad teams with high point differentials. Also, it'd just make Callahans 10x more exciting than they already are. 

Megan: If I *had* to create a rule from scratch, I’d add a shot clock (an idea I’m shamelessly stealing from Bryan Jones, PoNY coach in the club men’s division). Having to fire into the endzone within a specific amount of time would encourage faster offensive flow and likely lead to a lot of thrilling shots. 

Pawel: Nicole did not go far enough with her free throw idea, so I will: every pick, foul, bad stall call is awarded a free throw. It would go something like this: a foul is called, everyone stops, the thrower gets to chuck it to anyone without pivoting, the defense cannot bat it down, the offense cannot move. If an offender is already in the endzone, the thrower can chuck it for a goal (hey, maybe next time, don’t foul close to the endzone?). If it’s complete, play on. If the thrower turfs it, turnover. On the other hand, every travel is a 10-year penalty and a mandatory “Shame! Shame! Shame!” from the crowd.

Bonus: Kenny’s rant

Kenny went on a rant this week about Observers. Didn’t really answer the question, but this is better anyway. I imagine he got wronged at some point. Don’t get me started.

Kenny rant:

I like empowering Observers in the pro leagues. In this case, I would want to empower them to get involved more on foul calls. A lot of time goes into making the sport a viable entertainment option for fans and viewers. We put a greater emphasis on things like venue and broadcast setup with the appropriate view that a pro league is meant to serve fans. The hope is, of course, that those fans will bankroll the costs of running a league. 

So here's my hot take that might go against what some consider the spirit of the game: Private conversations between players on the field that stop the flow of a game have no place in a professional broadcast.

We've all been there. We finally convince a family member or friend to sit and give Ultimate a chance. There's a pro league, now! Tune in to watch from the comfort of your home. I'm having some people over. We've got guac. You explain the rules. The game is exciting. They're finally seeing what you see, starting to understand why you've traveled on your own dime so many weekends for tournaments, slept on so many strangers' floors, played for ten hours fueled only by half a banana and the two bottles of Gatorade you paid too much for at the closest gas station... 

Then comes a foul call. They ask you what happened. You explain that they're going to talk it out. You sit. Everyone twiddles their thumbs. The broadcast announcers speculate over the arguments the players may or may not be making. If we're lucky we get a close-up, silent view of the discussion (if that's in the wheelhouse of the broadcast crew), and we watch a static wide shot of two players saying discussing the contact they felt or thought they felt and how that contact violates their understanding of the rules and was that rule standard USAU and in the WUL changes and they pause and ask the observers for the rule clarification so they can continue discussing and then get back to their point and--

Have you tuned out yet? (editor voice from above: yes, Kenny, I have. Get to your point, man.)

So has everyone else. They're on their phones now. Or they're grabbing a snack. Or rethinking why they're so invested in this game, anyway.

I know it's harsh. I know there are a lot of ways to address this problem. Other pro sports have media packages that they use to fill in gaps like this. They have commercial breaks all lined up and ready to go. They have contingency plans. They know every second of the show counts. When I was cutting film for broadcast, I'd get segments rejected if they were off by a frame or two. A single frame or two. I'm just not sure most people in this community appreciate how much harder a pitch to a broadcast station or any media network is if you have to let them know that there might be up to two minutes of random, dead time in the middle of a broadcast. In the industry, commercials are sold in fifteen, thirty, forty-five, and sixty-second slots. We have to start thinking in that language. A sixty-second discussion about a foul is a big deal. In other sports, some companies pay thousands of dollars for sixty seconds in the middle of a game. 

There are other ways to make discussions over player calls exciting. Notice that above I said "private" conversations between players have no place in a broadcast. But until we have the technical capabilities to do that either by bringing viewers into the drama of that on-field conversation, having effective comms between on-field reporters or Observers and the commentators in the broadcast booth, or using the opportunity to showcase other media packages, commercials, etc, the best way to deal with this is simply to empower Observers to step in quickly, make a decision, then let the players use the integrity override if they think the Observer got it wrong. Observers are already involved in pretty much every other call of the game, why have we shut them out of foul calls? For some, it may be a big shift to think that Observers keep the game exciting by providing quick rulings, but to me, that's half the job. In that regard, we're capping their effectiveness by keeping them out of stall counts and foul calls.

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This Week’s Contributors:

• Kenny Baldwin (he/him) is a contributing writer for the WUL and a broadcast commentator for the AUDL's Salt Lake Shred. Catch him on Twitter at @FlatballKenny. 

• Nicole Garnes (she/her) has played Ultimate frisbee since 2016, playing Club in both the Women's and Mixed Divisions in Arizona, and currently resides in Los Angeles, CA. Follow Nicole on Twitter @bring_snaaacks.

• Pawel Janas (he/him) is the curator of West Perspective, so send your complaints his way. He plays for the Los Angeles Aviators in the AUDL and Chicago Machine in the USAU Men's Club Division. You can find him on Twitter and Instagram at @secondarypotato.

• Bryce Merrill (he/him) is a youth ultimate organizer in Utah, Head Coach of the AUDL's Salt Lake Shred, and the inaugural coach of the Utah Wild for the 2021 Winter Cup.

• Ben Sadis (he/him) is a data collector and statistician for the WUL. He plays for Washington DC Rally in the USAU Mixed Club Division. He can be reached on Twitter at @ben_sadis.

• Megan Tormey (she/her) has served as a color analyst for USAU, WFDF, and the AUDL. She has played many years of ultimate for Nemesis and Public Enemy in the USAU’s women’s and mixed divisions, respectively. Twitter and Instagram: @Meagles000

• Angela Wells (she/her) is the head coach of San Diego Super Bloom and San Diego Wildfire. For nearly two decades, she has coached and played for women's teams in San Diego. She is unapologetically loud and bossy, and endlessly supportive of providing opportunities for female, trans, and non-binary athletes of all ages to play sports together in her community. 

Introducing the West Perspective

- Pawel Janas

Note: The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the WUL.

Welcome to the first edition of West Perspective, a blog on the current events of the WUL, or, as I like to call it, a weekly mixtape of spicy 🔥 takes from a distinguished group of players, coaches, and commentators (and me). Each week, our expert roundtable will share their solicited opinions on all things WUL, from big-picture perspectives (where is the league heading?) to strategic minutia (which teams would benefit from the German Offense?). So strap in and put your egos aside because you may not like what these unfiltered talking-heads have to say. 

Before diving into this week’s topic, let’s meet our Week 1 contributors (listed alphabetically):

• Kenny Baldwin (he/him) is a contributing writer for the WUL and a broadcast commentator for the AUDL's Salt Lake Shred. Catch him on Twitter at @FlatballKenny. 

• Michael Ferguson (he/him) is a contributing writer for the WUL.  He coaches Oregon Onyx in the WUL and Schwa in the USAU Women's Club Division. You can see his IG birding pictures at @cardinalsandallies.

• Nicole Garnes (she/her) has played Ultimate frisbee since 2016, playing Club in both the Women's and Mixed Divisions in Arizona, and currently resides in Los Angeles, CA. Follow Nicole on Twitter @bring_snaaacks.

• Bobby Gough has been coaching in the USAU women’s club division since 2016 with Oregon Schwa. He spent the 2022 WUL season in the broadcast booth for Oregon Onyx, and in 2023 he joined the team as an assistant coach. You can find him on Twitter at @BobbyGough.

• Pawel Janas (he/him) is the curator of West Perspective, so send your complaints his way. He plays for the Los Angeles Aviators in the AUDL and Chicago Machine in the USAU Men's Club Division. You can find him on Twitter and Instagram at @secondarypotato.

• Bryce Merrill (he/him) is a youth ultimate organizer in Utah, Head Coach of the AUDL's Salt Lake Shred, and the inaugural coach of the Utah Wild for the 2021 Winter Cup.

• Ben Sadis (he/him) is a data collector and statistician for the WUL. He plays for Washington DC Rally in the USAU Mixed Club Division. He can be reached on Twitter at @ben_sadis.

• Aly Steinfeld (she/her) is an at-large member of the WUL Board of Directors and a former player for the Oregon Onyx. She has played ultimate since 2003 and also coached high school and club ultimate. Follow her on Twitter @AlyNotAllie and Instagram @AlyStein83.

• Angela Wells (she/her) is the head coach of San Diego Super Bloom and San Diego Wildfire. For nearly two decades, she has coached and played for women's teams in San Diego. She is unapologetically loud and bossy, and endlessly supportive of providing opportunities for female, trans, and non-binary athletes of all ages to play sports together in her community. 

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Let’s get into it. For this first week, I asked the group about Seattle. Why? Because you either hate Seattle or you live in Seattle. You can’t run, you can’t hide, and ambivalence is not an option. In other words, a perfect first topic to get the people going.

Question for February 22, 2023:

In 2022, there was a big gap between Seattle (+6 point differential per game in the regular season) and everyone else. How important is competitive balance to the sustained growth of semi-professional women's ultimate, if at all?

Group 1: Seattle Haters and Parity Lovers

Aly: I want to challenge the premise a little bit here. Seattle Tempest had a great season in 2022, no doubt. We shouldn't forget, though, that Seattle has had a professional women's team longer than any other city in the WUL. Despite this huge head start, in 2022, they trailed Oregon, then the newest WUL team, for most of the second half in a regular season match-up. Any league will have winners and losers, and the WUL is still in its infancy. It may be that Seattle ends up winning big NOW, but that is going to change sooner or later. I expect that the big roster moves from Oregon, San Diego, the addition of Colorado, and the previous underperformance of San Francisco will bring more parity to the league in 2023. Until that shift happens, though, just as NFL fans rallied to make a common enemy out of the Patriots in the Belichick-Brady decades, we may see a similar pattern in the WUL with league fans rallying against Seattle.

Kenny: A studio executive once told me that if he had it his way, every NBA game would be decided by one or two points. Every game. Sports are built on competition, but there is a different type of relationship between a sport and its participants compared to a sport and its viewership. If the WUL's goal is to expand viewership, it must have a significant interest in making every game important to those viewers, and that means paying them back for the time they've invested watching. One way of making good on that investment is by providing exciting games to watch. Even people who know almost nothing about the sport can appreciate a neck-and-neck scoreline. 

The WUL isn't the NBA. So far, its growth has come largely from within the ultimate community. If the league's goal is to capture a greater portion of the community's attention, then the league should be positioning itself as the top rung on the competitive ladder for its athletes. It's hard to frame yourself that way if you have one team blowing everyone out so dramatically. I think the best success for the WUL comes in three steps: 1. Make the championship title the coveted accolade for women and non-binary athletes.  2. Make it possible for any team in the league to achieve it. 3. Make that journey a can't-miss spectacle for the fans of every franchise.

Nicole: Even though there was a gap in point differential for Seattle in the 2022 season, there was still a good amount of competitive balance. That differential started early in the season with a whopping 28-16 win over AZ Sidewinders and only grew from there. But not every game of their season was a blowout. In fact, UT Wild, who came in last in overall rankings, nearly took Tempest to Universe, and Super Bloom gave us many tight games vs. Seattle. Ultimately, as a fan, it's not entertaining to watch one team dominate every other team week after week. What is important for the growth of semi-professional women's ultimate are tight close games that give the underdog hope and leave fans on the edge of their seats. Even with a large gap in point differential, fans just want to hope their team can slay the dragon and win it all. Competitive balance is important to keep fans watching, hoping, and wanting more.

Mike: Seattle was the clear dominant team during the regular season in 2022.  But the +6 point differential doesn't tell the whole story to me.  Half of Seattle's games were "blowouts" (+8, +9, and +13), but the other half were close (+3, +2, +1).  In addition to these 3 Seattle games, there were 5 other games won by 5 or more points, and 2 more won by 4.  Out of 21 regular season games, nearly half were not "close" as the clock ticked down to the final moments.  A quick look at the pre-quarters and quarters results at 2022 Club Nationals tells a similar story: 5 of the 8 games were won by 6 or more points.

Bryce: Not to take away from the dominant 2022 performance of the Seattle Tempest, a wire-to-wire undefeated championship effort, but the +6 point differential doesn't tell the story of the season. Kristen Pojunis's layout with 2 minutes left in the championship game on the Hana Kawai's IO might've led to an entirely different season narrative had it not bounced into the waiting hands of Jennifer Ricaurte. Tight wins over Wild, Onyx, and Super Bloom in the 2022 regular season speak to a highly entertaining competitive balance that left fans pining for more. Yes, they had a couple of big wins where the fourth quarter felt little more than a formality, but the WUL's 2022 teams had more than enough talent and competitive balance to keep the entire season, and especially the championship weekend, a thrilling fan experience. 

For 2023, The Northwest Conference looks to be stacked with exciting matchups--I can't help but see a squad ready to challenge the Tempest in their regular season meetings when I see the Onyx Roster. As for the Alpenglow, there might not be a more exciting ultimate scene than Colorado after their 2022 seasons across college and club, and I'm thrilled to see them take the field this WUL season. Utah has retooled its roster and added some critical depth in Songer, Caldwell, Sjordal, and Stanislawski that will help them match up with these three strong teams. The Rocky Mountain Rumble in week 10 should have massive playoff implications for all 4 teams and will be must-watch ultimate.  I have more questions than answers for the Southwest Conference, and they're likely questions that won't be answered until after the Week 3 Super Bloom Beach Bowl. But the battle for the second invitation, alongside the presumed-to-return San Diego Super Bloom, to the championship tournament could be a great, season-long story.

The WUL has done a great job of finding ways to have these matchups, the weekend-long events, the two conferences, and the narratives build a sustainable league model; If the recent Megafan jerseys were any indication, Felicia Yang and her team at the league offices have struck a vein in connecting the fans and communities with the league that tells me the sustained growth is here to stay and only going to get better in 2023. 

Group 2: Hedgers and Analysts

Bobby: I’m sure that competitive balance is, and will be, a factor in the growth of this league. I’m just not sure how large that factor will be. New leagues like the Western Ultimate League depend on the time, effort, and equity of a lot of individual actors, all of whom I believe have good intentions and are putting in the best work that they can. It’s tough, in a vacuum, to simply operate in this space. Success in operating would be not only a cherry on top of the simply existing cake, but it can also be the flavor of the cake. And the problem with flavor is that people like different ones. Some individual actors in the league — or supporting sponsors, donators, etc. — won’t mind if their team isn’t winning or at the top of the competition. But many will. Without balance, and without that version of success, an individual, or a supporter, or a team, could falter. And the league is nothing if not a collection of teams and their supporters.

I believe there is more balance than the goal differential might suggest, and I’m not worried about any team doing demonstratively better than Seattle did last season, and most teams have a roster full of experienced players now. I believe this season will be competitive and balanced, and I believe, in a vacuum, this league will remain competitive and balanced well into the future.

Ben: While Seattle may have gone undefeated en route to winning the inaugural WUL championship, they were presented with plenty of challenges along the way. The championship game against San Diego was a back-and-forth affair, with Seattle leading by one at halftime and Super Bloom keeping the margin within three throughout the fourth quarter. And in the final regular season game against winless Utah, they squeaked out a one-point victory. Competitive balance exists in the WUL, but there's an expectation surrounding the Tempest that they are the team to beat. That's a best-of-both-worlds scenario and puts the WUL in an ideal situation coming into the 2023 season. One of the most compelling storylines in professional sports is that of the potential upset. College basketball's March Madness draws so much interest because the top teams lose just enough to make those upsets relevant but infrequently enough to make the moment special. The NFL, the most-watched sports league in the United States by a wide margin, is able to tout the phrase "any given Sunday" as its calling card for a reason. As teams establish themselves at the top of the league by winning a championship, they are supplanted within a few years by a new challenger to the throne. It remains to be seen if the challengers will be victorious in the WUL this season, but with returning teams like San Diego adding even more talent and the brand-new Colorado Alpenglow stockpiling an impressive amount of it in just their first year, it's clear they are coming. In 2022, WUL teams proved that Tempest can be beaten. In 2023, the question is: will they?

Group 3: Pro Seattle

Ange: Throughout my 20-year ultimate career, Seattle has been a model of exactly what investment in our sport and our players should look like. A handful of long-established USAU club teams from Seattle (across all divisions) consistently perform well in the regular and postseason. UW and Western Washington field nationals-caliber teams year after year. Seattle youth programs are wildly inclusive, accessible, and successful…not just at creating young athletes who have bigger flick hucks than I’ll ever have, but athletes who have long-term investments in our sport and in the greater Seattle community. 

None of this is by accident. Long before the rest of us started doing it, players, coaches, and frisbee fanatics in Seattle created sustainable programs that offered opportunities for folks of all ages and skill levels…and they did it in much worse weather conditions than here in San Diego. Players like Shannon O'Malley, Khalif El-Salaam, and seemingly every member of the Titcomb family have developed in this incredible community. Youth teams, college teams, club teams, and even USA teams are better because the Seattle frisbee scene is strong. So it’s not shocking to me that the WUL is also dominated by a team from Seattle. If the rest of us want to compete with them, the winning recipe isn't a secret - it's just going to take a lot of work. 

However, I will point out that Super Bloom beat Tempest in the WUL’s 2021 Winter Cup; lost to them by just three points in the 2022 WUL Championship game; and is coming for them this season…stay tuned. 

Pawel: Look, the question is about competitive balance and what is best for the league. I am not Pro-Seattle, but I am also not Pro-Parity. My fellow pundits gave nuanced takes, though faulty, and I applaud them for that. As a no-nuance kind of guy, let me unequivocally state that I want to see more super teams in the WUL. I want to see Seattle win by an average of 8 points this year. And in 2024, I want all of Fury to play for the Falcons and win by an average of 12 points. Why? Because every good story needs a villain. Good stories lead to good marketing, and good marketing leads to cash money. Who doesn’t want that?

StudySoup Signs on as an WUL Official Sponsor

StudySoup is partnering with the Western Ultimate League for the 2023 season to support the WUL’s mission of increasing opportunity, resources, and visibility for women and non-binary athletes .

Founded in 2014, StudySoup provides alternative and accessible methods of learning to help students achieve their academic goals. Many of the students StudySoup supports identify as women and non-binary, and have been historically undersupported by traditional academic materials. 

StudySoup offers study materials like study guides, textbook solutions, and class notes to help student-athletes achieve their goals both on and off the field.

WUL's mission is to amplify women and non-binary athletes and together, WUL and StudySoup believe this partnership will help inspire women and non-binary college athletes to pursue their dreams in professional sports.

"StudySoup is excited to help the WUL continue its mission of inspiring and motivating female athletes who want to play ultimate frisbee at an elite level,” says Jeff Silverman, the founder of StudySoup. “We have a vision: to be the ultimate college student empowerment platform, providing all the materials that nurture students' success. We now do that by sponsoring the Western Ultimate League to help more women and non-binary players follow their dreams. We believe in gender equity, like supporting women and non-binary players as they chase their dreams and helping them break new barriers in professional sports."

See what StudySoup is all about at StudySoup.com and stay tuned for an exciting season of WUL Ultimate, kicking off on March 11, 2023!

WUL Championship Weekend 2023 Location Announced

The Western Ultimate League is pleased to announce the host city for our 2023 Championship Weekend: Seattle, Washington.

Taking place June 3-4, 2023, WUL Championship Weekend will see the top two teams from each conference (4 total) compete for the cup at Memorial Stadium, under the iconic Space Needle.

Championship Weekend will be hosted by 2022 WUL champions, the undefeated Seattle Tempest. Full event details are available through the host team here.

All four games will be broadcast live on the WUL’s YouTube channel in partnership with Ultiworld.

Opening weekend of our 2023 season is just a few weeks away, and will feature rematches of 2022’s third place game (OR @ AZ) and first place game (SEA vs SD) right out of the gates.

With the addition of an 8th team for 2023, the Colorado Alpenglow, the WUL has divided teams into two conferences: Northwest and Southwest. The Northwest Conference includes Colorado, Oregon, Seattle, and Utah. The Southwest Conference is comprised of Arizona, Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco.

During the 2023 season, conference play is emphasized with each team playing 6 in-conference games, facing each in-conference opponent twice with two cross-conference games, for a total of 8 games per team.

We’re gearing up for another exciting season of ultimate and are looking forward to closing the 2023 season in style in Seattle.

Stay up to date with our 2023 schedule & standings here. Make sure you never miss a game, subscribe to our YouTube channel here.

Quarterly League Update January 2023

January 25, 2022

Happy New Year! We are so excited to build upon the momentum from our inaugural season in 2022 and share some of what we’re looking forward to for our upcoming season.

Teams have been hard at work in the off-season to prepare for the 2023 season, which begins in March! In fact, our schedule dropped today and we’ll be announcing our host city for 2023 finals later this week.

Looking back, we are thrilled to report that our GoFundMe, which was created to offset the costs associated with keeping our games live-streamed and accessible for FREE, has raised over $19,000 so far! We also received a generous contribution from our premier sponsor, Breakmark, for an additional $5,000.

This money is being distributed to our teams to help ensure that all 36 of our regular season and postseason games will be available for you to watch, for FREE!  Visibility and accessibility are at the core of our mission and we cannot thank you enough for helping us stay true to that commitment. If you’re interested in supporting this initiative, there is still time to participate at GoFundMe and help us reach our goal of $45,000 to fully cover all streaming costs for the 2023 season. 

The WUL is still a young, growing league. As you probably know, women’s sports have historically been underfunded and under-exposed. We aspire to build an enduring and durable organization that pays athletes, coaches, and support staff what they are worth. But right now, we’re building from the ground up. To help our teams fund their 2023 season, we’re launching a collection of ultra-limited edition Megafan jerseys, available starting on Monday, January 30 at 9am PT! 

Your purchase of a Megafan jersey helps to fund your favorite team, and the Western Ultimate League’s 2023 season. This limited edition merchandise is just one way we’re working toward a profitable, sustainable professional sports business model. Available in short sleeve ($150) or long sleeve ($175). A whopping 60% from each jersey sale will go directly to the team you want to support. Popular player jerseys will go FAST, so don’t wait to order yours. Learn more about the program here.

We hope you’ve enjoyed what you’ve seen from the WUL so far! We've loved creating it and are looking forward to getting even better in 2023. 

Felicia Yang 

WUL Executive Director

WUL ANNOUNCES COLORADO’S FIRST PROFESSIONAL WOMEN’S ULTIMATE TEAM

One of eight professional teams in the Western Ultimate League, 2023 will be the inaugural year for the Colorado Alpenglow

[Denver, Colo.], [October 26, 2022] – In a historic move, The Western Ultimate League (WUL) has announced today that it has expanded to include Colorado. The Colorado Alpenglow is the first professional women’s ultimate team in the state of Colorado and is one of eight professional women’s ultimate teams across the western United States. 

Colorado joins established teams from Washington (Seattle), Oregon, Utah, Arizona, and California (San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego). 

“The opportunity to showcase the incredible skill, dedication, and athleticism of our Colorado ultimate community on the professional stage was too important to pass up,” said Betsy Basch, one of the founders of the newly formed Alpenglow team. “Glow is excited to raise the bar with our youth community, fan engagement, and spirited play to positively impact ultimate for years to come!”

Established in 2020, with 2022 officially marking the WUL’s inaugural season as a fully-fledged league, the WUL’s mission is to advance both visibility and equity within the sport of ultimate and to provide a way for all women to compete on a stage that showcases high-level, competitive ultimate.

Felicia Yang, WUL Executive Director, added her excitement about the expansion. “I am hopeful that the greater ultimate community will continue to support the WUL as our professional development flourishes with the hard work and determination of the leaders in each of these communities.” 

The Alpenglow will hold tryouts in the next few months and announce its inaugural roster in early 2023, which will include talent from Denver, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs, and Boulder. The roster will likely include players from USA Ultimate College Championships; USA Ultimate Club National Championships; USA Ultimate Masters National Championships; and other accolades.

The 2023 WUL season will run from March - May 2023, culminating in a championship finals event with the top teams in the league in May 2023. 

In the spirit of accessibility and visibility for female and non-binary athletes, all WUL games have been streamed for free on YouTube thanks, in part, to public funding. Help keep the live streams free for all in 2023 by supporting our broadcast fund at www.gofundme.com/f/help-keep-wul-livestreams-free. 

You can learn more about the Colorado Alpenglow at www.coloradoalpenglow.com 

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The Western Ultimate League was established to advance the sport of ultimate frisbee by showcasing and amplifying women and non-binary athletes. Recognizing the privilege that got us here, our mission is to: Increase accessibility, promote the visibility of underrepresented athletes, cultivate a culture of inclusion and equity, and use our influence and platform to broaden the spaces where our sport grows and develops.

Interested in becoming a sponsor or supporter of the Alpenglow or the Western Ultimate League? Contact marketing@westernultimateleague.com or donate to keep live streams free at www.gofundme.com/f/help-keep-wul-livestreams-free. 

Quarterly League Update October 2022

October 6, 2022

WUL community,

We’re back!  We have been quietly gearing up for our second full season and want to provide a preview of the exciting things to come. We are all so proud of the product we produced in our first full season as a league, and we look forward to building on that as we continue to grow and learn. 

On to announcements! First, I feel honored that the Board has voted for me to continue in my role as Executive Director of the WUL for the 2022-2023 season. I am immensely proud to be a part of this league and I am committed to continuing the needed work of highlighting and showcasing the incredible role models in our league. One cannot help but feel optimistic at the growing economy for products like ours and I am eager for us to claim our space in this market.

We are also excited to welcome back Breakmark as our jersey sponsor for the 2023-2025 seasons. As an early sponsor of the league, Breakmark was an integral member of the WUL’s debut and we are thrilled  to continue our partnership. Find WUL gear and more at www.breakmark.com/wul. It just may be your last chance to own some of the 2022 jersey designs and brand logos!

Behind the scenes, we are hard at work planning the next season. Such important work requires many hands, and so we wanted to put out a call for those interested in collaborating or working with us to improve our stat keeping and stats operation. Please reach out if interested! 

As always, your support is what keeps this league going. Please continue to support us by sharing, liking and commenting on social media, and don’t forget that your dollars go a long way to help ensure that we continue to put forth a product we can all be proud of.

Felicia Yang 

WUL Executive Director

Quarterly League Update June 2022

June 23, 2022

WUL community,

We did it! Our first season is in the books and I could not be more proud to be a part of the group who came together to make this happen. It really took a village! Between our board, our incredible consultant Meaghan Rodeck, the volunteers, and team staff - many of whom volunteered not only their time, but also their airline and hotel points - this event would not have been possible. I know their time and effort is a testament to the importance of our mission and I am hopeful that we have laid down a solid foundation in our long term journey to amplify and showcase the incredible athletes that make up the WUL.  

Of course, we need to wish a hearty congratulations to Seattle Tempest for winning the inaugural WUL Championship after an undefeated regular season. You can catch every game they, and the rest of the WUL, played this season for free on our YouTube channel.  We committed to making the game accessible and the results speak for themselves. We had 105,000+ views over the course of our inaugural season, totaling over 32,000+ hours of WUL ultimate enjoyed by fans. One of my favorite mission-forward accomplishments this year was featuring an all-women and non-binary observing and broadcast crew for Championship weekend.  

To cap it all off, this past weekend we hosted a special showcase game in Denver, Colorado that featured players from all seven teams playing together in combination squads embodying Fire and Ice. If you didn’t catch the game, all I can tell you is that you have to watch!  It was such a wonderful opportunity to put a finishing touch on our inaugural season and celebrate this amazing product we have been able to create and showcase. Many thanks to the Colorado Summit for their collaboration and willingness to support our mission and our players, and for making this showcase game possible.

We’d love to have your support as well! The future of our league does need your donations, it needs you to purchase our merchandise, watch our games, and of course, continue to cheer for our teams and players. Thank you again for being amazing fans of the Western Ultimate League - we are so excited for what our future holds, together.

Felicia Yang 

WUL Executive Director

Quarterly League Update March 2022

March 31, 2022

WUL community,

It’s finally happening! Our inaugural season started with a bang on March 11 and we’ve already had a number of thrilling games with exciting finishes! We are incredibly thankful for the engagement, feedback and donations we’ve received to date and I encourage you to make your own donation here if you haven’t done so yet. Showcasing our athletes in stadiums and on film to increase visibility and representation is why this league was built, and we hope you all are enjoying the results as much as we have enjoyed creating it. 

If you are not yet aware, each week there is an opportunity to engage by playing fan fantasy. Pick the players you think will rack up stats each week, and compete against other fans of the WUL. You can always watch highlights and game replays on our YouTube channel. Subscribe to make sure you don’t miss a thing! 

Looking ahead - our first Championship Weekend will be on May 14-15, 2022 at Mira Mesa High School in San Diego! The top four ranked teams will qualify, and the weekend will include four games total: two semi-finals on Saturday, and finals as well as third place game on Sunday.

Although COVID infections are decreasing nationwide, we remain mindful that this pandemic is not over yet and are continuing to strive to provide a safe environment for everyone. Prior to the start of the season, we updated our policies and implemented a booster requirement, in addition to our vaccinate mandate, for players, coaches, and team staff. To further protect our team members and communities, we are still requiring negative COVID tests prior to all league events, games, and team travel.

In line with our commitment to be an equitable and inclusive space, and now that rosters are set and our 2022 season is underway, we are providing everyone in the league the opportunity to learn more about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) through short, online DEI education units. Most of us have already completed the first series, “Introduction to DEI”, and are ready to explore the next topic, “Power and Privilege”. As we progress through the season, we will also be learning more about Gender and Sexuality, Race and Racism, Allyship, and Recognizing and Responding to Discrimination. These topics could not be more timely, especially considering the recent headlines and the need to create inclusive spaces for gender diverse athletes.

Thank you again for being amazing fans of the Western Ultimate League. We’d love to see your support continue throughout the season through donations, purchasing our merchandise, viewership, and cheering for our teams and players.

Felicia Yang 

WUL Executive Director

Quarterly League Update January 2022

January 7, 2022

WUL community,

So many exciting things have taken place since our last update!

First and foremost, we held our first official league event, the WUL Winter Cup, in San Diego on December 11-12, 2021. It was a huge success that was made possible thanks to the incredible collaboration of our board, teams, sponsors, partners, staff and volunteers. 

Going into this event, we defined the metrics we wanted to execute on: player experience, fan engagement, media production, and above all else, COVID safety. As we updated back in October, the league mandated vaccinations as well as negative PCR tests for all players, coaches, and team staff prior to traveling to Winter Cup, and we can report that no positive tests occurred as a result of the event! That said, our board continues to discuss the ongoing variants of the virus and is considering implementing additional policies for our 2022 season. 

Winter Cup was also a sneak peak into the incredible players that make up the WUL and I’m thrilled that we got to celebrate the Utah Wild as the winners of the first WUL Winter Cup. In addition to going 2-0 on the weekend and tallying points through individual statistics, our unique fan fantasy game helped Utah eek out a win over host San Diego Super Bloom. If you haven’t had a chance to watch the games, they are available on our Youtube channel. We also had TWO highlight plays featured on ESPN SportsCenter Top 10!

Next, we announced the addition of a new team to our league, Oregon Onyx. We are thrilled to add another team in the Pacific Northwest and to add Jaycee Jones to our Board of Directors. We have also welcomed Leah Smith to the Board of Directors as the new Utah Wild representative.

Currently, many of our teams are in the midst of holding tryouts to select the rosters that will be playing in our renewed inaugural season from March through May of 2022. Our schedule will be announced shortly, and we hope that you continue to support these players by attending games, watching streams, buying their jerseys, or offering to sponsor both the teams and the league. One great way for individuals to support the league is with a donation. Your support helps us continue to push the envelope for what we can accomplish!

Felicia Yang 

WUL Executive Director

Quarterly League Update October 2021

October 5, 2021

WUL community,

Time is flying by! While we hinted at this in our last update, we have been busy building the foundation for our first official league kickoff event, the 2021 WUL Winter Cup. This event will take place on December 11-12, 2021 in San Diego, California, and will feature six showcase-style games over two days. For those unable to attend in person, we will be live streaming every game! Please look out for additional announcements and updates in the coming weeks! 

Additionally, as COVID continues to remain a concern for our communities and our players, the WUL will be requiring that all rostered players, coaches and staff who attend Winter Cup both be vaccinated, and provide a negative PCR test within the 72 hours leading up to the event.  The WUL believes these protocols can mitigate the risks associated with having teams from four different states traveling to one site. Decisions regarding spectators will be made in conjunction with the venue and our COVID committee and information will be made available for those wishing to attend in person prior to the event. 

In case you missed it, on July 30 Seattle Tempest hosted a showcase game against The West, which featured players from four other teams in the WUL. If you didn’t get to catch it live, you still can watch the entire game, or check out the highlight reel. This is just a taste of the electric skill and athleticism we hope to celebrate throughout our league, and we can’t wait for more!

In other news, we have some exciting board updates! We recently welcomed a new at-large board member, Joanne Matibag, a veteran of the game and a person who has dedicated her life to service and community. We also want to send a very hearty congratulations to Caroline Coatney, another at-large board member, who welcomed a healthy baby girl in late August. 

Finally, we are excited to announce that we are launching an end-of-year fundraising campaign in advance of the Winter Cup!  The campaign will go live at the end of the month, and those attending USAU Club Nationals will be able to get a preview of the merchandise available. Your support will be critical to our kickoff event and inaugural season.

It has been a busy few months and we are so excited to be finding our way back to the field and can’t wait to show you what’s coming!

Felicia Yang 

WUL Executive Director