The Premier Ultimate League (PUL) is a professional women's

ultimate disc Ultimate, originally known as ultimate Frisbee, is a non-contact team sport played with a frisbee flung by hand. Ultimate was developed in 1968 by AJ Gator in Maplewood, New Jersey. Although ultimate resembles many traditional sports in its ath ...

league that formed in 2019. The mission of the PUL is "to achieve equity in the sport of ultimate by increasing accessibility to the sport for, and visibility of

women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...

intersex Intersex people are individuals born with any of several sex characteristics including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical b ...

non-binary Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

genderqueer Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typicall ...

, and

genderfluid Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

people through high-quality competition, leadership experiences, and community partnerships". The league strives for gender, racial, and economic diversity in the sport of ultimate frisbee. PUL players are paid $40 per league game. The PUL is organized as a 501c6 nonprofit entity. In its inaugural year it raised funds by holding a "Sponsor-A-Player" program, raising $120,000 in one week. This program was repeated for the 2020 and 2022 seasons with similar success. The PUL is also sponsored by apparel company VC Ultimate. The 2022 competition season runs from April through June, 2022.

History

The league began with eight teams in 2019. The inaugural championship was won by the Medellin Revolution. The 2020 season saw the addition of four new teams and the organization of the league into two divisions, Central and East. On April 24, 2020, the PUL announced the cancellation of the 2020 season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the PUL elected to hold a limited 2021 competition season with games occurring across three weekends in August 2021 in New York, Milwaukee, and Portland, ME. With three teams competing at each event, the Raleigh Radiance, Milwaukee Monarchs, and Medellin Revolution Pro emerged victorious. The Medellin Revolution defeated the DC Shadow in the 2022 championship game to win their second successive championship.

Rules

The PUL rules are a hybrid version of

USA Ultimate USA Ultimate is a not-for-profit organization that serves as the governing body of the sport of ultimate (also known as ''ultimate Frisbee'') in the United States. It was founded in 1979 as the Ultimate Players Association, but rebranded itself ...

11th edition rules with influences from both

World Flying Disc Federation The World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) is the international governing body for flying disc (Frisbee) sports, with responsibility for sanctioning world championship events, establishing uniform rules, setting of standards for and recording of w ...

(WFDF) rules and

American Ultimate Disc League American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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

referees A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...

. Marking and throwing fouls follow USAU 11th edition rules, while receiving and positioning fouls follow the WFDF rules. This, along with the end-of-quarter rules, are intended to reduce the likelihood of dangerous contact and injuries. Observers actively call Up/Down, In/Out of bounds or end zone, Offsides, and Delay of Game infractions. Foul discussions must move quickly: before asking an observer for a ruling, players may only discuss for 10 seconds, and observers must rule within 10 seconds or the play is considered contested. Time-outs allow teams to substitute any number of players on the field, as well as reset the stall count to zero. Defensive players must be within two yards of the offender they are covering in order to call a pick. The PUL employs a Player Overrule option similar to the AUDL's Integrity Rule so that players can reverse a call made in favor of their team if they feel the ruling was incorrect or unfairly benefited their team.

Teams

References

External links

* {{Top sport leagues in the United States Professional sports leagues in the United States Sports leagues established in 2019 Ultimate (sport) competitions Women's sports competitions in the United States 2019 establishments in the United States

History

Rules

Teams

See also

References

External links