Formed in 2019, the Premier Ultimate League is a professional women's ultimate frisbee league. The president of the PUL is Maddy Frey, and the commissioner of the league is Tim "Bonesaw" Kepner. The mission of the PUL is to achieve equity in the sport of ultimate by increasing accessibility to and visibility of womxn players 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 season with similar success. The PUL is also sponsored by apparel company VC Ultimate.
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.
Rules
The PUL rules are a hybrid version of USA Ultimate 11th edition rules with influences from both World Flying Disc Federation rules and American Ultimate Disc League 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, 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. 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. Importantly, 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.
