Ultimate Frisbee Championship Swings into Minnesota

Not to be confused with frisbee golf—ultimate frisbee's pinnacle event, the AUDL Championships, is coming to Minnesota for the first time ever in August. Here's what local players are saying.

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If you’ve seen college kids running around on a football or soccer field tossing around a frisbee and yelling phrases like “chilly,” “up,” and “no swing,” you’ve likely seen a game of ultimate frisbee. But the difference between these pick-up games and the professional version is akin to the jump between youth football camp and a college or NFL game.

In its rise to popularity and commonality, ultimate frisbee has been mistaken as many other disc-related sports. “We’ve come a long way from the days of the general public mistaking our sport for ‘the one with the baskets’ or ‘the one with the dogs,’” says Brandon Matis, captain and defensive cutter on Minnesota’s professional ultimate team, Wind Chill, and content strategist for a local cybersecurity company by day. “People are craving fast-paced alternative sports that have strong values and are more inclusive. … That’s allowed our sport to shine.”

One of the fastest-growing team sports in North America and countries like China, India, and Latin America, ultimate takes bits of soccer and football to the air with seven players on each team throwing a disc (aka a frisbee—but don’t call it that in the game!) in zigs and zags down a field to get to an endzone, in which the disc must be caught to constitute a point. Unlike football, there’s little physical contact in ultimate. For those reasons, the sport is widely accessible and has gained popularity among middle and high schoolers. “Minnesota has one of the largest populations of youth ultimate players in the entire country with more than 80 teams participating in the state tournament each year and a rapidly expanding middle school division,” says Ben Feldman, Wind Chill co-owner. (Wind Chill's majority owner is Omar Ansari, a house name in Minnesota for his pioneering moves at the helm of Surly Brewing Co.)

Let the Countdown Begin

Each year, four professional teams (the best in their respective regional divisions) compete in the “Final Four” of ultimate frisbee: the AUDL Championship Weekend. For the first time ever, Minnesota will host the AUDL Championship on August 25 and 26 at TCO Stadium in Eagan. “To host an event like this is both a testament to and a celebration of the ultimate community here in the Twin Cities,” Matis says. “Also, much like the Super Bowl and Final Four, it’s a way for us to display how amazing and underrated the Twin Cities are as sports cities and as a destination for travelers.” The host stadium must measure up to AUDL criteria on seating capacity, VIP area, food and beverage options, and field quality, along with proximity to transportation hubs to provide ample accessibility for fans traveling from out of town.

They expect more than 5,000 fans for the championship game alone, Feldman says—plus many more for the accompanying weekend events. Four team’s worth of fans are expected to flock to TCO Stadium for the face-offs. “And that doesn’t even include the local fans of the sport,” Matis says. “Ultimate attracts quirky people too, so they’re goofy, energetic, and fun fans.” For Minnesota’s large network of youth ultimate teams, this is a unique opportunity. “It is so cool that they get to have such a sweet weekend of ultimate so close to home, so they can go watch, connect with the players, and see themselves playing on a big stage in the future,” says Colin Berry, Wind Chill captain who plays cutter on the field and, off the field, is a software engineer for Best Buy.

Watch for auxiliary events throughout championship weekend, like a disc golf event on the Viking Lakes campus, for which details are still being finalized.

Forecast for the Season

We asked Wind Chill captains for predictions on the season, and the responses were cautiously optimistic—just like Minnesota’s spring forecast. “If you think I’m going to jinx our entire season in an article during April, you’re nuts,” Berry says.

But the odds may be stacked in the team’s favor: Wind Chill has made a showing in their regional division championship for the last two years, but never quite made it over the hump to the final four—losing last year to rival Chicago Union. “Qualifying for the first time in franchise history on top of being the host city would be a storybook ending,” Matis says, “and it’s obviously in the back of our minds as we prepare for the season.”

Regardless of if their cleats touch home turf during championship weekend, the team is heartened by the surge in popularity and public awareness of the sport, formerly relegated to pick-up status on unofficial grassy collegiate hills. “I’m one of a few players on the Wind Chill who were in the league when the team started in 2013, and the increased professionalism and reach we’ve seen through today would have been hard to fathom back then,” Matis says.

This rise to prominence has been accompanied by a rise in skill. “I started playing in college in the spring of 2012, and the biggest difference is how many good players there are,” Berry says. “The baseline skill level of any team you run into is much higher [now] than teams in the past.” Professional women’s leagues are also sprouting, which Berry says is necessary for the future of the sport.

“If you would have told me in 2017 that, in 2023, I’d see our jerseys out in public with people other than us wearing them, I wouldn’t believe it,” Berry says.

Tickets for the AUDL Championship start at $20 for a single day, $35 for a weekend pass. shop.theaudl.com

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