Frisbee is typically associated with a casual outing. But for the Seattle Cascades and Tempest, the city’s respective men’s and women’s professional ultimate frisbee teams, it’s as competitive as it gets. Both teams competed at Memorial Stadium in Seattle May 11, with the Cascades taking on the Oakland Spiders and the Tempest battling the Utah Wild in their season finale.

The Cascades were established in 2014 as the Seattle Raptors, and they participate in the United Frisbee Association (UFA) from April to August. The team dropped to 2-2 after narrowly losing 22-21 to the Spiders May 11, and they currently seek their first playoff appearance in the 24-team league since 2016. 

The Tempest has been competing in the Western Ultimate League (WUL) since its establishment in 2020 and is the reigning back-to-back champions of the six-team league. But their 22-20 loss to the Wild gave the Tempest a 2-4 finish to the season, which runs from March through August, as the defending champs will most likely be missing the postseason.

A unique aspect of professional ultimate frisbee is that it is self-regulated and players operate on a “spirit of the game” mindset. Observers only intervene when there is a dispute, but in most instances, the players are the ones holding each other accountable.

Even with it being a competitive professional sport, there was a massive amount of player support and encouragement. Teammates were standing on the sidelines the entire game cheering and running out onto the field every time a player scored. 

While fans will not get a chance to see the Tempest until next March, the Cascades will be competing in their regular season through July 21, when they play their last game at Memorial Stadium.