On an unusually warm Saturday afternoon in early April, a crowd gathered on stadium bleachers at the University of Oregon’s Portland outpost. They weren’t there to watch a ball game—foot or base—but the inaugural home game for Soar, Oregon’s new—and currently only—women’s professional Ultimate Frisbee team. At halftime, it wasn’t looking great for the home team, down five to 12 against the 2024 Western Ultimate League champions, Colorado Alpenglow. But team cofounder Darci Fredricks wasn’t concerned. “Yes, we want to play to win, but the most important part is building a foundation for the future.”

2025 is the first year for the Ultimate Oregon Alliance, a partnership between Soar and the newly rechristened men’s professional team, Steel. While the women’s team is brand-new, Steel originally formed in Oregon in 2022 as Nitro; Fredricks and her husband, Bill Freeman, bought and rebranded it 2024 when founding the Alliance. Soar references Oregon’s state motto, “She flies with her own wings,” as well as the way players and their frisbees soar through the air, while Steel is an homage to steelhead trout, metal, more grounded concepts. Fredericks likens the juxtaposition to yin and yang.

Professional Ultimate Frisbee seems a fitting sport for a city that lacks an NFL or NHL team but adores sports considered more “alternative” (at least in the US): consider the Timbers Army, Pedalpalooza, and Dragon Boat Festivals. And Oregon has had its share of professional ultimate teams, though they’ve mostly dissolved within a few years. With the Alliance, Fredricks and Freeman are working to build teams that will last, with time to develop, cohere, and make it big in their respective leagues. It's also crucial to Fredricks, a former Ultimate competitor, that both teams receive equal promotion, practice time, and leadership attention. She points out that in gendered sports, male teams are often considered the default compared to the “women’s team.” Even things like word order—“Soar and Steel” vs. “Steel and Soar”—help combat this bias.

For at least the first season, the teams will share the UO Portland stadium, giving them and their fans a base for home games. One side of the field has a play area where kids can throw frisbees if they get antsy, and during the inaugural home game, children and their parents came to the field to compete in friendly games of toss at halftime. When not competing or at practice, the pro players work with younger ones as coaches and mentors. “Our players grew up playing in these youth leagues, so they really see this as giving back to the community that helped develop them,” says Fredricks. “And they very strongly believe that that is critical to the future of the game.”

Soar began its first season in late March and will run through May. Steel’s league, the Ultimate Frisbee Association, runs slightly longer, from mid-April to late July. It’s unclear whether the Alliance will still have the same home field in the coming years, but Fredricks and Freeman are optimistic, as they are for the future of the Alliance. “We will win championships in the future,” says Fredricks. “The talent here is immense.” 

In the second half of that sunny April game, the women’s team stepped it up, scoring again and again while successfully defending against Alpenglow. The final score: Oregon 14, Colorado 17. Maybe that championship isn’t too far off.