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Arizona Sidewinders

The Arizona Sidewinders are a Western Ultimate League (WUL) professional womxn's ultimate team based in Arizona. They joined the WUL in the 2020 inaugural year of the league, but the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so they have not yet competed. The Sidewinders' mission is to "advance both visibility and equity within the sport of Ultimate. Across the state of Arizona, we will foster growth within our sport, create leadership and volunteer opportunities for our communities, and provide a way for all womxn to compete on a stage which showcases high-level, competitive Ultimate."

Franchise History

The Sidewinders are based in Phoenix for home games, but feature womxn from Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. Most of the team's trainings take place in Flagstaff, where five of its players are based.

Leadership Team

Color of Ultimate
The Soul, along with the Atlanta Hustle, sponsored and supported the first Color of Ultimate game, held in Atlanta on June 22, 2019. The Color of Ultimate showcase games are a project of the Atlanta Flying Disc Club (AFDC) Project Diversity initiative aimed at raising the profiles of elite ultimate players of color from around the world.

The Color of Ultimate: ATL game was the first Color of Ultimate showcase game. According to AFDC Project Diversity, "the goal of the game was to bring awareness about the socioeconomic and racial inequity of the sport of ultimate. The game highlighted elite players of color from around the world, brought awareness to the racial and socioeconomic inequities of ultimate, and exposed the sport to those outside of our community encouraging more people of color to play ultimate." The Color of Ultimate: ATL featured almost 50 players of color from across the United States and Colombia. The two teams were coached by Jason Simpson and Tuba Benson-Jaja, two prominent players and coaches of color. Team Tuba defeated Team Simpson 20-19 in overtime. A catch made by Team Tuba player Delrico Johnson was selected for the ESPN SportsCenter Top 10 plays of the day. The game had a widely positive reception.

The showcase game was followed by a conversation about steps the sport can take to increase its diversity. A documentary was produced with the support of USA Ultimate about the game and its impact on players, spectators, and their communities.

It was followed by a second beach ultimate game sponsored in part by the American Ultimate Disc League and produced in partnership with the LA Throwback beach ultimate tournament in Santa Monica, CA in January 2020. LA Throwback is a popular winter beach ultimate tournament that annually hosts approximately 1500 athletes and the game was played in front of hundreds of fans. A 30 player roster was selected and divided into two elite level teams. Team Manuel defeated Team Biles 15-13. Western Ultimate League commissioner Felicia Yang stated that the game was about "providing a platform for people and communities who haven’t historically had it."

Notable personnel

 * Shanye Crawford is the Director of Operations for the Soul. She plays club ultimate for Atlanta Bucket, having previously played with Atlanta Ozone, and reached the USA Ultimate Club National Championships with both Bucket and Ozone. She played college ultimate at the University of Georgia, qualifying for the USA Ultimate D-1 Championships with Georgia Athena. As an organizer, Crawford co-founded AFDC Project Diversity and took part in the organization of the Color of Ultimate: ATL game. Crawford also served as the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion National Outreach Director for USA Ultimate from January to May  2020.
 * Angela Lin is a 2018 USAU Hall of Fame inductee and co-owner of the Soul. She played in college at Georgia Tech, where she won a national championship in 2001 and was a runner-up for the Callahan Award in 1999, 2000, and 2001. She played most of her club career with Atlanta Ozone from 1996-2015. She has made five World Ultimate Club Championships (WUCC) appearances - in 1997, 1999, 2002, and 2006 with Atlanta Ozone and in 2010 with Austin Showdown. She played for Team USA at two World Championships of Beach Ultimate (WCBU) in 2015 and 2017 in the Women’s Masters division, and at two World Ultimate and Guts Championships (WUGC) in 2005 in the Mixed division and 2016 in the Women’s Masters division. She has won four gold medals at the international level and two at the club level. She has coached numerous youth teams. Lin is also Board Treasurer of the PUL.
 * Maddy Frey is co-owner of the Soul, as well as being Board President of the PUL. She began playing ultimate at Smith College and went on to play for Seattle Viva, Seattle Riot, Washington DC Scandal, Medellin Revolution, Atlanta Outbreak, and was the first female practice player for the Atlanta Hustle. She won a bronze medal at the 2010 World Ultimate Club Championships (WUCC) with Seattle Riot and at the 2014 WUCC with Washington DC Scandal. She won gold in the Women's Masters division of the World Championships in 2018 with iRot. She has been head coach of the Georgia Tech womxn's club ultimate team, Wreck, since 2013.
 * Erynn Schroeder plays for Atlanta Ozone in the club women's division and has represented the United States on the international stage multiple times, most recently being named to the Team USA women's team for the postponed 2020 World Ultimate and Guts Championships. She was also on Team USA in 2012 (U-19) and 2015 (U-23).  She played college ultimate for the College of St. Benedict.
 * Anraya Palmer is an ambassador for #LiveUltimate, a USAU campaign aimed at promoting diversity, character, and community within the sport of ultimate. She played ultimate at the University of Georgia and plays for Atlanta Ozone in the club women's division. Palmer was the 2019 recipient of the Kathy Pufahl Spirit Award, which is awarded annually to a player "who has exhibited personal responsibility, integrity and selfless contribution to ultimate, combined with a high standard of playing ability." Nominees for this award are nominated by their club teams, and the winner is determined by a vote of teams playing at the National Championships. Palmer has also coached Atlanta area local youth teams.
 * Robyn Fennig is the current President of the Board of Directors for USA Ultimate. She played college ultimate with the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and the University of Iowa, where she was recognized as a stellar defender and was a finalist for the Callahan Award in 2011. She plays club ultimate for Washington D.C. Scandal, having previously played with Drag'n Thrust and Madison Heist. She made her professional ultimate debut in 2018 with the Madison Radicals and joined the Soul in 2019. She was named captain for the Soul in 2020, along with Mo McCamley and Caroline Taylor.

Honors

 * 2007, 2008, 2010 Silver - USAU College Championships
 * 2009, 2011 Gold - USAU College Championships
 * 2012 Silver - WFDF World Ultimate and Guts Championships
 * 2016 Gold - WFDF World Ultimate and Guts Championships
 * 2012, 2017, 2018 Gold - USAU Club Championships
 * 2017 Gold - World Games
 * 2018 Ultiworld Women’s Club Player Of The Year
 * 2018 Ultiworld All-Club 2018: 1st Team (Women’s)
 * 2019 Ultiworld Women’s Club Offensive Player Of The Year 1st Runner-Up
 * 2019 Ultiworld All-Club 2019: 1st Team (Women’s)