Who we are

New York Gridlock Ultimate (NYGL) is the first professional ultimate frisbee team for women and gender-expansive athletes from the New York and the surrounding areas. We are a participating team in the Premier Ultimate League.

Our mission is to achieve competitive excellence on the field and equity in ultimate frisbee by increasing accessibility to the sport and visibility of women and gender-expansive ultimate players. We achieve this by providing high-quality competition, leadership experiences, and community partnerships.

NYGL prioritizes and creates equity-centered spaces for all women, cis and trans, and actively advocates for a transformation in the league structure that creates a new space inclusive of gender-expansive players.

Goals

  • Increase accessibility and provide opportunities for all women (cis and trans) and gender-expansive athletes to play high-level ultimate

  • Increase the visibility of all women (cis and trans) and gender-expansive ultimate players locally, regionally and nationally

  • Provide all women (cis and trans) and gender-expansive people with various ways to participate in a professional sports organization outside of just playing: the opportunity to gain experience (interns, volunteers, etc.), a pathway to leadership (coaching intern, assistant coach, coach, etc.)

  • Help increase the number of girls, women (cis and trans), and gender-expansive people playing ultimate by offering clinics and workshops and building community partnerships 

  • Approach outreach through a thoughtful lens that asks WHY and HOW when looking at potential partnership opportunities: why are we coming into this community and how are we interacting with the community

  • Build a robust, local fan base connected with the team

Values

 

Join Us

  • Gender and racial justice are central to how we make decisions and hold ourselves accountable to each other, our volunteers, and our fans

  • We support each other in all ways possible, including having intentional conversations about mental health issues and equity issues

  • Our pro team exists in an ecosystem of women’s ultimate: club, college, league and youth, women’s and mixed divisions. We want there to be a myriad of ways all women (cis and trans) and gender-expansive people can participate in ultimate, and we seek to communicate, connect, and partner with the other divisions when possible

NYGL invites all women and gender-expansive people, and intersex people ages 18 and up, to come tryout and play for us. We recognize that gender is a spectrum and exists beyond the binary; while professional sports still operate within the binary, NYGL will employ best practices to maximize inclusivity and gender diversity.

While there exist gender and age requirements in terms of playing on the team, NYGL shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender expression, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in its tryout process. Additionally, there is no requirement for a specific level of estrogen, hormone therapy prescription, or gender affirmation surgery in order to be eligible for the team.

**Khunsa Amin is the primary author of the team mission, with Eileen Murray and Judy Jarvis providing feedback. The statement was approved by a founding advisory committee consisting of: Luisa Neves, Stazi Tangherlini, Eileen Murray, Julie Cook, Brittany Kaplan, Lauren Woods, Megan Randall, Judy Jarvis, Khunsa Amin, Mickey Pearl, and Lauren Doyle.**

Latest update: April 8, 2021

Interested in volunteering? We will need help with the various clinics and activities planned for the season! Email newyorkgridlock@gmail.com for more info.