Ranking Universe Point Cleats for AUDL Teams

Universe Point was named the official "athletic footwear sponsor" (cleat) of the American Ultimate Disc League. All AUDL players have the option of wearing team-branded cleats for the first time in league history.

Below is a ranking - based on logo and style - of each AUDL team's boot for the 2018 season:
[listed from Worst (23) to Best (1)]

23. Dallas Roughnecks

The Roughnecks logo does not render well as a standalone and the ugly shape around the city-team name looks especially weird.

22. Philadelphia Phoenix

The Phoenix bird looks more like a fire rooster and just gets lost on what should be an eye-pooping boot. The text display is less than optimal.

21. San Francisco Flame Throwers

The team name looks cramped, and the gray streaks near the midsole are a distraction. Should have kept it simple and used only the logo.

20. Ottawa Outlaws

Bravo for fitting the entire "OUTLAWS" name on the cleat. Though, appears there's a wandering gray something (shadow?) below the "O."

19. Nashville NightWatch

The white lines give the black cleats a clean look, altohugh their new shield logo get washed out.

18. Seattle Cascades

Missed opportunity to have Casey the Sasquatch's mug slapped on a pair of cleats. As is, just too many words for my liking.

17. DC Breeze

Trying to fit too much on too little space -- the words besides "BREEZE" are lost. Props for the different colors for the red cleat tips and on the blue topline.

16. Chicago Wildfire

The standalone orange Wildfire logo is vague yet fits well. Still not a fan of the typography for the city and team name.

15. Indianapolis AlleyCats

While the AlleyCats logo - as just a cat head - finally takes on a form worth applauding, the "AlleyCats" looks too generic.

14. Madison Radicals

Would have liked to have seen the cleat in the back complete the logo's lightning bolt which is cut-off at the bottom. The tri-color diagonals sure are pretty.

13. Austin Sol

The 6-stringed sun logo from Austin's shield shows well. The city-team name reads a little awkward, yet is legible.

12. Los Angeles Aviators

The pilot scarf is well-angled around the heel. The line between the city name and "AVIATORS" help guide a smooth landing for a lengthy team name. Plus, the slight tilt of "AVIATORS" renders well.

11. Montreal Royal

The Royal shield and city-team name fit attractively on this white boot replete the lines along the toebox.

10. Toronto Rush

The 4-letter word "RUSH" is positioned so nicely on the black cleat; not so much for "Toronto."

9. Raleigh Flyers

Though the logo is a tad obscured, the wordmark maximizes its available space along the upper section of the boot. Plus, the blue lines along the toebox  provide nice accentuated flow.

8. San Diego Growlers

The slight angle superbly displays the team name without disruption, plus the red backing connects well to the red topline interior of the boot.

7. New York Empire

A variation of the NY's standard logo adeptly appears on the heel. The bight green distinguishes the Empire cleat.

6. Tampa Bay Cannons

The cryptic image from the Cannons' secondary logo delightfully spans the side of this boot.

5. Detroit Mechanix

The black outsole and heel make this cleat stand out.

4.Pittsburgh Thunderbirds

The Pittsburgh colors display beautifully on the black cleat. The Thunderbirds logo is a bit smooshed, but otherwise excellent.

3. Minnesota Wind Chill

The lines of the Wind Chill logo and the cleat diagonals congruently play well with one another.

2. San Jose Spiders

The lone spider, which is a variant of their standard logo, looks sharp on the white cleat. The gold laces are a neat touch to this clean-looking cleat.

1. Atlanta Hustle

The Hustle "H" is perfectly positioned on the cleat and accentuated with the team name.

[Images via UP]

[Compilation] Universe Point Cleats for AUDL Teams

Team-branded cleats for American Ultimate Disc League teams are the newest fashion trend for the upcoming 2018 season. Below are just some of the teams that have shown off their new footwear supplied by Universe Point:
[Updated on a regular basis]

DC Breeze

New kicks 🔥 pic.twitter.com/NZVCuKi88O

— DC Breeze (@theDCBreeze) March 5, 2018

Madison Radicals

Just going to leave these here. pic.twitter.com/EYiY5ujq0H

— Madison Radicals (@MadisonRadicals) November 8, 2017

Minnesota Wind Chill

.@UPcleats .... is absolutely on point. Coming soon. #AUDL pic.twitter.com/h8druPTRca

— Minnesota Wind Chill (@mn_windchill) January 12, 2018

Nashville NightWatch

The team is getting some new kicks this year, thanks @upcleats #audl #nashville #nightwatch #winteriscoming pic.twitter.com/2w1ngMpy7Y

— NashvilleNightWatch (@NashNightWatch) January 9, 2018

Pittsburgh Thunderbirds

Woah... pic.twitter.com/SMxBLqhH7p

— PGH Thunderbirds (@PGHThunderbirds) January 8, 2018

Raleigh Flyers

Stay #Fly @UPcleats pic.twitter.com/eSwgn1Zp9L

— RaleighFlyers (@raleigh_flyers) November 7, 2017

San Jose Spiders

Thanks @UPcleats these are going to look sweet at Foothill Stadium. pic.twitter.com/iI4RtMMFoW

— San Jose Spiders (@SJSpiders) December 21, 2017

Seattle Cascades

Cascades cleats ...made from the same materials as the Space Needle. #seattlecascades pic.twitter.com/qoim62RwUo

— Seattle Cascades (@SeattleCascades) January 16, 2018

💜👌 pic.twitter.com/2A3bgeNyX8

— Atlanta Hustle (@atlantahustle) February 20, 2018

Hmmmm, what do we see here... @UPcleats, this could be a game changer!? #BOOM pic.twitter.com/ocJKkEAbo6

— Tampa Bay Cannons (@TampaBayCannons) February 14, 2018

The color-coordinated cleat tips and along the topline make these cleats especially sharp.

New Company Designing Cleats for Ultimate

Ultimate players' feet are clapping! Cleat Appreciation Day may be a thing of the past!

A new "frisbee gear brand" - TOKAY - claims to be producing a cleat for the sport of ultimate. The ultimate cleats are designed ... to run faster, cut harder, and jump higher. A "swaggy" ultimate frisbee shoe is also in the works.

The company was founded by an engineer in the sports industry and its production is based in Europe. Tokay's cleats are is expected to be available in April 2017.

Tokay might take its name from the Tokay Gecko which is known for their exceptional grip.


Perhaps Tokay heard our call for sport-specific cleats for ultimate players?


[h/t reddit]

Throwback Thursday: Ultimate Cleats

There was a time when cleats for the sport of ultimate were sold. GAIA Ultimate's G4 Surlyn.
Now? Not so much; only other sports cleats to use as ultimate cleats.

via UPA Newsletter (summer 2005)

New Cleats?

Every ultimate player can appreciate their other sport's cleats to play our sport.

[Adapted via]

Ultimate Players Deserve Sport-specific Cleats

Dear Cleat Manufacturers,
Data show that the sport of ultimate is popular. Currently, Ultimate players needing cleats wear cleats designed for other sports.

Cleats exist for individual sports like baseball, cross-country, football, golf, lax, soccer, softball and track. Cheerleaders have their own shoes! Disc golfers have specialty footwear. Even coaches have their own kicks!!

The sport of Ultimate has been described with characteristics of basketball, soccer, tennis and football. While each of those sports have distinctive design features for their sport's footwear, shouldn't Ultimate??

The feats of Ultimate - as a sport - deserve attention and so, too, Ultimate players' feet.

Disc Golf Footwear

Great to see specialty footwear options for a disc sport, just not exactly the sport my feet were looking for. Some day, there will be ultimate cleats; some day!

Examples of shoes specifically designed for disc golf:

Salient DGX

Dynamic Discs DISCover shoes

Dynamic Discs DISCover Shoe

Keen Nasu WP

European ad for Keen Nasu WP shoes

Custom Cleat Shoes

Comfy shoes can morph into comfortable Ultimate cleats?! Knowing about this company that CONVERTS SHOES INTO CLEATS is music to my feet's ears!

Custom Cleats
"We Bring Comfort Back To the Game"

Info: Custom Cleats (Medford NY) combines almost any sneaker or turf shoe with any type of cleat. Most cleat manufacturers design cleats that are very narrow and with little padding for the bottom of your feet. Athletic sneakers are designed for both durability and comfort. They provide a layer of foam that absorbs the shock of the ground along with a wide enough pattern so the toes of the foot are not overlapping. We utilize that comfort provided by the sneaker and transform it into a cleat! Conversion takes 5-6 business days.

Price: $85.00 per conversion into plastic molded or metal cleats. Turf bottoms, football bottoms, or footjoy golf bottoms are an additional $35.00.

Custom Cleats

Gaining a few hundredths of a second may be the difference between getting a finger on the disc and being a fingernail short in Ultimate. Personalized spike plates, the treads on the bottom of cleats, may be the next must-have athletic gear. New Balance has not yet made this traction technology available for all consumers, but I'm sure Ultimate players would jump (or layout) at the chance when NB does!

Pro Track Athletes Get a Grip With 3-D Printed Equipment [WIRED]

At first glance, the 4:01.44 indoor mile that Jack Bolas ran in New York doesn't seem like that big a deal. But the real story wasn't his fourth-place finish; instead, it was the fact the four-time All-American was the first professional athlete to run a race in 3-D printed equipment.

Specifically, the spike plates on the shoes Bolas wore in January were created by New Balance after a long research-and-development process focused on ensuring the shoes met his individual needs. "I always wondered what it would be like to have custom shoes," says Bolas. "They gave me a much more natural feel, with a perfect balance between the flex of the sole and still the responsiveness of a stiffer plate."

The process started by putting Bolas into shoes wired with sensors to help New Balance designers understand how his foot interacts with the shoe. He also ran on tracks equipped with force plates that measured his impact with each stride. High-speed cameras added a detailed look at the interaction between his shoes and the track.

Katherine Petrecca, manager of studio innovations at New Balance, says the data allows the shoe to be configured to match an athlete’s specific movements. "We can customize the orientation and size of the plastic cleats and the number and location of the metal spikes based on the data," she says.

The spike plates are printed using an SLS machine, then mated to a standard upper. Bolas tested several variations before choosing the model he wore in the race. The possibilities for easy customization are nearly endless. Previously, a custom spike plate required an expensive injection molding process, but with the 3-D printers, the speed of production is much faster and the cost is slashed. Because it’s so much easier, runners can choose different designs based on their strategy for a particular race. 

"If you're going to rely on a strong finishing kick, that means having lots of traction for running up on your toes at the end," says Petrecca. New Balance isn't offering the technology to consumers yet, but it's possible that the company might one day be able to print custom midsoles that are tailored to a runner's weight, running style and cushioning preference.

The company has even tested a model that is completely 3-D printed, with no traditional cloth upper. For New Balance CEO Robert DeMartini, it's these consumer applications that are most intriguing. "3-D printing unlocks an entirely new level of design, allowing us to elevate design within the company to ensure we bring consumers the best in both performance and design," he says.
##

Before & After: New Cleats

After one game of Ultimate Frisbee, the bottom of these new soccer Ultimate cleats are now well acquainted with the ground.

Adidas cleats - new (top); game-old (bottom) 

Ultimate Player's Decalogue

Ultimate Player's Decalogue 

1. Open space is thy heritage, and the fields are sacred. See that thou leave them unlittered and undamaged.

2. Thou shalt use footwear that will not scar the grass, floor, turf, beach; lest thou slip and dash thyself against the ground.

3. Thy cleats and thy socks must fit, for blisters make playing a misery.

4. Thou shalt equip thyself against the worst weather the sky may produce, but shalt schlep spare garments until needed.

5. Thou shalt take with thee enough water & food to spare, for a hungry player is a tired player and thy play may last longer than didst plan.

6. Thou shall not omit thy field map and thy schedule.

7. Thou shalt not throw plastic discs atop concrete for damage is not reversible.

8. See that thou ford not a flow in flood, for that is a quick way to a sure break.

9. Thou shalt knoweth and understandeth the rules, and heed Spirit of the Game.

10. Thou shalt support companies who support thy game for which our affection hath an unknown bottom.

Ultimate Cleats Appreciation

[SOURCE: "TY" designed text]

TO: My Ultimate Cleats

Thank You

You may have been born as another sport's cleats, but you will always be Ultimate cleats to me.

Cleat Storage

Whether wearing them or not, here's a simple option of how to store Ultimate cleats. This device has an "interesting" product name that probably shouldn't be said too loud. 

The Klitch

Info: A footwear clip that allows you to hang extra cleats or sneakers to the outside of your bag. This avoids getting the inside of your bag dirty, wet, smelly, & full. Great for anyone who plays sports, works out, or has an active lifestyle. The Klitch can be used for any type of footwear up to 10 lbs.

Price: $12.99

Ultimate Frisbee Cake

As if playing Ultimate isn't sweet enough; you can eat Ultimate, too! 

These amazingly designed Ultimate Frisbee desserts are in line with the "Frisbie" tradition:

"Ultimate" Bday Cake with marzipan cleats [tastes like yum]

Top of a wedding cake [Simply Stunning Cake Design]

Designed with Discraft Ultrastar logo. [Cake Central]

White Frisbee atop chocolate cake [via]

Ulti field cake [super sweet tooth]

Layout Cake [via]

"You're the Ultimate" cake design [via]

White Disc with blue skies [via]

Yellow 175-gram Ultra-Star cake [via]

Red Ultra-Star disc cake [via]

Cake with Old UPA logo stencil. Nice hand addition. [via]