The Madison Radicals have signed their first female player, Robyn Wiseman, after she competed in the team’s winter open tryout. Wiseman will become only the third woman to play on any American Ultimate Disc League team.
Wiseman is a three-time world champion for Team USA and member of Heist, Madison’s female ultimate frisbee club team. While at the University of Iowa, she finished runner-up for the Callahan Award, collegiate ultimate’s MVP award as selected by players.
For all her sporting accolades, this is her first chance to go pro — a historic moment that isn’t lost on her.
“Playing with the Radicals gives me a new opportunity to take an on-field role,” says Wiseman, who coaches for local youth teams and at UW-Madison. “I have been pretty active in the Madison community, but I’ve had fewer on-field opportunities to showcase what I can do as a player. Most of my competitions aren’t in Madison. Let young women in the stands see where they can go if they work hard.”
Wiseman will be the third woman to play professional ultimate for the AUDL, currently the sport’s only professional league. Jessy Jones broke the league gender barrier by practicing with the Raleigh Flyers all season in 2015, but only took the field for one game.
In 2016, Jesse Shofner played 12 games for the Nashville Nightwatch, participating in 171 points throughout the season — on par with the typical AUDL player. However, Shofner is not playing this season, and announced in December that she was organizing a boycott of the AUDL due to gender equity issues.
The Radicals nearly broke the gender barrier when the team first assembled. Local player Georgia Bosscher was considered, but both parties decided against it.
“It was a different era in 2013,” says Radicals head coach and owner Tim DeByl. “There’s been a change of attitude. It feels more natural now.”
When asked “how will this affect the locker room,” DeByl laughs off the archaic question.
“We’re just going to work through it. A lot of these players have played mixed ultimate plenty,” he says. “That part of it is probably the least of my worries.”
Wiseman breaks down the question. She says the literal question of where she will change is easy enough, but the metaphorical question of being a woman in a male-dominated space is more nuanced. She sees it as an opportunity to grow a more diverse culture within ultimate.
“To add another layer of diversity on the field for the Radicals is a good step forward. Be it women or people of color.”
What does concern DeByl is Wiseman being seen as the “token woman.”
“We don’t want it to seem like we are taking her for publicity,” says DeByl, who is also the vice president of marketing for AUDL. “She’s a world class player. Her play in practice has been great.”
Wiseman does feel the weight of the moment.
“It puts additional pressure on me to not just perform my best, but also represent other female athletes in the Madison community. It’s interesting to see the response on the internet, people wanting to dissect how I played at a fun tournament or summer league where there’s no stakes. There’s not an opportunity for me to have a bad day.”
The next step is for Wiseman to make a gameday roster. With numerous club and international tournaments, AUDL teams activate players for specific matches. Wiseman herself will split time with the Radicals and French women’s team YAKA. But she’s confident she’ll see time on the field.
“If [Coach DeByl] didn’t realistically think I could make the roster for gameday, I don’t think he would have taken me.”
