Jaeger Remembers Winning the Seattle Ultimate Frisbee Corporate League with Team REI
Back when I worked at Outdoor Research, a number of my colleagues were former REI HQ employees. Seattleites in the Outdoor Industry tended to bounce between local outdoor brands, but the REI x OR connection ran particularly deep at that time. Prior to my employment, the two companies had already joined forces to field a team named Cotton Kills in the Seattle Corporate Ultimate Frisbee league. A week into my marketing internship at OR, I immediately signed up for the team roster, fresh off my college Ultimate days.
Given the propensity for outdoors folk to be in good physical fitness, we tended to make quick work of the local tech and engineering squads. I recall Cotton Kills won the league at least three times during my tenure from 2012-2022. In 2016, I threw the winning pass in the tournament championship match against Microsoft, (AKA Blue Screen of Death). And better yet, it was a hammer – the name for a type of risky upside down throw that always gets people excited.
But it’s actually the people I look back on most fondly. The core REI players on that team had been friends and colleagues for ages, and were so welcoming and kind to new players and new faces. Everyone felt encouraged and empowered to play their hardest, and try new things for the sake of learning and improving. They embodied the spirit of the game, and we even befriended rivals like the Seattle School District Team (AKA Hot For Teacher), and hosted an annual post-match BBQ potluck together.
If there’s anything I can draw from this, it’s that REI fosters a culture of kindness, positivity, and growth. It’s not just a business, it’s a Co-op, and the people who run it genuinely care about making the outdoors and the world a better place, on or off the grass.
-Jaeger Shaw, Managing Editor & Owner
