Our Crowdfunding Groups
Four score and seven years ago, the UC Berkeley women's ultimate team made a decision that would go down in history: they decided to stop at Lois the Pie Queen in Oakland, CA. The restaurant itself was subtle, sitting in between the fork of Adeline and Genoa Street, but the food was what stood out the most. It just so happened that one particular item stood out above the rest... THE PIES! These pies were to die for. There was apple, sweet potato, lemon ice box, berry, cherry, pecan...the list goes on! And so it was, the UC Berkeley Women’s ultimate team acquired their namesake and a tradition of pie eating that would remain forever. In fact, pictured below is this year’s endeavor to Lois the Pie Queen during our Spring Training week.
The Pie Queens program has been fostering a culture of friendship, personal growth, and integrity since 1988. In the fall, we play as one big team and compete in tournaments throughout NorCal. One thing is for sure, there is no shortage of fun in the fall. With fun comes bonding, skill development, and FUN TOURNAMENT COSTUMES.
Though it saddens us to part ways, in the spring we split into our A and B teams: the Queens and the Tarts. The Queens attend tournaments in Santa Barbara, San Diego, Stevinson, and Seattle. They have earned two appearances at Nationals in the past few years, placing 9th in 2016 and returning in 2017 for another 9th place finish. This year, the Queens broke seed at President’s Day Invite in San Diego. They had also set a goal of earning a bid to Nationals before the season was cut short.
The Tarts are regionally competitive, and attend tournaments in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, and Irvine. Both teams practice three times a week. Although the teams practice and play separately in the spring, we still get to spend a lot of time together and both teams have dedicated coaches, strong veteran leadership, and TONS. OF. FUN.
Players come and go, but once a Pie Queen, always a Pie Queen (#PQ4Lyfe) and every year we reunite at our alumni tournament where rookies and vets can meet and play together.
This program has given Cal women an opportunity to try a new sport, be a part of a great community, and make lifelong friends. In order to continue the growth and longevity of the program, we need to fundraise so that the financial burden of being a member of the program does not deter any individuals from joining. We have a team of dedicated and passionate coaches who volunteer their time to help us improve, but there are still many costs associated with the sport. We will use the donations to pay for tournament fees, travel, field space, uniforms, and equipment, and to help make the program more accessible and affordable to everyone by offsetting the cost of team dues. We would love to host more clinics to share the sport with younger kids, especially girls. Your donation will help our program grow and allow us to bring this sport to more parts of our community. If you are unable to donate, please consider sharing this link with anyone you know. We are very grateful for your support!
Read what some of the Pie Queens have to say about the program:
“I almost didn’t go to the first Pie Queens practice of my freshman year, and now I can’t imagine my life without my team and this sport. One of the hardest parts of this quarantine is being away from the people who push me every day to do more and be better for myself and for the team.” - Maia (Tupps) ‘21
“The Pie Queens community is something really special. It’s such an inclusive environment that has allowed me to meet my closest friends and play a sport that I’ve quickly grown to love.” - Cassidy (Cash City) ‘23
“The Pie Queens are my rainbow after the rain. And, the rain is a metaphor for tons of rough obstacles in my life, not just the actual rain that sometimes pours during games. Practice, tournaments, and socials have become my solace amidst the stress, anxiety, and fatigue of college life. It’s given me role models and best friends, enduring life lessons and tummy-aching laughter. I’m incredibly grateful for the Pie Queens program because no one should have to brave their storms without at least three other Pie Queens to hold them for emotional, physical, and spiritual support.” - Elaine (Mojo) ‘21
“I love the pie queens because they gave me a community of empowering women” - Kelsey (Pepper) ‘21
"The Pie Queens has been my home away from home. It has given me a place to be myself and feel supported. It has given me a group of friends, a group of amazing, intelligent, powerful women to look up to and learn from, and a sense of belonging. It has given me a community." - Jenna (Dash) '22
“As someone who has never played ultimate before, it’s been an honor to join Pie Queens and the frisbee community. This team welcomes anyone, no matter the skill level, and teaches them all about frisbee. It’s inspiring to see people train and become amazing athletes and frisbee players. My only regret is not joining sooner!” - Joy ‘21
Find us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @piequeens and find our highlight videos on Youtube!
We will give you a shout-out at the end of the next highlight video that we produce.
We will give you a shout-out on our social media channels (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook).
We will send you an album of funny photos from this season. You can send in a request if you want funny pictures of a specific player.
A queen of your choosing will get pied at the alumni tournament in December. We will send you a video of it happening.
We will let you choose the team's dress-up themes for a fall tournament. In the fall, we wear costumes to the Chico and Sonoma tournaments. We send two teams to each tournament, and the dress-up themes for each team are complementary (Plants and Zombies, '70s and '80s, etc.)
We will host a youth clinic in your name next fall. The Pie Queens strive to give back to the community. We frequently volunteer with BADA and Ultimate Impact to teach the sport to younger players.
