Ultimate frisbee

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Ultimate, often called ultimate Frisbee, is a competitive non-contact team sport played with a Frisbee or similar 175 g flying disc. The game was invented in 1968. Ultimate is distinguished by the "Spirit of the Game," the principles of fair play, sportsmanship, and the joy of play.

History

Teenagers from Columbia High School in Maplewood, N.J. invented the game of ultimate initially as an evening pastime, from which it evolved into a kind of counter-culture joke in 1968. Joel Silver proposed a school Frisbee team on a whim in the fall of 1967. The following spring a group of students got together to play what Silver claimed to be the "ultimate sports experience," adapting the game Frisbee Football. Silver, now a Hollywood film producer (48 Hours, Weird Science, Lethal Weapon, Die Hard, The Matrix), first played Frisbee Football at a camp in Mount Hermon, Massachusetts in the summer of 1967. The camp counseler who taught him the game was named Jared Kass. Kass created the game with a group of friends in college. The name "ultimate" comes directly from Jared Kass, who came up with the name, when asked by a camper, on the whim that it was the ultimate sport. The students who played at Columbia High School were not the athletes of the school, but an eclectic group of students that represented leaders in academics, student politics, the student newspaper, and school dramatic productions.

While the rules governing movement and scoring of the disc have not changed, the early Columbia High games had sidelines that were defined by the parking lot of the school, team sizes based on the number of players that showed up, and no referees. Gentlemanly (and ladylike) behavior and gracefulness were held high. (A foul was defined as contact "sufficient to arouse the ire of the player fouled.")

The first intercollegiate competition was held between Rutgers and Princeton on November 6, 1972, the 103rd anniversary of the first intercollegiate football game, and at the same site on the Rutgers New Brunswick campus. The popularity of the game quickly spread, taking hold as a free-spirited alternative to traditional organized sports. Men would often play the game in skirts, and some would smoke marijuana on the sidelines. In recent years college ultimate has attracted a greater number of traditional athletes, raising the level of competition and athleticism, and providing a challenge to its laid back, free-spirited roots.

Rules of play

It should be noted that the Ultimate Players Association (UPA) rules provide the framework in North America whilst other parts of the world use rules overseen by the World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) and that the two sets of rules contain significant differences. The rules described below give a general overview of the shared rules. For more specifics see the websites of the relevant organizations listed below.

Object

The object of ultimate Frisbee is to score points by receiving a teammate's pass in the opponent's endzone.

Teams

Regulation ultimate is played between two teams of seven players. In informal pick-up games, this number may vary. A shortage of players may force teams to play the entire game without substitutions, a condition known as savage.

Field

Regulation games are played by two teams of seven players on a field of 70 yards by 40 yards, with endzones 25 yards deep. Normally, ultimate is played outdoors on a grassy surface. Boundaries are marked by chalklines and cones if available, but any highly visible object may be used.

Gameplay

The Pull or Throw-Off

The players line up at the edge of their respective endzones, and the defensive team throws, or pulls, the disc to the offensive team to begin play. Pulls are normally long, hanging throws, giving the defense an opportunity to move up the field. Sometimes, though, a pull consists of a short throw intended to roll out of bounds upon hitting the ground.

Movement of the disc

The disc may be moved in any direction by completing a pass to a teammate. Players may not run with the disc, nor may they catch their own throws unless it has been touched in the air by an opponent.

Upon receiving the disc, a player has ten seconds to pass it. This period is known as the "stall", and each second is counted out by the defender (a stall count).

Scoring

A point is scored every time the offense completes a pass into the defense's endzone. After a point, the team who just scored remains in that endzone and the opposing team returns to the opposite endzone and play is again initiated with a pull. In rare games following unofficial rules, points are also awarded for interceptions.

Change of possession

Whenever a pass is not completed, the disk changes possession; that is, the defense immediately becomes the offence. After a change of possession, the offense must throw the disk　from where it first touched the ground, or where it first traveled out of bounds. Changes of possession do not cause a stoppage of play.

Common reasons for changes of possession include:

Drops - The player on offense accidentally drops the disk onto the ground.
Blocks - A defender deflects the disk in mid flight, causing it to hit the ground.
Interceptions - A defender catches a disk thrown by the offense.
Out of Bounds - The disk flies or rolls out of bounds before it can be caught.
Stalls - The stall count expires before the player on offense throws the disk.

Stoppages of play

Play may stop for the following reasons:

Fouls

A foul occurs with a player initiates contact with another player. When a foul disrupts possession, the play resumes as if the possession was retained. If the player committing the foul disagrees with the foul call, the play is redone.

Violations

A violation occurs when a player violates the rules but does not initiate physical contact. Common violations include traveling with the disk, double teaming, stripping the disk away from a player who has possession, and picking, or moving in a manner so as to obstruct the movement of any player on the opposing team.

Time outs

Play stops when a team calls a time out. The number of timeouts available for team is agreed upon by both teams at the beginning of the game.

Injuries

Play stops whenever a player is seriously injured — this is considered an injury time-out.

Substitutions

Teams are allowed to substitute players after a point is scored or after an injury time out.

Refereeing

Players are responsible for their own foul and line calls. Players resolve their own disputes. Occasionally, official observers are used to aid players in refereeing (see below).

Observers

Some additional rules have been introduced which can optionally overlay the standard rules and allow for referees called observers (the X-Rules or Callahan Rules, named after Henry Callahan from the University of Oregon). An observer can only resolve a dispute if the players involved ask for his judgment. In some cases, observers have the power to make calls without being asked: e.g. line calls (to determine out of bounds or goals) and up/down calls (actively ruling if the disc has touched the ground before being caught). Misconduct fouls can also be given by an observer for violations such as aggressive taunting, fighting, cheating, etc., and are reminiscent of the Yellow/Red card system in soccer. As of 2003, misconduct fouls are extremely rare and their ramifications not well defined.

The introduction of observers is, in part, an attempt by the UPA to allow games to run more smoothly and become more spectator-friendly. Much of the ultimate community is split between two camps: those who hold the Spirit of the Game to be the very identity of ultimate and those who believe Spirit to be an excuse for lazy, non-competitive play. It should be noted that some of the differences between the UPA and the WFDF rules reflect a differing attitude to spirit.

Spirit of the game

Ultimate is known for its "spirit of the game". The following description is from the official ultimate Frisbee rules established by the Ultimate Players Association

"Ultimate has traditionally relied upon a spirit of sportsmanship which places the responsibility for fair play on the player. Highly competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of the bond of mutual respect between players, adherence to the agreed upon rules of the game, or the basic joy of play. Protection of these vital elements serves to eliminate adverse conduct from the ultimate field. Such actions as taunting of opposing players, dangerous aggression, intentional fouling, or other "win-at-all-costs" behavior are contrary to the spirit of the game and must be avoided by all players."

Pick-up games

In the spirit of ultimate's egalitarian roots, there are many pick-up tournaments outside the championship circuit, including hat tournaments, in which teams are selected on the day of play by picking names out of a hat. Pick-up tournaments are generally held over a weekend, and afford players several games during the day as well as the chance to socialize and party at night. In addition, less formal games of pick-up are frequent in parks and fields across the globe, often with the same people who play on nationally or globally competitive teams. Newcomers are always welcomed at pick-up games or whenever people are simply throwing, and enthusiastic players will sideline themselves to spend time teaching beginners the throws and maneuvers necessary to play.

Current leagues

Regulation play, sanctioned in the United States by the UPA, occurs at the college (open & women's divisions), club (open, women's, mixed (co-ed), and masters divisions) and youth (boys & girls divisions) levels, with annual championships in all divisions. Top teams from the championship series compete in annual world championships regulated by the WFDF, made of national flying disc organizations and federations.

External links

de:Ultimate Frisbee es:Ultimate fi:Ultimate fr:Ultimate io:Flugo-disko