Ultimate Frisbee is one of the world’s fastest growing sports. It provides players with a fun, friendly experience whilst creating a variety of competitive environments.
History
Although it still considered as a relatively new sport, Ultimate Frisbee was a concept originally developed in 1968. Joel Silver is believed to have invented the sport during his time at Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey.
Joel then proposed the new game to the student council and one year later, the first game was played in a car park with jumpers for goal lines.
This game sparked the development of the first college game, tournament, and national championships. After its emergence in the US, a World Championships was forged in 1983.
The exposure from the world championships has caused a constant growth in popularity with more countries taking part, more leagues being developed, and more players participating in competitions.
In 2015, Ultimate Frisbee and other flying disc sports associated with WFDF were granted full sporting recognition from the International Olympic Committee. This accolade solidified Ultimate as a legitimate sport and could lead to a future appearance in the Olympic Games.
WFDF have placed multiple bids to get Ultimate Frisbee into the Olympics, but bids for the 2020 and 2024 games have been rejected.
For a more detailed look at the history of the sport, click this link: https://wfdf.sport/history/history-of-ultimate/#:~:text=In%201968%20Joel%20Silver%20introduced,played%20in%20a%20parking%20lot.
How to Play
After many years of trying to define Ultimate Frisbee in a simple sentence, I have found that the easiest way to describe it is a hybrid of American Football and Netball.
The primary objective of the game is to catch the disc in the opposition’s end zone. The first team to reach 15 points, or the team with the most points at the end of the designated time will be declared the winner.
Credit: UKUltimate
In a similar style to Netball, player movement is restricted when on the disc. After a player has caught the disc, they must plant one foot on the floor. Pivoting is allowed and players are then allowed to move after they have thrown the disc.
When players are on the disc, opposition players will count to either 8 or 10 (Game Dependant) in order to force a change in possession. This is referred to as stalling.
Fouls and other contact violations such as stripping the disc out of someone’s hand are not permitted.
The most unique aspect of the sport is that there are no referees involved. This means that players must make calls and settle disputes themselves.
The game can be played both indoors and outdoors, with each environment having variations in rule specifications. Indoor games are 5-a-side with smaller pitches, stall counts to 8, and are around 20 minutes long. Outdoor games are 7-a-side with larger pitches, stall counts to 10, and can last up to 90 minutes.
Spirit of The Game
The ‘Spirit of The Game’, often just called ‘Spirit’, is a crucial element of Ultimate Frisbee that encapsulates the ethos of the sport.
The main focus of Spirit is to promote sportsmanship to create a friendly environment, even in the most competitive settings.
Although all sports possess elements of sportsmanship, Ultimate Frisbee puts it at the forefront and emphasises its importance by applying strategies that influence players to focus on these sporting values.
Some of the strategies implemented includes spirit scoring, self-officiating, and spirit circles.
Spirit scoring is a post-game assessment that allows teams to rate how the opposition teams applied the values associated with spirit. These scores are then used to rank the teams in terms of spirit. At the end of the tournament, the team with the best score is declared the ‘Most Spirited’ and usually the team is awarded a trophy or prize.
Self-officiating is an approach that removes the need for an outside official. This requires players to discuss calls and make decisions between themselves. In order to avoid chaos, players need to ensure that these games are officiated effectively and therefore, they need to display values such as honesty, fairness, and knowledge of the rules.
Finally, spirit circles is a post-game tradition that sees the players of both teams come together in a circle to discuss the game and sometimes play games with each other. This offers teams the opportunity to praise and give advice to their opponents whilst discussing moments from the game.
For more information, check out the WFDF website: https://wfdf.sport/spirit-of-the-game/
My Experiences
Frisbee has been a big part of my life and has provided me with some of my greatest memories and achievements. I have been playing Ultimate Frisbee for over a decade.
My first experiences with the sport came from my brother. As a kid, I watched a few games with my dad when we had to pick him up. I would also go throw about with him on the local green.
I remember always being interested in playing when I reached secondary school. At this point in time my life revolved around Football, but the possibility of playing Ultimate Frisbee was an exciting prospect and I was eager to learn.
Once I reached secondary school, I played a lot of Frisbee in my first few years. I played every tournament and progressed quite quickly through the school ranks.
It provided a different atmosphere that I had never experienced with other sports. Everyone involved in the club worked together. Teams were not separated by specific age groups or gender. Players had an equal opportunity to become better and everyone worked together to create a club that was a lot more cohesive than anything I had experienced with other sports.
Although I enjoyed Ultimate Frisbee a lot in secondary school, I struggled to juggle my time playing Frisbee with other sports which resulted in me going to less trainings.
There was a few reasons for this. I was only 1 of 2 kids in my year playing Frisbee at the time which led to me prioritising playing other sports like Football and Cricket because my friends were playing them. At a similar time, I had faced the disappointment of a failed trial for the Great Britain Junior squad.
After a few years away from the sport, I decided that I would try again at University. Restarting at university provided me with a new challenge whilst reminding me of the unique aspects of the sport that I loved as a kid. After playing a few games again, my passion was reignited, ready to rebuild my connections to the sport.
Our club had a lot of success over the next 18 months, hitting new highs and making progress up the university ladder. Unfortunately, the pandemic has halted progress in the past year, but I am looking forward to potentially being able to continue our success next year.
If you want to see me playing a few games, go check out my team’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfMi_esj173amrBjJvP3bMw
Overall, Ultimate Frisbee has provided my with some great memories and achievements that I never thought would have been possible. Whether it be playing in National Championships or a social night out with my friends, I have a lot to owe this great sport.
Should You Give it a go?
Now onto the big question, should you play Ultimate Frisbee?
If you are looking for a fun sport that provides the opportunity to play a variety of ways at a variety of performance levels, then Ultimate Frisbee is the sport for you.
The ethos of the sport provides a welcoming experience for all. Whether you have played at a high level in other sports or if you have never played sport before, I’m sure Ultimate Frisbee will provide a positive, unique way of playing sport and having fun with new people.
How to Get Involved
Although Ultimate Frisbee may not be as readily available as more popular sports, there are still a few ways in which you can join in.
In the UK, University teams are a great place to start. Most Universities have at least one team available, and the BUCS leagues offer a variety of different competitions throughout the year for these teams to participate in.
Do not worry if you are not a University student, there are lots of different clubs located all over the UK that you can become a part of. For more Information on Club Ultimate follow this link: https://www.ukultimate.com/club_ultimate
For those outside of the UK, you can search for your local Ultimate Frisbee or Flying Disc associations to find a club near you. If there are no clubs near you, check out how you can develop your own club here: https://wfdf.sport/sport-development/
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