Ultimate is a sport that I’ve been involved with since Sophomore year in college. It’s often confused with Disc golf and associated with something you do on the beach (although there is beach ultimate) or with a dog. Some doubt that Ultimate is a sport although they shouldn’t. Fitness and running is essential for both offense and defense. Speed, leaping ability and quickness are prized commodities. Learning to throw with accuracy and consistency takes countless hours of practice. Ultimate is definitely growing in popularity. There have been multiple attempts to get it into the World Games and Olympics. The biggest obstacle I believe is that it is a self officiated sport where players make their own calls. It’s definitely not a perfect system but it comes down to what’s call Spirit of the Game. It’s basically like the honor system and people are expected to make the right call even during the heat of competition. Ultimate players tends to be very tight knit group and if you play you have an instant community that you’re a part of. I definitely made sure Austin had an established Ultimate league before I moved here.
Rules
The object of the game is to score in an end zone like football. It’s played 7v7 on a field 70x40yds with two end zones 25yds deep. The game is initiated with a pull (think kickoff) where the receiving team moves the disc (frisbee) towards the end zone. You cannot run with the disc other than a couple steps after you catch it for momentum allowance. You then have an established pivot foot (think basketball) that you can rotate on. Any drop or catch by the other team results in a turnover with the opposing team immediately trying to score going the other way. The point ends when one team scores. The scoring team then pulls to the other team after any desired subs come in. Games are typically played to a point total most commonly 13 or 15.
Defenses are typically either Man or Zone defense. One defender is allowed up close and personal within a disc length of the thrower with no double teams allowed. The default offense is run out of a stack that splits the field. Ultimate is a self-officiated, non-contact sport. Keep in mind that soccer is considered a non-contact sport as well. Once someone has possession of the disc you can’t just grab or smack it out of their hands. Possession is key in Ultimate. There are no first downs to be made. You can swing and throw backwards as much as you want. The only limiting factor to your possession is the ten second stall count that your up close defender is counting. Once they reach ten it’s a turnover and the disc is dropped where it is with any member of the opposing team able to pick it up.
There are many other nuances and aspects of the game that I haven’t gone over but those are the basic rules that someone needs in order to start playing or a spectator to understand what they’re watching.