ULTIMATE.

So, you might have been in touch with fr*sbees before. (which we’ll from hereon call “flying discs”, “discs” or “Schwebedeckel” due to legal reasons),
#takethatwhamo!

In case you’ve ever wondered what else you can do with those funky flying discs besides playing toss & catch or feeding them to your dog, behold Ultimate, the holy grail of fair play sports:

Ultimate - a sweet 7 vs. 7 non-contact high intensity field sports powered by “the Spirit of the Game” a.k.a. fair play.

Hard Facts:

  • 2 opposing teams

  • 7 players per team

  • 2 end zones

  • catch the disc in the opponent team’s end zone to score a point

  • first team to score 15 points or to score most points after 100 minutes wins

  • no running with the disc, the disc needs to be passed to teammates (one pivot step is allowed)

  • no physical contact between players

  • 0% refs, 100% fair play

Game Start & Pull

At the start of the game, the teams toss a coin (or disc) to determine their starting sides, as well as which team begins in offense & defense. The game is opened with “the pull”, a long distance throw performed by the defending team towards the opponent’s side of the field. The attacking team can either catch the disc or wait for it to drop on the ground and pick it up from there. Once the disc is picked up, the team in possession start their offense.

Offense

By passing the disc from one player to another (running with disc in hand is prohibited - one pivot step is allowed), the attacking team tries to advance into the defending team’s end zone. Their goal is to land a catch inside the zone.

If the attacking team succeed, they receive a point. The teams switch sides and the scoring team starts the next point in defense. As defenders, it is now their turn to restart the game with a “pull”.

If a pass is incomplete (the disc is dropped, lands outside of the field, is caught/intercepted by the defending team), the disc is “turned over” to the defending team. This means that the defending team takes possession of the disc and now becomes the attacking team. The tides have turned and it is their objective to try advance in the opponent team’s end zone to land a catch inside the zone and score a point.

Defense

At the start of a point, each player of the defending team, (a.k.a. the team performing the pull) decides on a player they will guard until the next pull. It is the defender’s goal to take possession of the disc as quickly as possible.

This is achieved by blocking passes (catching the disc or smacking it to the ground) or a stallout (see below), as well as by provoking bad passes by covering attacking players. A defender guarding an attacking thrower is called a “Marker”. Markers will try to impair the thrower’s vision, block the pass right after release and pressure the thrower by counting them down out loud (Stalling).

Stalling

As players are prohibited to run with the disc (except one pivot step), they need to pass the disc to another player by throwing it. Attacking players have 10 seconds time to pass the disc. It is the marker’s job (defending player guarding the attacking thrower) to count the time out loud, beginning with the phrase “Stalling 1”. The marker continues to call each second out loud until they reach “Stalling 10”. If the attacking player fails to pass in time, this is called a “Stallout”, resulting in a turnover.

“Spirit of the Game” - What makes Ultimate Ultimate

In Ultimate, there are no referees, even at the highest levels of play.

The game fully trusts the players with fair play and sticking to the rules. You can imagine the Spirit of the Game as Ultimate’s code of honour, that makes Ultimate, well, Ultimate. It reminds players of always being respectful and honest, despite being highly competitive at the same time.

Alright, but how do you handle a rule breach that happens nevertheless?

Every player is expected to know the rules and to adhere to them. If a rule breach occurs, it is every player’s responsibility to call the foul. The situation is then discussed between the players of both teams. Since the game assumes, that no player will commit a breach intentionally, there are no harsh penalties for rule breaches. Instead, the game is resumed in the way it would have most likely played out without the breach.

In case of heavy unsportsmanlike behaviour that violates the Spirit of the Game, the team captains discuss the topic and decide on how to handle the situation accordingly. Simply don’t be a d*ck! Honour the Spirit of the Game!

Frequent calls/rule breaches:

  • Travel (running with the disc in hand)

  • Physical contact between players

  • Double team (2 defenders - marker & additional defender - covering the same attacking thrower, resulting in a reset of the stalling count)

  • Fast count (the marker counts too fast - first call is a warning, second call within the same 10s stalling period results in -2s on the stalling count)

Spirit Circle - the proper way to finish a game of Ultimate

After a game of Ultimate, it’s a tradition for all players to come together in a circle, the so-called “Spirit Circle”. Here, the players have the opportunity to recap the game, discuss certain situations or simply talk about life, cracking a few healthy jokes on the way. Realtalk, no proper game of Ultimate is complete without a decent spirit circle!

Congrats, you’ve made it to the end! You should now have a basic understanding of the rules of Ultimate, ready to hit the ground running!

For further information, please feel free to check out the official Ultimate rulebook by WFDF (World Flying Disc Federation): https://rules.wfdf.sport/

Cheers <3