The Past, Present and the Future Of Ultimate Frisbee

The game of Frisbee is beyond a lazy game of catch at the beach. We call it Ultimate now. A serious sport with Olympic potential. Today, Ultimate is played by athletes tall and lean, whose skills mimic those of soccer players, wide receivers and they can jump as well.

“More than 10,000 college students currently participate in the sport with over 600 teams scattered around the world, according to UPA (Ultimate Players Association).”

Throwing and catching a Frisbee is a very healthy activity since you have to chase and jump to catch it. In addition to providing a cardio workout, Ultimate Frisbee also requires many new skills to master, making the game continually interesting. 

The purpose of this article is to pick up the discussion and show how ultimate has evolved as well as what the future may hold for it.

What is the Game of Ultimate?

It starts with a throw off that resembles a kick off in American Football. The sport of Ultimate consists of two to seven players competing on a field nearly the size of American football with two goals at each end.  Offense teams throw and catch the disc, while defensive teams cover the offense in either zone or man defence. Catching the disc allows the player up to three steps before establishing a pivot foot. Running with the disc is not allowed.

“In a regulation game you can score up to 21 points or you can play for a set amount of time.”

When the disc is dropped by an offensive player and hits the ground, goes out of bounds, is intercepted or is knocked away by the defense, it is considered a turnover. It is a touchdown when a disc is caught in the opponent’s endzone by the offensive team. One point is awarded. In the second phase, the defensive team receives the throw off on the opposite side of the field. 

“An Ultimate Frisbee Tournament requires a very high level of fitness and stamina – on a two-day tournament, teams play up to eight games, with each game lasting up to 75 minutes.”

What Makes Ultimate Frisbee So Great?

Ultimate’s inventors struggled to define a foul as the background for Spirit of the Game. In the first definition of a foul, any action that causes your opponent to become incensed was considered a foul. WFDF Ultimate Rules include Spirit of Game as the first section.

It is the ultimate player’s responsibility to praise and support the actions of both teams. When the opponents are introduced at the beginning of each point, it is customary to wish them a good game. Each team then stands in a circle and discusses the game and sings a song for the other team after the game. But the spirit of the game extends beyond following rules. 

“Based on the results of the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association’s annual Sports and Fitness Participation Report, there were approximately 4.7 million players of Ultimate alone in the United States in 2010.”

A unique aspect of Ultimate Frisbee is that players themselves can decide how disputes are resolved. A player is expected to play the game according to the rules in an honest, friendly, yet competitive environment as part of the Spirit of the Game (SOTG). 

Ultimate is based on the philosophy of the Spirit of the Game, which is the most important rule of all disc sports. Self-officiated sports do not have referees since they are played on a self-officiated basis. It is the players on the playing field who call fouls and line violations. 

The History and Evolution of Ultimate Frisbee:

Which Country Started It? Founded in Maplewood in 1968 by students in Columbia high school in New Jersey, Ultimate Frisbee has become a major international sport in recent decades. World-wide, ultimate disc sports are gaining popularity. 

On August 10, 2000 in Heilbronn, Germany, 1800 sportsmen from 23 nations competed in the 10th World Ultimate & Guts Championship. 

“Approximately 7 million people worldwide play Ultimate, of which 2.2 million perform actively (more than 12 times a year), according to the World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF).”

1.52 million players played 13 times or more per year, defined as core participants. Participation in gymnastics in the USA, with 4 million total participants and 1.89 million core participants, is quite similar to that in field hockey. 

Our competitive athletes aren’t the only ones who have thrown a flying disc at some point in their lives, whether at the beach, in the backyard, or in a park. Most potential spectators are familiar with the “Frisbee” and continue to be fascinated by its flight path.

Ultimate Frisbee In History: A Rundown

• For decades before plastic discs were available, student culture at Amherst College featured team flying disc games use to play with pie tins and cake pan lids. 
• The frisbee game evolved from concepts from American football, basketball, and soccer in 1965 or 1966. 
• Kass was an instructor and dorm advisor at Northfield Mount Hermon School summer camp from 1967 to 1968, where he taught this game to high school students.
• As a student at Columbia High School, Maplewood, New Jersey, Joel Silver began developing ultimate with Jonny Hines, Buzzy Hellring, and others in 1968.
• In 1971, Millburn formed the first conference of ultimate teams, along with three other high schools.
• In 1975, 8 college teams participated in the first ultimate Frisbee tournament hosted by Yale, won by Rutgers. It was introduced at the Rose Bowl during the Second World Frisbee Championships that summer. Ultimate was thus introduced to the West Coast.
• A showcase event for ultimate was launched at the Canadian Open Frisbee Championship in Toronto in 1975. 
• The Canadian Ultimate League began in Toronto in 1979. Toronto Ultimate Club is one of the oldest clubs in ultimate.
• Throughout the late 1900s, gamers including youths and professionals became familiar with the game.

Popularity spread quickly, with many seeing the sport as a liberating alternative to traditional organized sports. In recent years, ultimate has become more competitive and athletic as traditional athletes have become involved, challenging its laid-back, free-spirited roots.

Ultimate Frisbee: Around the World

In ultimate Frisbee, the United States is typically at the top. Canada doesn’t trail behind. Following them are Germany, Great Britain, and Australia. A total of 44 countries participate in ultimate frisbee on a global scale. There are thousands of Ultimate players in over 90 countries, and the number is growing constantly. 

Tournaments

In North America and Europe, competitions take place almost weekly at local, national, and international levels. Columbia hosted the 2013 World Games in 2013, which brought a truly international lineup of Ultimate teams, including the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Japan and Australia. This was a hot country that hosted some of the world’s hottest Ultimate games and saw crowds from around the world.

World’s Best Tournaments Of Ultimate Frisbee: 

1. WUCC / WUGC / WUBC / World Games
2. USA Ultimate Nationals, Dallas, Texas
3. Dream Cup, Fuji City Japan
4. London Calling, St Albans, near London, Uk
5. Windmill, Amsterdam
6. Poultry Days, Versailles, Ohio
7. Bubblepest, Budapest, Hungary
8. Potlatch, Redmond, Washington, USA
9. Torneo Eterna Primavera, Medellín, Colombia
10. Spinning In Paradise, Jelsa Croatia
11. Bangkok Hat, Bangkok Thailand
12. Kaimana Klassik, Waimanalo, Hawaii
13. BO, Grenoble, France

“1980 marked the first time national teams competed in a European Championship. The winning team was Finland, followed by England and Sweden.“

The duration of a tournament is usually between two and five days. They can either be held outdoors (grass tournaments) or indoors (beach tournaments). Consist of both the hot competition for the European Championships and the World Ultimate Club Championships, friendly, fun tournaments aimed at player development and interaction. 

Leagues & Associations:

In some countries, there are Club Nationals, University/College Nationals, a Junior League, as well as city or local school leagues. 

• Ultimate Players Association (UPA) was formed as the first national player-run organization in the United States in December 1979. USA Ultimate became the organization’s new name in 2010.
•  The European Flying Disc Federation (EFDF) was founded in 1981.
•  As the world’s governing body for disc sports, the World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) was established by the EFDF in 1984.
• Europe’s governing body for ultimate is the European Ultimate Federation. It was founded in 2009 and is a member of the European Flying Disc Federation (EFDF) and the World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF).
• Ultimate Canada was formed in 1993. Ottawa hosted the first National Canadian Ultimate Championships in 1987.
• The BUCS accreditation program was introduced to universities in the UK and Australia in 2006. 

In addition to the expected venues such as Japan, there are teams and competitions in the Philippines and Vietnam, countries that are perhaps less thought of. 

There are more players in the US than anywhere else in the world. USA Youth Division members numbered 11,000 in 2014, and College Division members numbered 14,000 from 700 colleges. During the regular season, a series of tournaments are held, including the US National Championships and flight-specific events.  

Ultimate Frisbee, Is It Really a Competitive Sport?

A fast-paced sport, Ultimate is a lot of fun to watch. The game includes hucks at the end of the field, diving defenses, man-to-man coverages, and intricate throws that exploit the disc’s characteristics as it reacts to the wind. 

During the 2009 World Games, Flying Disc – also known as ultimate – was played in a 55,000-seat stadium in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

Under the patronage of the IOC, the International World Games Association (IWGA) organizes and governs the World Games. An international multi-sport event, the first World Games were held in 1981, intended for sports not contested at the Olympic Games.  

Aside from competitions organized under the auspices of the WFDF, Ultimate has also participated in competitions organized under the auspices of the World Games since 2001. The Flying Disc event took place at the Estadio Olimpico Pascual Guerrero stadium in Cali, Colombia, during the 2013 World Games.

Ultimate has transitioned to a quadrennial format following the first World Ultimate Championship in Sweden in 1983.  

In the latest edition of the World Ultimate Championship in Osaka, Japan, there were 1400 competitors from 23 nations competing in 5 divisions. Over 160 clubs and 3,500 athletes are expected to participate in the 2014 World Ultimate Club Championship. The World Juniors Championships took place this August in Dublin, Ireland, with nearly 1,000 competitors.

Ultimate is an up-and-coming sport that is well known by the younger generation and meets the spectator expectations of today, compared to other established sports that are slightly slower-paced and increasingly only enjoyed by a greying audience.

The Future of Ultimate Frisbee In Olympics 

Ultimate players compete internationally in competitions all over the world. There is no greater pride than representing your country, and the best Ultimate players will go to any extent for one goal: to be the best.

Disc sports should be included in the Olympics, according to a global survey. Almost half of respondents said it should be the top priority or at least extremely high.

The World Games, which are the largest multi-sport event after the Olympics, have included ultimate as a medal sport since 2001. The WFDF explicitly listed inclusion in the Olympics as one of its seven strategic goals in its Strategic Plan for 2019-2024, and it is actively working towards securing a spot on the 2028 Summer Olympic Programme in Los Angeles. Olympic participation would be a net positive for this sport and its athletes since the Olympics remain the pinnacle of sports.

The WFDF was granted full recognition by the IOC on 2 August 2015. This provides the organization with the chance to receive IOC funding and become an Olympic Game.

Athletes aspiring to gold can expect the next edition of the World Games to take place in Birmingham, Alabama, USA, in 2022. The Olympic Programme should be considered due to the numerous ways it can enhance so many of our highest priorities: growth, gender equity, inclusiveness, diversity, propagation of Olympic values and attitudes, and a healthy lifestyle.