Don't call it Ultimate Frisbee®. And definitely don't call it Frisbee® golf.
It's Ultimate Disc, aka "Ultimate" -- a demanding sport that has gained tremendous traction over the past 40 years among high school and college students and young adults, particularly during the past dozen years.
To demonstrate its popularity, each fall, some 1,600 players from 60 teams and their fans from all over the United States and Canada descend on the Sarasota (Fla.) Polo Club at Lakewood Ranch for championships in four divisions: open, women's, mixed and master's. The Championship games are preceded by a summer and fall filled with thousands of sanctioned sectional and regional tournament rounds across the United States and Canada.
How the game is played
In short, Ultimate shares similarities with football, basketball and soccer, but it's played with a Frisbee®-like disc on a 70-yard-by-40-yard-field with 25-yard-deep end zones. Seven players from each team are on the field at all times. The typical team has a roster of about 25 players.
Like football:
- Points are scored by penetrating the opposing team's goal-line
- The defending team begins action by "pulling" the disc, a hard throw that's similar to a kickoff.
Like basketball:
- It's a non-contact sport (although basketball is officially a limited-contact sport).
- The disc can be tossed from player to player.
- Players guard each other to prevent effective passes and have just 10 seconds to hold onto the disc before passing it. In Ultimate, players cannot move with the disc in hand.
Like soccer:
- Both offense and defense run continuously.
But unlike any of those sports, "Ultimate" is self-refereed. In other words, the players call penalties and resolve disputes on their own. In high-level competition, however, official "observers" are often on the field to help decide tough calls.
"The Spirit of the Game"
The self-officiating aspect is part of the "Spirit of the Game," guiding principles adopted by the official sanctioning body, USA Ultimate, based in Boulder, Colo. The Spirit of the Game, which also includes sportsmanship and mutual respect, not only differentiates Ultimate from other sports, but also is perhaps the most important part of the game, being solidly rooted in the sport's history.
The game was first played in 1968 at Columbia High School in Maplewood, N.J., but quickly spread primarily to colleges throughout the Northeast U.S., and on the West Coast, including the University of California at Santa Barbara and at Berkeley, where it gained a reputation as a sport for the "hippie" or "granola" crowd.
Ultimate on the Move
The governing body, USA Ultimate, was formed in 1979. Today, the association even governs a Youth Division, in which mostly high school Ultimate teams compete with each other. In at least one high school --Westerville (Ohio) North High School -- it has been declared a club sport in which players can earn varsity letters.
"Ultimate is one of the most fun and athletically demanding sports I know of," said Patti Wilson, coach of the high school team and Senior Instructor in the Department of Health and Sports Sciences at Otterbein University in Westerville. "We thought it deserved to be on the same level as other school sports."
Westerville North Ultimate started out as a 'club team with an affiliation' with Westerville North, mostly because all of the players attended North.
"After the first year we began the process of securing 'Club Sport' status. This process involved approval at several levels in the district," Wilson said. She added that North's is the only Ohio team she is aware of to have such status. USA Ultimate estimates that throughout the country there are 50 to 100 teams with club sport status.
The process also requires team members to abide by the school's and the state athletic association's rules for eligibility and conduct. In return, the team is granted access to the school's website for posting of schedules and records, is in line for use of school fields, and can grant varsity letters.
Passing on the tradition
Another unusual aspect of Ultimate is typified by Westerville North's team: a mentorship mentality. This past summer, the high school team ran Westerville's first Youth Fall Ultimate League for the city of Westerville and served as coaches for ages 8-14.
Meanwhile, members of Columbus Madcow coach The Ohio State University men's club team, and members of both of those squads actively serve as coaches of Columbus-area high school club teams. Even within the Madcow team, veteran players mentor newer players.
Non-athletes need not apply
Some of the players today consider themselves "nerds," but they are athletic nerds, to say the least.
Despite its origins and popular confusion with so-called "Frisbee Golf®," Ultimate is an extremely demanding sport. It requires speed, stamina, strategic thinking, and disc-handling skills. Jumping and diving skills are also helpful.
One of the greatest moves to see in Ultimate -- and you will see it several times during a game among skilled players -- is a "layout." In a layout, a player leaps and reaches out for a disc that's out of easy reach, essentially flying through the air sideways.
The Disc Dichotomy
Frisbees discs® are manufactured by Wham-O, Inc., but the Discraft Ultra-Star discs used in Ultimate tournaments are manufactured very precisely to meet specifications outlined by USA Ultimate, which proclaims it the game's official disc. Ultimate discs weigh 175 grams and are heavier and sturdier than typical recreational discs. Because of that, they can be thrown more precisely and are better at cutting through winds.
Ultimate's Future: Olympics?
While Ultimate earlier this year was included in the World Games as a full-medal sport for the first time (where it's sometimes referred to as "Flying Disc"), Ultimate organizers acknowledge that the sport needs to become more popular on the world stage before it can even be considered for the Olympics.
However, some believe getting Ultimate into the Olympics is the only way it will truly take hold.
"In order for Ultimate to take hold at the youth level and grow as a sport, it needs to be in a mainstream event like the Olympics," said Kevin Reichert, 33, of Westerville, who plays on Madcow, the Columbus, Ohio club open team--the highest level of organized play within USA Ultimate.
In the meantime, Ultimate will likely continue to gain traction in at least the United States. While millions of Americans have played Ultimate, about 825,000 say they play more than 25 times a year, according to USA Ultimate.
Get ready. "Huck" and "layout" are about to become household words.
Jeff Botti - Jeff Botti is a seasoned vet of life and the news business. He has worked for several daily newspapers and in corporate communications.
