| Highest governing body | WFDF (international) USA Ultimate (U.S.) |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Ultimate Frisbee |
| Characteristics | |
| Contact | Limited contact |
| Team members | 7 per team (sometimes fewer) |
| Mixed gender | In some competitions |
| Equipment | Flying disc |
| Olympic | No, but is included in World Games |
Ultimate is a sport played with a 175 gram flying disc. The object of the game is to score points by passing the disc to a player in the opposing end zone, similar to an end zone in American football or rugby. Players may not run with the disc, and may only move one foot (pivot) while holding the disc.
While originally called ultimate frisbee, it is now officially called ultimate in many areas because Frisbee is registered in some areas as a trademark, albeit genericized, for the line of discs made by the Wham-O toy company. In 2008, there were 4.9 million Ultimate players in the US.[1]
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In the fall of 1968, Joel Silver, a student at Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey proposed a school Frisbee team to the student council on a whim.[2] The following summer, a group of students got together to play what Silver claimed to be the "ultimate game experience", adapting the sport from a form of Frisbee football, likely learned from Jared Kass while attending a summer camp at Northfield Mount Hermon, Massachusetts, where Kass was teaching.[3] The proportion of rules developed by Kass, and those developed by Silver, is disputed. It was discovered in 2003 that the game that Kass and Silver played may have been more similar to Ultimate than had been thought.[4] Regardless, the students who played and codified the rules at Columbia High School were an eclectic group of students, including participants in academics, student politics, the student newspaper, and school dramatic productions. Key early contributors besides Silver included Bernard "Buzzy" Hellring and Jonny Hines. Another member of the original team was Walter Sabo, who went on to be a major figure in the American radio business. The sport became identified as a counterculture activity.[4] The first definitive history of the sport was published in December 2005, ULTIMATE: The First Four Decades.[5]
While the rules governing movement and scoring of the sport have not changed, the early Columbia High School games had sidelines that were defined by the parking lot of the school and team sizes based on the number of players that showed up. A foul was defined as contact "sufficient to arouse the ire of the player fouled." No referees were present, which often holds true today: most Ultimate matches (even at high level events) are self-officiated. At higher levels of play referees called 'observers' are often present. Observers only make calls when appealed to by one of the teams, at which point the result is binding.[6]
The first national exposure of Ultimate Frisbee came on the 4th of July weekend of 1970 when a group of Frisbee players from Boston calling themselves the Nat Love Nine, journeyed to Houghton, Michigan for the annual International Frisbee Tournament. They brought with them a new game; one they had learned at Antioch College called Frisbee Football which later became known as Ultimate Frisbee. The event was chronicled by Sports Illustrated Magazine in their August 3, 1971 edition.
The first collegiate Ultimate club was formed by Sam Weingast when he arrived at Lafayette College in 1970.[7]
The first intercollegiate competition was held at Rutgers's New Brunswick campus between Rutgers and Princeton on November 6, 1972, the 103rd anniversary of the first intercollegiate game of American football featuring the same schools competing in the same location.
By 1975, dozens of colleges had teams, and in April 1975, players organized the first Ultimate tournament, an eight-team invitational called the "Intercollegiate Ultimate Frisbee Championships", to be played at Yale. Rutgers beat Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 26-23 in the finals.
By 1976, teams were organizing in areas outside the Northeast. A 16-team single elimination tournament was set up at Amherst, Massachusetts, to include 13 East Coast teams and 3 Midwest teams. Rutgers again took the title, beating Hampshire College in the finals. Penn State and Princeton were the other semi-finalists. While it was called the "National Ultimate Frisbee Championships", Ultimate was starting to appear in the Los Angeles and Santa Barbara area.
Penn State hosted the first five-region National Ultimate Championships in May 1979. There were five regional representatives: three college and two club teams. They were as follows: Cornell University-(Northeast), Glassboro State- (Middle Atlantic), Michigan State-(Central), Orlando Fling-(South), Santa Barbara Condors-(West). Each team played the other in a round robin format to produce a Glassboro-Condors final. The Condors had gone undefeated up to this point; however Glassboro prevailed 19-18 to become the 1979 national champions. They repeated as champions in 1980 as well.
The first College Nationals made up exclusively of college teams took place in 1984 in Somerville, Massachusetts. The event, hosted by the Tufts University E-Men crowned Stanford its winner, as they beat Glassboro State in the finals.[8]
In California, clubs were sprouting in the Los Angeles - Santa Barbara area, while in the east, where the sport developed at the high school and college level, the first college graduates were beginning to found club teams, such as the Philadelphia Frisbee Club, the Washington Area Frisbee Club, the Knights of Nee in New Jersey, the Hostages in Boston and so forth. Arkansas also had a few formidable teams located in the towns of Pocahontas, Newport, and Batesville.
During this time, Ultimate arrived in the United Kingdom, with the UK's first clubs forming at the University of Warwick and the University of Cambridge.[5] By the late 1970s and early 1980s, there were also clubs at the University of Southampton, University of Leicester, and University of Bradford. Even Aston University one of the smaller universities in the country with a student population of around 10,000 students has an Ultimate Club called The Hornets since 2006.
In Toronto Canada, The Toronto Ultimate League began in 1980 under the direction of Ken Westerfield[9] and Irwin Toy Bob Blakely. Later the league was renamed the Toronto Ultimate Club. What started with four teams, now has 3300 members with over 250 Teams playing year round.
In 1979 and 1980 the Ultimate Players Association (UPA) was formed. The UPA organized regional tournaments and has crowned a national champion every year since 1979. On May 25, 2010 the UPA rebranded itself as USA Ultimate.
The popularity of the sport spread quickly, taking hold as a free-spirited alternative to traditional organized sports. In recent years college Ultimate has attracted a greater number of traditional athletes, raising the level of competition and athleticism and providing a challenge to its laid back, free-spirited roots.
In 1981 the European Flying disc Federation (EFDF) was formed.[10] In 1984 the World Flying Disc Federation was formed by the EFDF to be the international governing body for disc sports.[10]
Ultimate Canada is the National Governing Body for the sport of Ultimate in Canada.
The Toronto Ultimate Club Since 1980, 3300 members
In 2006 Ultimate became a BUCS accredited sport at UK universities for both indoor and outdoor open division events.
By the rules of USA Ultimate, a standard game of Ultimate is played on a field 40 yards (37 m) wide by 120 yards (110 m) long, the length of which is divided into a 70-yard (64 m) playing field with 25-yard (23 m) end zones at each end. Play is with two teams with equal numbers of players, normally seven on seven though sometimes team sizes are smaller. Teams are permitted a maximum roster size of 27 players. International WFDF rules use a field with smaller end-zones at 18 meters. In mixed Ultimate, at least 3 members of each gender must be on the field at a time.
Play begins with the defensive team (usually determined by flipping two discs, or by rock, paper, scissors) fully within their end zone and the offensive team lined up on their end zone line. The defensive team player throwing the disc raises a hand to signal readiness to begin play. A player on the receiving team raises a hand to signal their readiness to begin play. After both sides have signaled their readiness, the defensive team throws ("pulls") the disc to the other team to begin play. This is equivalent to a kickoff in American football, and happens to start each point. If a pull goes out of bounds then the receiving team has a choice of putting the disc in play at the point on the sideline that it went out-of-bounds, or at the center of the field nearest to where it went out of bounds, or at the "Brick Mark" in the center of the field 20 yards from the endzone line the receiving team is defending.
Once a player catches the disc or the disc is picked up, the player must come to a stop and have one foot planted as a pivot until he or she throws the disc to another player (hand-offs are not permitted). The player has ten seconds to pass the disc, and this "stall" count must be announced, one through ten, by a defensive player within 10 feet of the offensive player in possession of the disc. If the ten seconds expire without the offense successfully passing the disc this is a "stall", and the defensive team becomes the offensive team and takes possession of the disc at the spot the previous thrower was standing. Possession also reverts to the defense in the case where the offense doesn't complete a pass (or the pass is dropped by the offense or knocked down by the defense) or the defense catches a pass. In these cases the defense (now offense) takes possession of the disc at the point where the disc lies or where they came to a stop after catching the disc. If the offense makes a throw that goes out of bounds and stays out of bounds, the defense takes possession of the disc at the point on the sideline where the disc went out of bounds.
If a player physically interferes with an opposing player, a foul may be called. If the foul is caused by the defense and disrupts possession, in most cases the offense regains possession, the ten second count is reset, and play resumes. Because Ultimate is self-refereed, the player who committed the infraction is given the opportunity to contest or accept the call, with somewhat differing results depending on whether or not the player admits fault. If disagreement over a call cannot be resolved the play will be repeated. Play is entirely continuous until a score is made, with the exception of stoppages for calls or injuries. Except for injuries, substitutions may only be made between points.
Goals are scored by a team successfully completing a pass to a player located in the defensive end zone. After a score the teams switch their direction of attack and the scoring team pulls. The game continues until either team reaches 15 points with a two-point margin over their opponents, or until either team reaches 17 points total. This can be adjusted by captains or tournament organizers. Tournament games are often to 13 to conserve time. A ten-minute halftime break occurs when either team reaches eight points total (after a team reaches 8 points at a 15 point game tournament). Alternatively, the game can be played (as is the custom for most other sports) until a particular time limit has elapsed. More commonly, the game is played for a given time, at the end of which a 'soft cap' is played: the winner is the team to reach a score one greater than the current highest score (i.e., the team in the lead has to score once, or the other team has to catch up, equalise, and then score once). Each team may call up to two 70-second time-outs per half. During play, time-outs may be called only by the player in possession of the disc. Any player may call a time-out in between points. Each team is allowed to call one and only one time-out once the score reaches 14-14.
Sportsmanship, respect for other players, fair play, and having fun are considered central aspects of play even when competition becomes intense. This is called "spirit of the game."
Ultimate is sometimes played on an indoor football (soccer) field. If the field has indoor football markings on it, then the outer most goal box lines are used for endzone lines. Playing off the walls or ceiling is usually not permitted. Since indoor venues tend to be smaller, the number of players per side is often decreased. Depending of the size of the field, two types of game can be played : 4 on 4 or 5 on 5.
Some indoor leagues play Speedpoint, also known as Quebec City rules (4 on 4), in order to speed up play:
Indoor Ultimate is played widely in Northern Europe during the winter because of frigid weather conditions.
In North America, indoor Ultimate tends to be played in venues that can accommodate a field of regular or near-regular size and the playing surface is AstroTurf or some other kind of artificial grass.
In Europe, on the other hand, such facilities are rarely available, and indoor Ultimate is usually on a handball or basketball court. In northern European and Scandinavian countries handball courts are the norm, whereas in the UK, Russia, and Southern Europe, basketball courts are more commonly used. Players often wear protection such as knee, elbow and wrist pads, much like in volleyball to avoid bruises and cuts when laying out.
European indoor Ultimate has evolved as a variant of standard outdoor Ultimate. Because of the small size of the court and of the absence of wind, several indoor-specific offensive and defensive tactics have been developed. Moreover, whereas throws such as scoobers, blades, hammers, and push-passes are rarely used or discouraged outdoors because even a little wind makes them inaccurate or because they are effective only at short range, but they are common in the small and wind-free indoor courts. The stall count is reduced to 8 seconds because of the faster nature of the indoor game.
New Zealand indoor Ultimate is, like in the UK, commonly played on basketball courts; however, the 4 on 4 games use the basketball 'key' as the endzone. This significantly reduces the scoring area and, as a result of its shape, allows teams three angles of attack. Consequently, further tactics and strategies have evolved for both offensive and defensive plays. The stall count in New Zealand indoor Ultimate is 7 seconds.
There are regular indoor tournaments and championships and stable indoor teams. The best-known and longest-running indoor tournament is the Skogshyddan's Vintertrofén held in Gothenburg, Sweden, every year. Thomas Lenihan of Arlington, Virginia, is currently the best known participant in this competition.
Beach Ultimate is a variant of this activity. It is played in teams of four or five players on small fields. It is played on sand and, as the name implies, normally at the beach. Players may be barefoot. The Beach Ultimate Lovers Association (BULA) is the international governing body for beach Ultimate.
Most beach Ultimate tournaments are played according to BULA rules, which are based on WFDF rules with a few modifications.
The largest[12] and one of the most notable beach Ultimate tournaments is the co-ed tournament held annually in July at Wildwood, New Jersey. Another well known tournament is Paganello in Rimini, Italy.
Intense Ultimate is a version of Ultimate made to play on a smaller field than regular Ultimate. It was devised as a way to play Ultimate in an urban setting for people who may not have enough space or grass to play regular Ultimate. It is like indoor Ultimate in many respects, including that games are usually played with 6 to 12 players. Below is a brief summary of the rules:
Street Ultimate, which is also known as Street Style, is a less formal variant of Ultimate and is usually carried out similar to a pick-up game. Since there is no set player limit, teams sizes are based on the number of people present. Formalities are usually disregarded as it is a slightly rougher style of Ultimate.
Ice Ultimate is a variant of the game played on an ice hockey rink with skates and little protective gear. Its rules are similar to that of Indoor Ultimate, with some movement allowed with the disk due to the fact that the game is played on ice. Its debut was made between periods of a St. John's Fog Devils game in St. John's, NL.
Players employ many different offensive strategies with different goals. Most basic strategies are an attempt to create open lanes on the field for the exchange of the disc between the thrower and the receiver. Organized teams assign positions to the players based on their specific strengths. Designated throwers are called handlers and designated receivers are called cutters. The amount of autonomy or overlap between these positions depends on the make-up of the team.
One of the most common offensive strategies is the vertical stack. In this strategy, the offense lines up in a straight line along the length of the field. From this position, players in the stack make cuts (sudden sprints out of the stack) towards or away from the handler in an attempt to get open and receive the disc. The stack generally lines up in the middle of the field, thereby opening up two lanes along the sidelines for cuts, although a captain may occasionally call for the stack to line up closer to one sideline, leaving open just one larger cutting lane on the other side.
Another popular offensive strategy is the horizontal stack. In the most popular form of this offense, three handlers line up across the width of the field with four cutters upfield, spaced evenly across the field. This formation encourages cutters to attack any of the space either upfield or downfield of the stack, granting each cutter access to the full width of the field and thereby allowing a degree more creativity than is possible with a vertical stack. If cutters cannot get open, the handlers swing the disc side to side in an attempt to reset the stall count while also getting the defense out of position.
A variation on the horizontal stack offense is called a feature, or German. In this offensive strategy three of the cutters line up deeper than usual (this can vary from 5 yards farther downfield to at the endzone) while the remaining cutter lines up closer to the handlers. This closest cutter is known as the "feature", or "German." The idea behind this strategy is that it opens up space for the feature to cut, and at the same time it allows handlers to focus all of their attention on only one cutter. This maximizes the ability for give-and-go strategies between the feature and the handlers. It is also an excellent strategy if one cutter is superior to other cutters, or if he is guarded by someone slower than him. While the main focus is on the handlers and the feature, the remaining three cutters can be used if the feature cannot get open, if there is an open deep look, or for a continuation throw from the feature itself. Typically, however, these three remaining cutters do all they can to get out of the feature's way.
A third common offensive strategy is the spread, or split stack. The spread offense features three handlers in the same formation as for a horizontal stack, and four downfield cutters. Cutters split into two-person teams near both sidelines at the same distance from the handlers as in the horizontal stack. The first cut can come from either sideline, then usually moves into the center of the field before moving upfield or downfield. The second cut can also come from either sideline, and will usually cut in the opposite direction (downfield or upfield) as the first cut. The spread strategy creates a large lane in the middle of the field in which the active cutter is looking to make one big play in or out before clearing back to one of the sidelines.
A fourth, less common strategy is called the hybrid, because it creates two-person teams of cutters just as in the split stack, but one of these two-person teams plays as a vertical stack on one side of the field. Handlers arrange themselves as in a horizontal stack. The advantage of the hybrid is that one of the two-person teams makes use of the large open lane created in the middle of the field just as in the split stack offense, while the other two-person team has one person ready to make a continuation cut and one person ready to make an additional cut to the handlers.
Finally there is a fifth strategy known as the Tri-Force, Trinity play, or Triad, which breaks up the team into two teams of three and one option. Each team of three stays on opposite sides of the field. When the disc is being handled on their side of the field the two receivers make a series of tight cuts around the handler quickly moving the disc up the field in short increments. The other team of three stays on the opposite side of the field and slightly behind leaving them open for a dump while also clearing out the majority of the field for the option. The option needs to be the fastest player on the team because their job is to make deep cuts switching between a huck and dump option. The Tri-Force requires every player to be a competent handler and runner, but is nearly impossible to stop once it builds momentum.
Many advanced teams develop variations on the basic offenses to take advantage of the strengths of specific players. Frequently, these offenses are meant to isolate a few key players in one-on-one situations, allowing them more freedom of movement and the ability to make most of the plays, while the others play a supporting role.
In all of these strategies, players making cuts have two major options in how they cut. They may cut in towards the disc and attempt to find an open avenue between defenders for a short pass, or they may cut away from the disc towards the deep field. The deep field is usually sparsely defended but requires the handler to throw a huck (a long downfield throw).
One of the most basic defensive principles is the force. The marker effectively blocks the handler's access to half of the field, by aggressively blocking only one side of the handler and leaving the other side open. The unguarded side is called the force side because the thrower is generally forced to throw to that side of the field. The guarded side is called the break-force side, or simply break side, because the thrower would have to "break" the force to throw to that side.
This is done because, assuming evenly matched players, the handler is considered to have an advantage over the marker. It is considered to be relatively easy for the handler to fake out or outmaneuver a marker who is trying to block the whole field, and thus be able to throw the disc. Alternatively, it is generally possible to effectively block half of the field.
The marker calls out the force side ("force home" or "force away") before starting the stall count in order to alert the other defenders to which side of the field is open to the handler. The team can choose the force side ahead of time, or change it on the fly from throw to throw. Aside from forcing home or away, other forces are "force sideline" (force towards the closest sideline), "force center" (force towards the center of the field), and "force up" (force towards either sideline but prevent a throw straight up the field). Another common tactic is to "force forehand" (force the thrower to use their forehand throw) since most players, especially at lower levels of play, have a stronger backhand throw. "Force flick" refers to the forehand; "force back" refers to the backhand.
When the marker calls out the force side, the team can then rely on the marker to block off half the field and position themselves to aggressively cover just the open/force side. If they are playing one-to-one defense, they should position themselves on the force side of their marks, since that is the side that they are most likely to cut to.
The opposite of the "force" is the "straight-up" mark (also called the "no-huck" mark). In this defense, the player marking the handler positions himself directly between the handler and the end zone and actively tries to block both forehands and backhands. Although the handler can make throws to either side, this is the best defense against long throws ("hucks") to the center of the field.
The simplest defensive strategy is the one-on-one defense (also known as "man-to-man", "man" or simply "person"), where each defender guards a specific offensive player, called their "mark". The one-on-one defense emphasizes speed, stamina, and individual positioning and reading of the field. Often players will mark the same person throughout the game, giving them an opportunity to pick up on their opponent's strengths and weaknesses as they play. One-on-one defense can also play a part role in other more complex zone defense strategies.
With a zone defense strategy, the defenders cover an area rather than a specific person. The area they cover moves with the disc as it progresses down the field. Zone defense is frequently used when the weather is windy, rainy, or snowy. The zone defense is also used to discourage the offense from making long passes. A zone defense usually has two components. The first is a group of players close to the disc who attempt to contain the offenses' ability to pass and prevent forward movement. The "zone" is sometimes called the "wedge", "cup", "wall", or "clam" (depending on the specific play or type of zone defense). These close defenders always position themselves relative to the disc, meaning that they have to move quickly as it passes from handler to handler.
The wedge is a configuration of two close defenders. One of them marks the handler with a force, and the other stands away and to the force side of the handler, blocking any throw or cut on that side. The wedge allows more defenders to play up the field but does little to prevent cross-field passes.
The cup involves three players, arranged in a semi-circular cup-shaped formation, one in the middle and back, the other two on the sides and forward. One of the side players marks the handler with a force, while the other two guard the open side. Therefore the handler will normally have to throw into the cup, allowing the defenders to more easily make blocks. With a cup, usually the center cup blocks the up-field lane to cutters, while the side cup blocks the cross-field swing pass to other handlers. The center cup usually also has the responsibility to call out which of the two sides should mark the thrower, usually the defender closest to the sideline of the field. The idea of the cup is to force the offense into making many short passes behind and around the cup. The more times the offense is forced to throw the greater the chance that the handlers will make a bad throw, or a defender will intercept the disc. The other four defenders traditionally play as two wings, who each cover a sideline, a middle sometimes referred to as a "middle-mid", "popper d", or "mid-deep" who covers directly behind the cup for any short throws through or over the cup, and a deep, who covers any long throws by the offense.
The "wall" sometimes referred to as the "1-3-3" involves four players in the close defense. One player is the marker, also called the "rabbit", "chaser" or "puke" because they often have to run quickly between multiple handlers spread out across the field. The other three defenders form a horizontal "wall" or line across the field in front of the handler to stop throws to short in-cuts and prevent forward progress. The players in the second group of a zone defense, called "mids" and "deeps", position themselves further out to stop throws that escape the cup and fly upfield. Because a zone defense focuses defenders on stopping short passes, it leaves a large portion of the field to be covered by the remaining mid and deep players. Assuming that there are seven players on the field, and that a cup is in effect, this leaves four players to cover the rest of the field. In fact, usually only one deep player is used to cover hucks (the "deep-deep"), with two others defending the sidelines and possibly a single "mid-mid".
Alternately, the mids and deeps can play a one-to-one defense on the players who are outside of the cup or cutting deep, although frequent switching might be necessary.
A junk defense is a defense using elements of both zone and man defenses; the most well-known is the "clam" or "chrome wall". In clam defenses, defenders cover cutting lanes rather than zones of the field or individual players. The clam can be used by several players on a team while the rest are running a man defense. Typically, a few defenders play man on the throwers while the cutter defenders play as "flats", taking away in cuts by guarding their respective areas, or as the "deep" or "monster", taking away any deep throws.
This defensive strategy is often referred to as "bait and switch". In this case, when the two players the defenders are covering are standing close to each other in the stack, one defender will move over to shade them deep, and the other will move slightly more towards the thrower. When one of the receivers makes a deep cut, the first defender picks them up, and if one makes an in-cut, the second defender covers them. The defenders communicate and switch their marks if their respective charges change their cuts from in to deep, or vice versa. The clam can also be used by the entire team, with different defenders covering in cuts, deep cuts, break side cuts, and dump cuts.
The term "junk defense" is also often used to refer to zone defenses in general (or to zone defense applied by the defending team momentarily, before switching to a man defense), especially by members of the attacking team before they have determined which exact type of zone defense they are facing.
Ultimate is known for its "Spirit of the Game", often abbreviated SOTG. Ultimate's self-officiated nature demands a strong spirit of sportsmanship and respect. The following description is from the official Ultimate rules established by USA Ultimate:
Ultimate has traditionally relied upon a spirit of sportsmanship which places the responsibility for fair play on the player. Highly competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of the bond of mutual respect between players, adherence to the agreed upon rules of the game, or the basic joy of play. Protection of these vital elements serves to eliminate adverse conduct from the Ultimate field. Such actions as taunting of opposing players, dangerous aggression, intentional fouling, or other 'win-at-all-costs' behavior are contrary to the spirit of the game and must be avoided by all players.
Many tournaments give awards for the most spirited team, as voted for by all the teams taking part in the tournament.
There are many types of pick-up. Often this consists of tournaments played outside the championship circuit, including hat tournaments, in which teams are selected on the day of play by picking names out of a hat. These are generally held over a weekend, affording players several games during the day as well as the chance to socialize at night. Pick-up leagues also exist, hosting weekly pick-up games that may be played on arbitrary week nights. In addition, less formal games of pick-up are frequent in parks and fields across the globe. In all these types of pick-up games it will not be uncommon to have as participants the same people who play on nationally or globally competitive teams. Newcomers are always welcomed at pick-up games or whenever people are simply throwing, and enthusiastic players will sideline themselves to spend time teaching beginners the throws and maneuvers necessary to play.
Hat tournaments are common in the Ultimate circuit. They are tournaments where players join individually rather than as a team. The tournament organizers form teams by randomly taking the names of the participants from a hat.
Many hat tournaments on the US west coast have a "Hat Rule" requiring all players to wear a hat at all times during play. If a player gains possession of the disc, yet loses their hat in the process, the play is considered a turnover and possession of the disc reverts back to the other team.
However, in some tournaments, the organizers do not actually use a hat, but form teams taking into account skill, experience, sex, age, height, and fitness level of the players in the attempt to form teams of even strength. A player provides this information when he or she signs up to enter the tournament. There are also many cities that run hat leagues, structured like a hat tournament, but where the group of players stay together over the course of a season.
In both hat leagues and hat tournaments, there is an emphasis on forming new connections throughout the Ultimate community. Hat tournaments have a strong emphasis on having fun, socializing, partying, and meeting other players. Players of all levels take part in such events from world-class players to complete beginners. Hat tournaments (and sometimes also regular tournaments) often have a theme, such as wild west, aliens, pirates, superheroes, etc. The organizers often name teams also according to a theme, such as: beer varieties, movie characters, etc.
Large tournaments are often organized with pool play on the first day and championship play on the second day. Teams in the lower half of play compete for the chumpionship.
Regulation play, sanctioned in the United States by the USA Ultimate, occurs at the college (open & women's divisions), club (open, women's, mixed (co-ed), masters and grandmasters divisions) and youth (boys & girls divisions) levels, with annual championships in all divisions. Top teams from the championship series compete in semi-annual world championships regulated by the WFDF (alternating between Club Championships and National Championships), made up of national flying disc organizations and federations from about 50 countries.
Recreational leagues have become widespread, and range in organization and size. Founded in 1986, incorporated in 1993 the Ottawa-Carleton Ultimate Association based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, claims to have the largest summer league in the world with 354 teams and over 5000 players as of 2004.[13]
There have been a small number of children's leagues. The largest and first known pre-high school league was started in 1993 by Mary Lowry, Joe Bisignano, and Jeff Jorgenson in Seattle, Washington.[14] In 2005, the discNW Middle School Spring League had over 450 players on 30 mixed teams. Large high school leagues are also becoming common. The largest one is the discNW High School Spring League. It has both mixed and single gender divisions with over 30 teams total. The largest adult league is the San Francisco Ultimate League, with 350 teams and over 4000 active members in 2005, located in San Francisco, California. Dating back to 1977, the Mercer County (New Jersey) Ultimate disc League (mcudl.org) is the world's oldest recreational league. There are even large leagues with children as young as third grade, an example being the junior division of the SULA Ultimate league in Amherst, Massachusetts.
Tournaments at the high school level of play range from tournaments hosted by local teams to tournaments at a national level. USA Ultimate hosts the Men and Women's HS national championships every year in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This tournament is known as Youth Club Championships, or YCC's, and often features at-large teams (different players from within a large area such as New England), no single high school team attends.
The most prestigious tournaments for high school teams in the United States splits the championships between the East and West Coast. The tournaments are known as Eastern's and Western's and are becoming more competitive as high school programs are beginning to treat the game of Ultimate more seriously. USA Ultimate also hosts a national Junior's club team tournament and sends a representative team to the World Junior Ultimate Championships, held every two years. At a lower level, USA Ultimate has also sanctioned organized statewide tournaments in 20 states.
In the United Kingdom, there were over 20 teams attending this years Junior Nationals (including a coach's team, who played purely for fun), which were held in Sutton Coldfield Birmingham. This event was run by Andrew Vaughan, the coach of the largest Junior team currently in the UK, Arctic Ultimate. Many of the pupils also play for their national teams Great Britain Juniors. With a continuation of the popularity of Ultimate a possibility of it being introduced into further high schools making a more competitive league in the UK for junior Ultimate players.
There are over 12,000 student athletes playing on over 700 college Ultimate teams in North America,[15] and the number of teams is steadily growing. Separated into Open (nearly 450 teams) and Women's (around 200 teams) Divisions, teams compete in the USA Ultimate College Championship series during the spring. The series consists of 3 tournaments: conferences, regionals, and nationals. Each year, the top teams from conferences move on to regionals. The regional champion, runner-up, and possibly a strength bid, advance to Nationals to compete for the championship title in May. College teams have for years been trying to get the sport accepted to NCAA status, without success.
USA Ultimate Club Ultimate consists of Open, Women's, Masters, Youth and Mixed divisions. Club also has regional championships and a national championship, but it also has international competition. The 2010 World Ultimate Club Championships were held in Prague, Czech Republic in July 2010.
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