What is the Sport of Ultimate

Describing the sport of Ultimate continues...

Via 'The Greatest Sport Ever Invented by Man":
A well-played ultimate game combines the cutting of basketball, the passing of football, the running of soccer, the unruliness of hockey, the hand-eye coordination of baseball, the foot speed of tennis, and the complete and total mind/body control of dancesport.


Via World Frisbee Disc Championships (1978):
They call it ultimate. And for good reason! (It's also been called the least expensive team sport in the world.)

...No running with the disc, only passing. An incomplete or blocked pass is an automatic turnover...play is continuous...

Ultimate may be one of the three team sports other than ice hockey and basketball in which every member of the team requires all of the four qualities necessary for the complete athlete - conditioning, mental quickness and concentration, and both body balance and hand-eye coordination.

You can see the pride in these athletes. It's not for money, it's not for glory; it's more the playing. And that's what's so great about the sport of the disc.

[Go to the 8-minute mark.]



Description by USA Ultimate:
Combining the non-stop movement and athletic endurance of soccer with the aerial passing skills of football, a game of Ultimate is played by two teams with a flying disc or Frisbee™ on a field with end zones, similar to football. The object of the game is to score by catching a pass in the opponent's end zone. A player must stop running while in possession of the disc, but may pivot and pass to any of the other receivers on the field. Ultimate is a transition game in which players move quickly from offense to defense on turnovers that occur with a dropped pass, an interception, a pass out of bounds, or when a player is caught holding the disc for more than ten seconds. Ultimate is governed by Spirit of the Game™, a tradition of sportsmanship that places the responsibility for fair play on the players rather than referees.

As defined by USA Ultimate's Board of Directors in 2001:

"Player defined and controlled non-contact team sport played with a flying disc on a playing surface with end zones in which all actions are governed by the Spirit of the Game™."