About Ultimate
Ultimate?
Ultimate, or Ultimate Disc, is a fast paced, non-contact, team sport in the style of American football, soccer and netball. A simple yet demanding game, it requires top players to possess unparallelled levels of speed, agility and stamina. However, the simplicity of the game allows the rules to be easily learnt by new players.
Did I mention it's played with a frisbee?
The Game
Ultimate is played between two teams, seven players per team, on a rectangular field. A rectangular area at each of the field makes up the endzones. Similarly to American football, these are the point scoring areas. A point is scored when a team completes a pass to one of their players in their attacking endzone.
As in netball, players with the disc cannot run, and must come to a stop when they catch the disc. They then must look for another player on their team to throw to. The offense advances by passing the disc upfield from player to player.
If the disc hits the ground, is intercepted by an opposing player, or knocked to the ground, the opposition gains possession. Likewise, when a player catches a disc outside the bounds of the field, it is a turn over.
The defending team attempts to stop the progress of the offensive team, through marking the players on offense. If a player is marked too closely, they cannot receive the disc without risk of an interception, so offensive players must try to get free of their mark to receive a pass, while the defense attempts to force a turnover.
The Spirit of the Game
Essentially ultimate is a non-contact sport. Any contact between players can be declared a foul, with some incidental contact as an exception.
However, ultimate is unique in that it is a self-refereed sport, even at World Championship level, and the players are responsible for upholding and enforcing the rules via a code of conduct called the Spirit of the Game. The responsibility for fair play and the calling of fouls rests upon the players themselves, making a game of ultimate a completely different experience to that of other sports.
And believe it, or not, the system works. Damn well.
Read more...
Ultimate?
Ultimate, or Ultimate Disc, is a fast paced, non-contact, team sport in the style of American football, soccer and netball. A simple yet demanding game, it requires top players to possess unparallelled levels of speed, agility and stamina. However, the simplicity of the game allows the rules to be easily learnt by new players.
Did I mention it's played with a frisbee?
The Game
Ultimate is played between two teams, seven players per team, on a rectangular field. A rectangular area at each of the field makes up the endzones. Similarly to American football, these are the point scoring areas. A point is scored when a team completes a pass to one of their players in their attacking endzone.
As in netball, players with the disc cannot run, and must come to a stop when they catch the disc. They then must look for another player on their team to throw to. The offense advances by passing the disc upfield from player to player.
If the disc hits the ground, is intercepted by an opposing player, or knocked to the ground, the opposition gains possession. Likewise, when a player catches a disc outside the bounds of the field, it is a turn over.
The defending team attempts to stop the progress of the offensive team, through marking the players on offense. If a player is marked too closely, they cannot receive the disc without risk of an interception, so offensive players must try to get free of their mark to receive a pass, while the defense attempts to force a turnover.
The Spirit of the Game
Essentially ultimate is a non-contact sport. Any contact between players can be declared a foul, with some incidental contact as an exception.
However, ultimate is unique in that it is a self-refereed sport, even at World Championship level, and the players are responsible for upholding and enforcing the rules via a code of conduct called the Spirit of the Game. The responsibility for fair play and the calling of fouls rests upon the players themselves, making a game of ultimate a completely different experience to that of other sports.
And believe it, or not, the system works. Damn well.
Read more...