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Ultimate Frisbee

Ultimate is played in 42 countries by hundreds of thousands of men and women, girls and boys, with programs in Sweden, Norway, and Japan receiving government funding. Ultimate Frisbee ranks as the USA's third-fastest-growing sport, with a national organization, thousands of local clubs and more than five million participants worldwide. Would you believe that this popular game of Frisbee started with a group of students tossing pie tins to each other?

The game was created in a parking lot. In the fall of 1968, Joel Silver, a student at Columbia High School proposed a school Frisbee team to the student council on a whim. In 1968, a group of kids from the high school newspaper in Maplewood, N.J., created a team game that used a Frisbee - Combining the non-stop movement and athletic endurance of soccer with the aerial passing skills of football, and hockey - and called it the “ultimate” sport, or ultimate Frisbee. A few years later, in another parking lot in New Brunswick, N.J., one of those high schoolers from Maplewood, Jonny Hines ’74, joined with friends from Princeton and Rutgers to play the new sport’s first intercollegiate match.

A game of Ultimate is played by two seven-player squads with a high-tech plastic disc on a field similar to football. Players can't run while holding the disc, so a team advances by passing from player to player. If the disc is intercepted or dropped, the other team takes over.

A typical game score is 15 points and a game lasts one and a half hours. No expensive equipment is necessary to play Ultimate. Ultimate is played with a 175 gram disc, which is heavier and sturdier than the recreational discs

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, although "Observers" do participate in the games.

Ultimate is sometimes played on an indoor football (soccer) field in Canada and northern Europe. Another variant of the game is Beach Ultimate. Ultimate is also played on smaller fields where it is called Intense Ultimate and is also played as Ice Ultimate as well as a street version called Street Ultimate.

The Ultimate Players Association (UPA), now USA Ultimate, the governing body for the flying disc sport of Ultimate has created the Ultimate Hall of Fame, awards and alumni associations.

USA Ultimate and The World Flying Disc Federation have been working to achieve worldwide sport presentation for the game. A major milestone in this effort occurred in 2001 when Ultimate was included in the World Games for the first time as a full medal sport. Though it is still not a part of Olympics its popularity is phenomenal.

Regulation leagues exist in most colleges for men, women and mixed (co-ed) teams, and boys and girls youth teams. More than 700 colleges have an Ultimate Frisbee club team.

Recreational leagues exist for pre-school, elementary school, junior high school, high school and adults. All corporate teams and all leagues are co-ed. Today, there are leagues formed worldwide with almost 42 countries participating. Though it is still not a part of Olympics its popularity is phenomenal.

How to Start a Frisbee League

Various groups and organizations from around the world have formed Frisbee leagues. You need only 2 teams to start a league. As more teams develop, the more competition and the more interesting the matches are.

All league members share the financial responsibility of maintaining a league. Items such as renting a field, buying matching T-Shirts, cleats, cones for the goals and of course the Frisbees can end up a costly venture. Team and league members will request that each team member pay a “membership fee” hold fundraisers or seek out sponsorship to help sustain the league.

Benefits of Sponsoring a Frisbee Team / League

Often leagues will reach out to local companies or organizations to sponsor the league or individual teams. In the event of a company sponsorship, the company will often print their logo on Frisbees and T-Shirts – a great advertising medium.

In 1999, Jockey – The undergarment company – signed a $60,000 sponsorship deal with the Ultimate Players Association (UPA). This deal included $35,000 worth of free advertising in sports illustrated. Jockey continues to sponsor College Ultimate Frisbee leagues.

But you don’t have to be a big company to sponsor a league or team. Local, College and Club teams and leagues are a great way to get your company’s name out into the community.

Company Frisbee Team / League

Companies don’t just need to consider sponsoring Frisbee leagues, they can start one too. Company sports teams are always good for coworkers to develop relationships out-of-the office, encourage healthy lifestyle through exercise and encourage good sportsmanship.

Benefits of a company Frisbee team:

• Ultimate Frisbee is a team sport. This makes for a great team building exercise.
• Creates a positive environment where co-workers meet after office hours and indulge in a stress-reliving sport like Frisbee.
• Create a league against competing companies in the same field to create for a truly competitive game.