The Ultimate FPP
June 23, 2016 5:41 PM   Subscribe

Ultimate Frisbee is currently having its world championships in London. But before you pass this post by as just a post about an awesome sport...step inside

Ultimate was born in the 70's, but has surpassed its hippy origins and is now played in 43 countries in gender specific and mixed divisions.
It is highly competitive, but what sets Ultimate apart is its most important rule: Spirit of the Game, the heart of which is that the players themselves are responsible for fair play, i.e., there are no refs.

Known for its inclusive sense of community, the sport is also making a stand on gender equity.

MeFi favorite Bill Nye is both a player and a fan.

Watch a game (linked above), or some musical highlights, or better yet, find a game near you and play!
posted by OHenryPacey (20 comments total) 14 users marked this as a favorite
 
Disc golf is also lovely.
posted by leotrotsky at 5:48 PM on June 23, 2016 [1 favorite]


Competitive ultimate is something else. I grew up playing on the playground, just goofing around. When I got to college, I tried out for our ultimate team, which, uh, didn't last long. One of my high school buddies stuck with it and won a national championship. Another of my high school buddies now coaches a semipro team. They're very serious about ultimate. It's a lot different than when we were goofing around in high school.
posted by kevinbelt at 6:01 PM on June 23, 2016 [1 favorite]


Love this game, more than anything. Though, at the highest levels, the spirit of the game sometimes took a back seat, at least back in the day. Also loved guts, the spirit of that game was a bit different, more like a friendly "Up Yours!". There was also a game I loved called DDC (Double Disc Court) but it unfortunately never caught on. Deceptively difficult
posted by falsedmitri at 6:03 PM on June 23, 2016 [1 favorite]


Played for a few years in a league and had a lot of fun but I was so terrible at it. No way that my back or my ankles could hold up to play now; it's way tougher on your body than it looks.
posted by octothorpe at 6:10 PM on June 23, 2016


Came back for another issue ... way back about 1990, the sport was getting commercial sponsors, Budweiser, Jose Cuervo come to mind, and then at some point, there seemed to be a conscious decision to not go the way, like beach volleyball did and I thought that was a great move, though the game might have suffered as far as popularity or tv exposure goes. Can anybody familiar with the sport today comment on that?
posted by falsedmitri at 6:26 PM on June 23, 2016



I played for a year in college for what the equivalent of a D3 school. It's equivalent because, even in 2009, it wasn't very organized relative to collegiate sports. It was a club sport, so no NCAA bullshit (THANK GOD), no coaches, just player-captains. We paid for everything ourselves (uniforms, tournament fees which would be like $10 a player). Play in a tournament once or twice a month during the fall and spring, on Saturdays and Sundays. I wasn't given shit if I missed a tournament because I had a lot of homework. Even though I was one of the crappiest players on the team my senior year, I wasn't cut (as long as you committed to most practices, you were on the team). I remember playing in the the D3 tournament (in Versailles, OH), organized by a loose non-profit (UPA, maybe?) and played at a campground. Most teams would still have a few beers the night before a game; the teams that were in the consolation round would get shitty that Saturday night. I think it was still about being fun. BTW, the D1 equivalent teams had cuts back then but I'd imagine they're even more competitive now.

After college, there's the option of playing 'club'.

'Club' teams which were sort of private teams invited by tryouts, that'd play against each other in regional tournaments (usually each metropolitan area or college town would have just 1 team) on the weekends. Hypothetically, nothing would stop you from forming your own team with your buddies and paying a fee to get in a tournament I'd guess, but you'd get your ass kicked.

The skills gap in ultimate is widening and becoming a lot more competitive. It's a result of more kids (becoming adults now) who played in high school and in college. Less people who never played before. Everyone on my rec league team has played before in some capacity which I think may be the first time that's ever happened in 7 years (as far I remember).

I still play in rec leagues and maybe it's just Cleveland, but even 4-5 years ago, top 10 players in the state (so I heard) would play in these leagues (now, think about that, kinda badass). Now that I think about it, but I haven't seen them as much on the field this year, likely because they'll playing in the semiprofessional teams (there's a semi pro league that started in the past 4-5 years) or taking club more seriously and not playing in the rec leagues during the week.

I like in part, because it's a competitive sport without some of the baggage of douchebags (although I haven't played any other organized sports besides ultimate since college, so maybe I've changed or managed to avoid the assholes. (The assholes still exist but there's not that many of them).
posted by fizzix at 6:26 PM on June 23, 2016


Can anybody familiar with the sport today comment on that?

I know in club there is some sponsorship on jerseys and stuff, but it's generally not very intense. It tends to be ultimate-centered products (Discraft, Patagonia, Five), or smaller brands that are popular within the frisbee community (I know the beach game Spikeball advertised with a team). Not sure about any of the pro leagues.
posted by little onion at 6:35 PM on June 23, 2016 [1 favorite]


Fun fact: The Joel Silver referenced in the history link as one of the founders of the sport is the Hollywood big shot producer of the Die Hard, Lethal Weapon and Matrix movies, among others.
posted by stargell at 6:43 PM on June 23, 2016 [2 favorites]


Spirit of the Game traditionally becomes a bit more challenging at 'higher' levels as athleticism increases and the more players feel they have on the line.

BUT what's been interesting over the last few years has been the sense that spirit has improved as more and more games are livestreamed. Having a larger audience and freely available replays/analysis greatly increases the long term reputational damage players and teams experience if they behave poorly. The turning point was probably the notorious 2012 Canada / Japan game, where the Canadians went a long way over the line and have been tarred ever since. What value is a medal when everyone who cares thinks you're a cheating dickhead?

Aussies note - we are doing very well at this tournament.

Also, it seems the hosts are doing a great job - props to them.
posted by jjderooy at 7:24 PM on June 23, 2016 [1 favorite]


Hadn't heard of the Canada/Japan 2012 game. Found some video on Youtube. Yeah, slamming the disc down after a catch, that's bullshit. But on quite a bit of that video: When you're playing really tight D, you are in the guy's shorts and even small changes in direction and speed inevitably lead to collisions and tempers can flare.

As it happens, I played against the Japanese national team (again way back when). They were nothing but gracious and they gave 110% godblessem but we towered over them. It wasn't much of a game.

Glad to hear that the spirit has improved overall.
posted by falsedmitri at 8:02 PM on June 23, 2016


Can anybody familiar with the sport today comment on that?

MLU and AUDL have shied away from that kind of sponsorship, they seem to be desirous of a family friendly vibe.
The All-star tour ( a very popular women's showcase series entering its second year) and the WUGC championships are co-sponsored by ERIC, which is a cancer awareness organization, so, yeah, the other end of the spectrum.
W/R/T the 2012 canada/japan game: I watched those 2 play today and there was particular mention of the spirit issues, and a lack of communication in that former game. it was a well-played game with much respect shown by both teams. I won't spoil it in case anyone wants to see the archived telecast. very high level play.
posted by OHenryPacey at 9:06 PM on June 23, 2016


Recent NYT article on Ultimate and Spirit: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/17/sports/ultimate-frisbee-debates-a-role-for-referees.html

I play a fair amount of ultimate and enjoy it a lot, but am so tired of hearing about how special spirit of the game is. Most other sports have some framework for self-officiating at recreational levels. And then when the stakes are more serious, they have refs. The skills and tempers at any game with real consequences are so high that 'spirit of the game' is a joke. I've never watched or played in a livestreamed game, but have seen some really ugly games at league, local tourneys, and sectionals.

The pro leagues recognize that self-officiated play is not fun for spectators, and seem to be doing fine. If Ultimate wants to be taken seriously at the Olympics or other world stages, I think they need refs.
posted by stobor at 7:09 AM on June 24, 2016 [1 favorite]


Most other sports have some framework for self-officiating at recreational levels.

I've played and been in relationships with people who played (counts on fingers) more than ten different rec-league-level different sports in half a dozen states (and a few other countries), and there has never not been a referee/umpire/line judge at any level of organized competition in any of them. I've had more games called on acount of no official than I can remember, or had them not count in the official standings because we just went ahead and self-policed.
posted by Etrigan at 7:22 AM on June 24, 2016


One of my best high school memories comes from Ultimate. We started playing by ourselves in 8th grade or so, and in 10th grade, we wanted to throw around over in the open field by the university. A bunch of college students promptly showed up and challenged us to a game. Ain't nothing sweeter than beating college kids at one of their most beloved sports. It's an ego boost times a hundred.

Even though, ironically, I never played in college, I right now have a frisbee in my office and one in my garage at home. Cause, you know, you never know when you might want to toss it back and forth. The fluidity of moving down the field, combined with the multiple ways you could throw the disc, and that joy of racing down a throw that's way over your head; those were the things I really loved about playing it.
posted by Atreides at 8:16 AM on June 24, 2016 [1 favorite]


The pro leagues recognize that self-officiated play is not fun for spectators, and seem to be doing fine. If Ultimate wants to be taken seriously at the Olympics or other world stages, I think they need refs.

Refs aren't required for spectators to appreciate a well-thrown disc or a layout D. Refs/observers may be required to help spectators on TV and in the stadium understand what's going on, but that could be solved by having whoever calls an infraction make hand signals like observers do today. Or something. There are definitely obstacles to overcome before ultimate can be marketed to a wider audience, I just don't think that self-officiation is one of them.

re: SotG, that was one of the big reasons that the IOC granted recognition to the sport in the first place. It (along with mixed-gender ultimate being a first-class division of the sport in most places) absolutely is part of what makes the sport special. I think it'd be a mistake to throw that away in pursuit of a seriousness which, for better or for worse, has been missing from most of ultimate's existence.
posted by Old Kentucky Shark at 8:18 AM on June 24, 2016 [1 favorite]


I loved playing competitive ultimate in college, but I also think the SotG thing is oversold. Sportsmanship is an important concept in nearly every sport, ultimate is just more explicit (slash precious) about it. One of the big problems with ultimate (and self-officiating in general) is the tendency for folks to argue infractions and lawyer the rules to death. I play far too many summer league (read: supposedly casual funtimes) games that bogged down in BS foul calls, arguing, and acrimony. At its best, ultimate is the best team sport I ever played and is a total blast to watch. At its worst, its misery and boredom squared.
posted by that's candlepin at 8:33 AM on June 24, 2016


I love ultimate frisbee, but I never joined a college team because they didn't have that position where you sort of hang way back and just wing it down the field to your really fast buddy and never really play full-press defense or run.
posted by GrapeApiary at 9:00 AM on June 24, 2016


At its best, ultimate is the best team sport I ever played and is a total blast to watch. At its worst, its misery and boredom squared.

Couldn't agree more. I played Ultimate at a club level in college and for a short time after. All it took was one person to 'abuse' SotG and it just dragged the game down, and down...and down. It quickly stopped being fun.

Speaking about SotG, I always noticed that at least in co-ed games, the ladies were much more likely to dust themselves off and 'play on' while the guys got bogged down with trying to justify every little push and shove.
posted by splen at 9:18 AM on June 24, 2016


I love ultimate and play at various levels all of the time. It's such a game of flow - when you have good chemistry with a group, all is right with the world. One of my favorite aspects is the international community aspect of it. It is exactly the right size sport to roll into a new town or a new country, find the pick up game, and have instant friends who will take you out for a beer, offer you a ride to the airport or a place to stay, or invite you to play in a tournament next weekend (sample size = many cities/ 7 countries/ 4 continents).

I have no idea how I am going to make friends if I ever get too old or injured.

My least favorite part is teams and players that think they're way better then they are and take it super seriously without the skills to back it up.
posted by oryelle at 11:32 AM on June 24, 2016


thanks for this post! I don't keep up with the sport professionally but I play pickup games with friends, and watching those makes me wish we play more often! I love the spirit of the sportsmanship you can see in those videos, players highfiving their rivals after an amazing play, and it's really reminiscent of the games I have with my friends.
posted by numaner at 12:00 PM on June 28, 2016


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