Here’s what the game of ultimate can look like for students:

Respecting Rules. By the rules of ultimate, players are expected to only make calls that they think impact the game, and the only people allowed to have the conversation are those involved, unless they ask for a different perspective. Everyone stops moving when discussing a call; they should not give one team an advantage.

Reflection and Resolution. Intentionally breaking the rules or using them to your advantage is cheating, but inadvertent infractions are part of the game; Spirit is a way of respectfully discussing those calls and settling disputes.

Mutual Respect. When having conversations about rule violations, players are required to bring respect to their opponent.  Ultimate players are encouraged to see their opponents as people first, before players.

Self-Awareness. Discussing a call in the heat of the moment is difficult, and requires players to take into account both their opinion, their opponent’s opinion, and their own feelings about the game. Sports are emotional, and sometimes it doesn’t feel good to not have all the information.  Listening to those around with a better point of view is a learned skill.

Accountability. Learning how to confidently say “yes, I fouled you, my bad” is a really valuable skill for young people to have, especially in a place as public as a sports field.  Ultimate builds a culture of admitting a foul if you think you did it.

Self-Management. Spirit of the Game teaches kids to have respectful conversations even in the heat of the moment. It stinks to accidentally foul someone, especially when it has a tangible impact on the game. By giving kids practice with having those conversations, spirit reinforces the value of taking a breath before responding to an “accusation.”

Responsible Decision Making. While the awareness to own up to a foul is important, it is equally important to avoid situations where fouls are inevitable. It is a player’s responsibility to avoid dangerous play and contact whenever they can, and that can mean losing an advantage in the game. Making the decision to not dive for a disc, or jump over someone, because you would end up fouling them even if it results in a goal scored or the game lost.

Relationship Skills. Practices and games are opportunities to practice socializing. A shared interest in the game can lead to valuable relationship building time. Even at the pro level, there is a culture of the home team gathering after the game with fans and the opposing team.

Inherent in the sport of ultimate frisbee are skills to help social-emotional learning.

Fair play is so foundational to the sport of ultimate that it has a special name and is codified in the USA Ultimate Rules: “Spirit of the Game is a set of principles which places the responsibility for fair play on the player. Highly competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of mutual respect among competitors, adherence to the agreed upon rules, or the basic joy of play.” 

The Rules for Spirit of the Game continue at length and include numerous examples of actions to support good spirit such as:

• playing safely by actively avoiding unnecessary body contact; 

• working as a team to ensure that all players have an excellent knowledge of the rules; 

• establishing lines of communication to address spirit and safety issues

• celebrating exciting plays and good spirit by both teams; 

• touching base with an opponent on the sideline after a contentious interaction; 

• connecting with or introducing yourself to an opponent on the sideline; 

• keeping communication open and engaging in a way that seeks to de-escalate disputed situations; and 

• participating in a pre- or post-game spirit circle that includes spirit highlights and constructive spirit feedback (if needed) for each team.

With Spirit of the Game at ultimate frisbee’s core, self-officiation replaces officiation by referees.Ultimate is one of the few sports worldwide which is self-refereed. Even at the pro level, players have certain agency not present in other sports, including for UFA the Integrity Rule, which gives players the ability to overturn incorrect calls which benefit their own team.