ULTIMATE FRISBEE

Ultimate frisbee is a fast-paced, action-filled sport predicated on teamwork, with constant movement and multiple scoring opportunities. It is one of the most inclusive and accessible of sports. All you need is a disc and a field. And, as a non-contact sport, safety is paramount.

Ultimate frisbee is also known as “ultimate disc” or simply “ultimate.” Like many other sports, there are variations in the rules and field size for amateur and professional versions of the game.

Professional ultimate in the Ultimate Frisbee Association (where the Chicago Union plays) has two teams of seven on a field measuring 80 yards long, with 20-yard end zones. Games consist of four 12-minute quarters.

Each goal is worth one point, and the team that scores the most goals wins.

Similar to football, a team scores by advancing the disc into the opposing team’s end zone. Unlike football, players cannot run with the disc; they must pass the disc back and forth with their teammates until they score or no longer have possession. When a player catches the frisbee, they must establish a pivot foot, and that foot must remain in the same spot until the disc is passed again. Passes must take place within seven seconds of receiving the disc (this is called the “stall”); otherwise, possession goes to the other team.

Perhaps the most special quality of ultimate is that the sport is built upon the foundation of mutual respect, trust, responsibility, inclusion, and self-advocacy. Collectively, it is often known as “Spirit of the Game” and, at the amateur level, it is best represented by the fact that the game is self-refereed.

The UFA’s corollary at the professional level is the Integrity Rule. Players can overturn calls by referees if overturning the call will reverse an outcome that was called in their favor. An example of the Integrity Rule in play was at the 2023 UFA National Championship Semi-finals, when the Seattle Cascades invoked the Integrity Rule to overturn a stall call in a one-point game with only six minutes left.

The sport is rapidly gaining in popularity on all fronts — mixed, women’s, men’s, and from youth to elite play. There are currently more than 800 college ultimate teams in the United States, with 18,000 student athletes playing each year. Ultimate is played in more than 80 countries.

Want to learn more? Check out “The Basics and A Short History of Ultimate” and watch this video.