The Rules of Ultimate Frisbee

Introduction

Ultimate frisbee has an interesting history that started in 1968 when Joel Silver introduced his idea to the student council of Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey. One year later, the school had its first ultimate frisbee games. 

The first official rules of ultimate frisbee were introduced in 1970, which contained regulations for gameplay and field dimensions. On the other hand, the first intercollegiate ultimate game was played on November 6th, 1972 between Rutgers and Princeton. What makes this interesting is that the same universities also played the first college-level football game exactly 103 years prior. The first National Collegiate Tournament was played in 1975 in Yale.

Due to trademark issues with the word ”frisbee”, which is owned by Mattel Toy Manufacturers, ultimate frisbee is officially known simply as ultimate. However, both names are used in common language. Nowadays, ultimate no longer uses frisbees but specialized discs made to exact measurements.

Since its inception, ultimate has grown steadily, and now sports a healthy following of over 5 million active players. Its biggest events include the American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL) and the Premier Ultimate League (PUL). Ultimate is also recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) making it eligible for future Olympics

The object of the game

The object of ultimate frisbee is to catch a flying disc in your opponent’s end zone. Thus, scoring a point. On the other hand, the opposing team has the same goal as they try to score more points than your team. The team that scores a predetermined amount of points first, or the one with the most points at the end of a specific timeframe, wins the game.

Scoring in ultimate frisbee

To score a point in ultimate frisbee, a player must catch the disc in the opposing team’s end zone with both feet on the ground. The game ends when the first team reaches the game total (usually 15pts) or when the time runs out. Most ultimate games have a game total and point cap for points, as well as a soft cap and a hard cap for the duration of the game. 

• Game total: 15pts
• Point cap: 17pts
• Soft cap: 60mins
• Hard cap: max 90mins

Point caps are used as the main method to declare the winning team. In ultimate, a team must reach the game total and have a lead of at least two points. If both teams are tied 16-16, the point cap comes into play. This means that the team that scores the next point wins the game.

Time caps come into play when the game has continued for a long time. A soft cap means that after 60mins of gameplay, the play continues until the current scoring attempt has ended. If the game total hasn’t been reached, the team with the higher score gets one more point. The resulting number becomes the new game total, and the team wins the game. However, if the elapsed time and the current scoring attempt have ended in a tie, a hard cap comes into play. This continues until one additional point is scored. 

Serving rules of ultimate frisbee – ”the pull”

At the beginning of a game, the captains of both teams gather at the center to discuss the rules and flip for a disc. This determines which team starts first.

Once both teams are inside their own end zones, the team with the disc raises it to signal that they are ready to start the game. The other team’s captain then raises their hand as a sign that they are ready to receive. The defending team ”pulls” (throws) the disc to the attacking team, starting the gameplay.

If the pull lands out of bounds, the attacking team may decide to continue where the disc landed or to start from the brick mark. However, if the disc rolls out of bounds, the team doesn’t have the option to “brick”.

After every point, the team that was scored on walks to the opposite end zone and waits for the next pull. This means that teams switch ends after every point. 

Gameplay

Ultimate is mixed sport played in a 7 vs 7 format. While there are no rules on how many men or women can be in one team, most captains agree on a 5-2 ratio (five men and two women). 

Once the game has started, players are allowed to move freely on the field and pass the disc in every direction. However, players are not allowed to move with the disc and they must pass it to the next player within 10 seconds.

Possession changes when the intended pass is not completed. This means that the player is unable to catch the disc, or the marker, also known as a defender, intercepts the pass. Note that even if the marker drops the disc when intercepting, their team may still continue from where the disc has dropped. The possession also changes if the disc flies or rolls out of bounds. In this case, the opposing team may resume gameplay from where the disc went over the line.

What makes ultimate frisbee unique from other sports is its spirit of the game mentality. This means that there is no official referee and it is up to the players to ensure the games are played fairly and according to the official rules of the World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF).

Fouls

Fouls can occur in several ways during a game. The most common fouls include;

• Physical contact
• Double-teaming (more than one marker/defender guarding one player)
• The marker is too close to the player (closer than the diameter of a disc to the thrower)
• The marker hits the disc out of a player’s hand (also known as a check)
• Screening (purposefully standing in the way of another player)

The outcome of a foul depends on whether it is contested or not. This means that the accused must agree on the call and give the fouled player a redo where the foul occurred. If the majority of players disagree on a call, it will be considered neutral and will not benefit either team. After a foul, the marker touches the disc in the thrower’s hand to signal that the game can be resumed. 

Game intervals

According to the official rules of ultimate frisbee, each game consists of two halves. Half time occurs when the first team reaches at least half of the game total. For example, in a game to 15 points, half time starts when the first team reaches 8 points. The standard length of a half time is 10 minutes. 

When switching ends after every point, teams are allowed a 90s break before the next pull. Additionally, teams may also substitute players during this time.

On top of this, teams also are allowed to use two 70s timeouts per half. This is done by forming a ”T” with the disc in one hand and audibly saying ”timeout”. The disc is placed on the ground to mark the location where the game continues after the break. Once the timeout is done, the same player continues from the same position where the disc is.