How to Play Ultimate Frisbee

OBJECT OF THE GAME

The object of Ultimate Frisbee, otherwise known as Ultimate, is to score points by throwing a flying disk to a teammate in the opposing team's end zone. Any flying disk can be used, as long as both teams agree on it. Officially, an Ultimate playing field is 70 yards by 40 yards with two 25-yard end zones, and the game is played between two teams of seven players each. Almost all Ultimate Frisbee games are played without a referee, and players are responsible for making their own calls and solving their own disagreements.

HOW TO PLAY ULTIMATE FRISBEE

The game of Ultimate begins by two opposing players flipping a disk to determine the offensive and defensive teams. One player calls out "same" or "different," and the winning team in the flip chooses which position they'd like to play first. Once the teams have been decided, the defensive team throws, or pulls, the disk to the opposite team. Points are scored when the player in the end zone catches a pass, and after each goal, the direction of play is reversed and the scoring team pulls to the opposing team. Players may not run into the end zone to score a point, and the receiver must be completely in the end zone when catching the disk or must land fully in the end zone if jumping to catch a disk.

PLAYING RULES

The rules of Ultimate Frisbee have remained virtually unchanged since they were created by a ragtag group of Columbia High School students led by Joel Silver. The official rules of the game are as follows:

Throwing and catching the disk

No player may run with the disk at any time. As soon as a player is in possession of the disk, he must keep one foot on the ground until he has released it. He may use the other foot as a pivot, but he can not change his pivot foot or move from the spot. The player has ten seconds to throw the disk, as counted by the player guarding the thrower. If he does not throw the disk within those ten seconds, the other team gains possession.

Contact

Ultimate Frisbee is a non-contact sport, and opposing players may not come into physical contact with each other during the game. Players also may not obstruct the movement of an opposing player, knock the disk out of an opponent's hand, or touch the disk in any way while the thrower or the receiver is in possession of it. These things result in a foul, and the player who has been fouled then gains control of the disk at the point where the foul is called. Only the player who has been fouled can call a foul, and the guilty player then has a chance to contest it. If he disagrees, the play is repeated.

Turnovers

Turnovers occur any time the disk is dropped, thrown out of bounds, intercepted or knocked out of the air. Likewise, the disk changes possession when the receiver does not catch it for any reason and when the thrower holds it for too long, catches his own throw, or hands it to another player.

Guarding

The player guarding the thrower is called the marker, and only one marker is permitted to guard at a time. The marker may not block the thrower's pivot foot or use his arms to impede him from pivoting, and there must be one disk's space between them at all times. In addition, physical contact between the thrower and the marker is not allowed, and the marker must be three steps from the thrower before he begins a stall count.

Substitutions

In Ultimate, substitutions are only permitted after a point has been made or before a period of play begins, except in the case of injury.