 | |
| Highest governing body | World Flying Disc Federation |
|---|---|
| Characteristics | |
| Contact | No |
| Team members | Grass: 7/team; indoor: 5/team; turf: 5/team; beach: 5/team (sometimes fewer or more) |
| Mixed-sex | In some competitions and most leagues |
| Equipment | Flying Disc (commonly referred to as a Frisbee) |
| Presence | |
| Olympic | Recognized by International Olympic Committee;[1][2] eligible for 2028 Olympics.[3][4] |
| World Games | 1989 (invitational), 2001–present[3] |
Ultimate frisbee (officially simply called Ultimate) is a non-contact team sport played with a disc flung by hand. Ultimate was developed in 1968 by Joel Silver in Maplewood, New Jersey.[5] Although ultimate resembles many traditional sports in its athletic requirements, it is unlike most sports due to its focus on self-officiating, even at the highest levels of competition.[6] The term "frisbee" is a registered trademark of the Wham-O toy company, and thus the sport is not formally called "ultimate frisbee", though this name is still in common casual use (and the trademark was licensed to the Ultimate Frisbee Association in 2024).[7] Points are scored by passing the disc to a teammate in the opposing end zone. Other basic rules are that players must not take steps while holding the disc, and interceptions, incomplete passes, and passes out of bounds are turnovers. Rain, wind, or occasionally other adversities can make for a testing match with rapid turnovers, heightening the pressure of play.
From its beginnings in the American counterculture of the late 1960s, ultimate has resisted empowering any referee with rule enforcement. Instead, it relies on the sportsmanship of players and invokes the "spirit of the game" to maintain fair play.[8] Players call their own fouls, and dispute a foul only when they genuinely believe it did not occur. Playing without referees is the norm for league play but has been supplanted in club competition by the use of "observers" or "game advisors" to help in disputes, and the professional league employs empowered referees.
In 2012, there were 5.1 million ultimate players in the United States.[9] Ultimate is played across the world in pickup games and by recreational, school, club, professional, and national teams at various age levels and with open, women's, and mixed divisions.
The USA has historically won most of the world titles, though not all. American teams won all three divisions (women's, men's, and mixed gender) at the U-24 world championship in 2019,[10] and all divisions in 2016 competitions between national teams.[11][12]
- ^ "IOC Session receives updates on implementation of Olympic Agenda 2020". Olympic News. August 2, 2015. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
- ^ "World Flying Disc Federation Receives Recognition by the International Olympic Committee". World Flying Disc Federation. May 31, 2013.
- ^ a b Bethea, Charles (August 12, 2015). "Ultimate Frisbee's Surprising Arrival as a Likely Olympic Sport". The New Yorker. Condé Nast. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
- ^ Eisenhood, Charlie (February 21, 2019). "Ultimate Misses Out On Paris 2024 Olympic Games". Ultiworld.
- ^ "History of Ultimate". www.wfdf.org. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
- ^ "What Is Ultimate?". USAUltimate.org. USA Ultimate. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
- ^ "The World's Largest Professional Ultimate League is Now the Ultimate Frisbee Association (UFA)". January 17, 2024. Retrieved July 18, 2024.
- ^ "About Spirit of the Game". USAUltimate.org. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
- ^ "Ultimate Frisbee Participation [SFIA]". Sludge Output. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
- ^ "2019 World Under-24 Ultimate Championships". www.wfdf.org. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
- ^ "wugc2016.com - Diese Website steht zum Verkauf! - Informationen zum Thema wugc2016". scores.wugc2016.com.
- ^ "WFDF 2016 World Ultimate and Guts Championships (WUGC)". www.wfdf.org.