ULTIMATE

FRISBEE
FRISBEE
 HISTORY

Ultimate, as with all disc sports, would

not exist without the invention of the flying
disc, or "Frisbee," as it is commonly known.
The first known contemporary tossing of a
" d i s c " w a s b y Ya l e U n i v e r s i t y ( U S A )
u n d e r g r a d s i n t h e e a r l y 2 0 t h c e n t u r y. T h e
Ya l e c a m p u s w a s i n c l o s e p r o x i m i t y t o
C o n n e c t i c u t ' s F r i s b i e P i e C o m p a n y, w h o s e
p i e s wh i l e b e i n g a p o p u l a r t r e a t i n
themselves were sold in metal tins that
would hold flight when thrown over a very
short distance.
 HISTORY

The now-popular pastime of

"tossing the disc" remained in
obscurity until the invention of a
plastic flying disc by Fred Morrison
in 1948, which was much more
durable and flight-worthy than
anything made of wood or metal.
This invention led to the first mass-
produced disc, called the "Pluto
Platter," made by the Wham-O toy
company beginning in 1951.
 HISTORY


The year 1954 saw the first

recorded competition using a flying disc
when Da r t m o u t h University (USA)
students organized a tournament for the
disc sport known as "Guts." A year after
t h e F r i s b i e P i e Co m p a n y ' s c l o s i n g i n
1958, Wham-O, based in California, USA,
registered the name "Frisbee" as a name
for its f l y i ng disc products. This
trademark was reportedly the result of
the predictable nickname that students at
Ya l e a n d H a r v a r d h a d g i v e n t o t h e n e w
toys.
 TERMS
 AWAY:The side of the field opposite to w here your team is sitting.

 BACKHAND:A type of throw which is usually lead by the back of your

hand.  This is the most common throw that the general public know.  
Typically this throw is released on the side opposite your dominant
hand.

 BID:Taking a dive for the disc (w hether offensive or defensive).  

Someone might say “nice bid!”

 BREAK-FORCE:When a marker is forcing the throw er to throw a

particular direction, the thrower may try to “break-force” by throw ing
the opposite direction.

 BREAK-SIDE:The side of the field opposite to where the throw er is

being forced to throw.

 BRICK:18 yards infield from the mid-line of the end zone.

 TERMS
 CLEAR-OUT: A player calls this to tell another player to get out of
the way.  The best way to clear out is to get to a sideline and run
up the field away from the forced side.

 CUT: A direct sprint in one direction in order to catch the disc.

 DEFENSIVE PLAYER: A player whose team is not in possession
of the disc. A defensive player may not pick up a live disc or a
disc in play or call for a pass from the thrower.

 DISC: The proper term for a Frisbee.   A regulation sized disc is

175 grams.

 DISC IN: The call a player makes when checking the disc in from
a dead disc to a live or in play disc.
 TERMS
 FA K E : A quick cut in one direction before switching directions and making a cut to catch the
disc.

A q u i c k m o v e m e n t t o f a k e a t h r o w .   T y p i c a l l y u s e d t o h e l p b r e a k - f o r c e .
F L I C K : S e e f o r e h a n d .

F O R C E : A m a r k e r w i l l s t a n d i n s u c h a w a y t o a l l o w t h e t h r o w e r t o t h r o w t o o n e a r e a o f t h e f i e l d .  
Three types of force are force-away, force-home, force-straight-up.

F O R C E S I D E : T h e s i d e o f t h e f i e l d w h e r e t h e t h r o w e r i s b e i n g f o r c e d t o t h r o w .

F O R E H A N D : A l s o k n o w n a s a “ f l i c k , ” t h e f o r e h a n d i s a t y p e o f t h r o w w h e r e t h e d i s c r e l e a s e s o f f
the first two fingers and is lead by the forehand.  Typically this throw is released from the same
side as your dominant hand.

F O U L : N o n - i n c i d e n t a l c o n t a c t b e t w e e n o p p o s i n g p l a y e r s ( s e e I I . H f o r a d e f i n i t i o n o f i n c i d e n t a l
contact). In general, the player initiating the contact has committed the foul.
G I V E ’ N ’ G O : A q u i c k p l a y b e t w e e n t w o p l a y e r s , w h e r e t h e y q u i c k l y p a s s t h e d i s c t o o n e a n o t h e r
while running up the field.

G R O U N D C O N T A C T : A l l p l a y e r c o n t a c t w i t h t h e g r o u n d d i r e c t l y r e l a t e d t o a s p e c i f i c e v e n t o r
maneuver (e.g. jumping, diving, leaning or falling), including landing or recovering after being
off-balance. Items on the ground are considered part of the ground.
 TERMS
 GUARDING: A defender is guarding an offensive player when they are
within three meters of that offensive player and are reacting to that
offensive player.

 HAMMER: A type of overhead throw where the disc is released upside

down.

 HANDLER: A player who is assigned the role to move the disc up the
field and has the ability to throw the disc exactly where they want it to
go.  Kind of like a quarterback in football, except that there are usually
multiple handlers on the field at one time.

 HOLD THE LINE: Before the pull the players line up in their defending
end zone.  When a team calls “hold the line” they are asking the other
team not to move out of their current line up.

 HOME:The side of the field where your team is sitting.

 TERMS
 S TO P PA G E O F P L AY: A n y h a l t i n g o f p l a y d u e t o a c a l l , d i s c u s s i o n , o r t i m e - o u t t h a t r e q u i r e s
a c h e c k o r s e l f - c h e c k t o r e s t a r t p l a y. T h e t e r m p l a y s t o p s m e a n s a s t o p p a g e o f p l a y o c c u r s .

 S T R A I G H T- U P A t y p e o f f o r c e w h e r e t h e p l a y e r s t a n d s i n f r o n t o f t h e t h r o w e r.   Ty p i c a l l y t h i s
i s o n l y u s e d a t t h e e n d z o n e o r t o h e l p p r e v e n t a l o n g t h r o w.

 STRIP: When a player has possession of the disc and another player causes them to lose
the disc.

 SWING: When the disc is moved laterally to the other side of the field.

 SWITCH: When two defenders switch marks.

 T H R O W: A d i s c i n f l i g h t f o l l o w i n g a n y t h r o w i n g m o t i o n ( i n c l u d i n g a f a k e ) t h a t r e s u l t s i n t h e
thrower losing contact with the disc.
 A pass is equivalent to a throw.
 An intentionally dropped disc is considered a thrown disc.
 The act of throwing is the motion that transfers momentum from the thrower to the disc in the direction of
flight and results in a throw. Pivots and wind – ups are not part of the act of throwing.
 A throw is only considered complete when an offensive player gains possession that is not otherwise
negated.
 An offensive player in possession of, or who has most recently possessed, the disc, is the thrower .
 TERMS
 TURNOVER: When the disc is defended, goes out of bounds or is not
caught the offensive team becomes the defensive team and vice
versa.

 TRAVEL: When a thrower moves their pivot foot anytime before they
release the disc. A person catching the disc is allowed up to three
steps in order to stop after catching the disc.   Any further steps and
the player should move back to make up for the extra steps.

 UP: A call by the person marking the thrower to allow the defensive
team to know the disc has been thrown.

 ZONE: A type of defense or offense where the players cover a certain

area of the field rather than a specific player.
DIMENSIONS
DIMENSIONS
 BASIC SKILLS
 1. G ENERAL T HROW I NG
 General throwing is a critical skill to have. General throwing is the ability to
throw to moving targets . Many players practice throwing st at ionary throws,
but in games your cut ter is const ant ly moving. Therefore,  to lead your
teamm at es out int o space is vital. And practice t hrowing with a mark
whenev er possible. Even open side throws with a mark can be daunting f or a
new player.

 2. PO W ER THRO W ING
 In Ult imat e, pow er t hrowing can make you a deadly thr eat, with the ability to
put the dis c anywhere on t he field. While developing power t hrowing, it is
critical to practic e wit h a mark, so you can get good repet itions of how it is to
huck in a game.

 3. BREAK T HROW I NG  
 Quite s imply, having the abilit y t o break the mark opens up an entire half of
the f ield where dow nf ield def enders aren’t playing defense. Read that again.
It might be daunting to break t he mar k, but with practice, fakes, shimmy’s and
different release points and angles you can acquire t his skill.
 BASIC SKILLS
 4. SPEED
 If you have great speed, you can find success on the Ultimate field even if
every other ski ll on thi s list is lacking. Without speed, you can still be
successful by mastering other skills, but with enough of it, you can have an
instant impact. Speed on defense leads to blocks and speed on offense
leads to downfield receptions.
 Acceleration is a very important subset of speed because this is where you
can open a throwing wi ndow on offense and limit a throwing window on
defense.
 Sprinting is the other important subset of speed. On offense, avoid running
at the same tempo the entire point. It makes you predi ctable and easy to
guard. Instead, change up speeds, from 0% to 100%. Your defender will
always have to be ready, and when you truly sprint you become impossible
to cover on that move.

 5. READING THE FIELD

 Reading the field is the ability to take in information. The more information
we can take in with our eyes can help provide clues to what is not only
happening on the field, but what is going to happen.
 BASIC SKILLS
 6. MENTAL PROCESSING SPEED + CAPACITY
 Mental processing speed is the ability to make actionable decisions
based on the information you gather from reading the field. At first,
your mental processing capacity will be taken up with simple tasks
such as holding the force, staying on the force side on defense and
figuring out where to cut and where to clear. Once those tasks
become second nature you free up more room to start to free up
more capacity to analyze other pieces of information. Is the player
with the disc a good thrower? The disc just got dumped backwards,
what does that mean for the player I’m guarding who is too far
downfield?
 As you get more game reps, more of these questions become
instincts, and you can keep increasing your mental processing
capacity. Eventually you can start to look for opportunities to read
not only your matchup but other matchups, and help out. Poach
blocks also become a real possibility when you can read the field
and process what is happening next.
 BASIC SKILLS
 7. ENDURANCE
 Endurance in Ultimate cannot be understated. Our sport requires
long runs, cuts, sprints, jumps and other cardio taxing movement.
Not only will an increase in cardio and endurance help us be better
athletes on the field, but endurance, or lack thereof it, will affect
every skill on this list. When you’re tired, heart beating, gasping
for air your throwing is going to suffer. It’s harder to catch a disc
and you are so focused on breathing that you cannot read the
field.
 Having sufficient endurance allows you to execute the multitude of
skills and processes that Ultimate demands at 100%. We’ve all
thrown discs away when we were tired, so if we build up our
endurance we limit the amount of touches we have while
exhausted.
 My endurance training regimine focuses on high intensity, short
bursts of energy with quick rests before repeating the sprint, cut,
or jump.
 BASIC SKILLS
 8. DEFENSE
 Defense is an art, requiring as much mental discipline as physical
ability. Simply, great defenders are able to control their matchup,
versus what I’ve witnessed as the norm in ultimate, that ‘Offense has
it easy’. Sure, the offense gets to choose where to go and when to do
it, but that only works if the defender allows it.  By using anticipation,
angles and body positioning, you can really disrupt the flow of an
offensive player.
 The other defensive tools, skying, layouts and other physical
attributes can all help you if the offense happens to get open. To
consistently find yourself in the right position, balanced and ready to
go. This is the defender who never stands out because their player
never gets thrown to.
 BASIC SKILLS
 9. CATCHING
 Catching every disc that comes your way helps your team win
games. The amount of possessions you can save your team if you
catch well adds up. Not only taking care of every disc that comes
right at you, but expanding your catching window is vital. Catching
the disc around your ankles, overhead and using one hand when the
disc is behind you or too far out and front of you.
 10. MENTAL TOUGHNESS
 Having a strong mental game allows you to play at your peak talent
consistently. Ultimate is really easy to play when everything is going
well. Playing on a warm, sunny, wind free day when you are healthy
and full of energy allows you to execute all of the tools we have
discussed. When you or your team starts to play poorly, the rain
starts, the wind picks up, or other factors like playing in front of
certain people many players alter their game. They might lose
confidence in their throwing, allow stress to slow down their mental
processing speed, or drop a disc because they are distracted.
 RULES
 The Field — A rectangular shape with endzones at each end. A regulation
field is 64m by 37m, with endzones 18m deep.

 Initiate Play — Each point begins with both teams lining up on the front
of their respective endzone line. The defense throws (“pulls”) the disc to
the offense. A regulation game has seven players per team.

 Scoring — Each time the offense completes a pass in the defense’s

endzone, the offense scores a point. Play is initiated after each score.

 Movement of the Disc  — The disc may be advanced in any direction by

completing a pass to a teammate. Players may not run with the disc. The
person with the disc (“thrower”) has ten seconds to throw the disc. The
defender guarding the thrower (“marker”) counts out the stall count.

 Change of possession  — When a pass in not completed (e.g. out of

bounds, drop, block, interception), the defense immediately takes
possession of the disc and becomes the offense.
 RULES
 Substitutions  — Players not in the game may replace players in the
game after a score and during an injury timeout.

 Non-contact — No physical contact is allowed between players. Picks

and screens are also prohibited. A foul occurs when contact is made.

 Fouls — When a player initiates contact on another player a foul

occurs. When a foul disrupts possession, the play resumes as if the
possession was retained. If the player committing the foul disagrees
with the foul call, the play is redone.

 Self-Refereeing  — Players are responsible for their own foul and line
calls. Players resolve their own disputes.

 Spirit of the Game  — Ultimate stresses sportsmanship and fair play.

Competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of respect
between players, adherence to the rules, and the basic joy of play.
 PRESENTED BY:

RIVERA,
MIELDRED