Ultimate Frisbee returns to the sands of Playa Grande in Puerto del Carmen this weekend As the 7th annual Ultimate Beach Tournament gets underway from the 13th to the 15th of November. And if your memories of Frisbee comprise little more than half heartedly chucking a plastic disc around your local park then the Ultimate version of the sport is something of an eye-opener.
Ultimate is basically a bizarre hybrid mixture of American football and netball. But instead of using a ball the players use what they like to call a flying disc (or a Frisbee to you and me).
Two teams of seven play on a 64 metre long rectangular pitch. At each end there’s an 18-metre zone (end zone) where goals are scored. A goal is scored when a player receives the flying disc in this zone. Easy really.
That is until you try playing it of course, as the game actually requires a high degree of athleticism as well as obviously demanding some degree of accuracy with the ‘flying disc’.
Ultimate resembles netball in many ways, most importantly in terms of governing the movement of players on the field of play. For example, when players receive the disc they have to stop and make another pass. Possession is lost when the disc either hits the ground or is intercepted by the opposition and in true American fashion this is termed a turnover.
The defending team attempts to stop the attacking team from progressing up the pitch and scoring by marking them – so when you’re in possession you obviously have to try and escape your marker. The game is non-contact, so any attempt to hinder the player you’re marking results in a foul.
The most unique thing about Ultimate is that there are no referees – the game is self governing, placing the responsibility for fair play on the participants themselves. The game is governed by something called The Spirit of Play, which whilst encouraging competitiveness ultimately relies on respect for your fellow players.
Whilst this system obviously wouldn’t pass muster with your aspiring Wayne Rooney’s it allegedly works like a breeze in the world of Ultimate and apparently fist fights, punch ups and general temper tantrums have been avoided right up to World Championship level.
Unsurprisingly, the sport was born in the US, originating as a college game back in the late 1960´s when it was started as a bit of a joke by non-jock nerds at Columbia High – who came up with the idea of what they then called Frisbee Football. Today, Ultimate is played in 42 countries with an estimated 100,000 participants worldwide and has already featured as a medal sport at the World Games. Head down to Playa Grande and check it out first hand.
