The History of Ultimate

The Frisbie Baking Company (1871-1958) of Bridgeport, Connecticut, made pies that were sold to many New England colleges. Hungry college students soon discovered that the empty pie tins could be tossed and caught, providing endless hours of game and sport. Many colleges have claimed to be the home of 'he who was first to fling.' Yale College has even argued that in 1820, a Yale undergraduate named Elihu Frisbie grabbed a passing collection tray from the chapel and flung it out into the campus, thereby becoming the true inventor of the Frisbie and winning glory for Yale. That tale is unlikely to be true since the words 'Frisbie's Pies' was embossed in all the original pie tins and from the word 'Frisbie' was coined the common name for the toy.

In 1948, a Los Angeles building inspector named Walter Frederick Morrison and his partner Warren Franscioni invented a plastic version of the Frisbie that could fly further and with better accuracy than a tin pie plate. Morrison's father was also an inventor, who invented the automotive sealed-beam headlight. Another interesting tidbit was that Morrison had just returned to America after World War II, where he had been a prisoner in the infamous Stalag 13. His partnership with Warren Franscioni, who was also a war veteran, ended before their product had achieved any real success.

Morrison (after his split with Franscioni) produced a plastic Frisbie called the Pluto Platter, to cash in on the growing popularity of UFOs with the American public. The Pluto Platter has become the basic design for all Frisbies. The outer third of the Frisbie disc is called the 'Morrison Slope', listed in the patent. Rich Knerr and A.K. 'Spud' Melin were the owners of a new toy company called 'Wham-O'. Knerr and Melin also marketed the Hula-Hoop, the Super Ball and the Water Wiggle. They pair first saw Morrison's Pluto Platter in late 1955. They liked what they saw and convinced Morrison to sell them the rights to his design. With a deal signed, Wham-O began production (1/13/1957) of more Pluto Platters. The next year, the original Frisbie Baking Company shut down and coincidentally Fred Morrison was awarded a patent (Design patent 183,626) for his flying disc. Morrison received over one million dollars in royalties for his invention.

The word 'Frisbee' is pronounced the same as the word 'Frisbie'. Rich Knerr (Wham-O) was in search of a catchy new name to help increase sales, after hearing about the original use of the terms 'Frisbie' and 'Frisbie-ing'. He borrowed from the two words to create the registered trademark Frisbee ?. Sales soared for the toy, due to Wham-O's clever marketing of Frisbee playing as a new sport. In 1964, the first professional model went on sale. Ed Headrick was the inventor at Wham-O who patented Wham-O's designs for the modern frisbee (U.S. patent 3,359,678). Ed Headrick's frisbee with its band of raised ridges called the Rings of Headrick had stabilized flight as opposed to the wobbly flight of its predecessor the Pluto Platter.

In 1967, high school students in Maplewood, New Jersey, invented Ultimate Frisbee, a recognized sport that is a cross between football, soccer and basketball. Ten years later, a form of Frisbee golf was introduced, complete with professional playing courses and associations.

Another Great Frisbee Moment: In 1968, the U.S. Navy spends almost $400,000 to study Frisbees in wind tunnels, following their flights with computers and cameras, and building a special Frisbee-launching machine on top of a Utah cliff to test a prototype flare launcher.

Today the fifty year old Frisbee? is owned by Mattel Toy Manufacturers, only one of at least sixty manufacturers of flying discs. Wham-O sold over one hundred million units before the selling the toy to Mattel.

The game, explained as simply as possible

Ultimate is played between two teams of seven players on a large rectangular pitch. A line drawn across the pitch at either end creates two "end zones" (like in American Football). These are the goal-scoring areas. A goal is scored when a team completes a pass to a player standing (or more likely running) in the end zone they are attacking.

Players cannot run with the disc. When you get the disc you must come to a stop and try to throw it to another player (a bit like netball). By passing from player to player, the offence attempts to work the disc up the pitch towards the end zone they are attacking. If the disc hits the ground or is intercepted or knocked down by the other team, then the opposition takes possession (a change of possession is called a "turnover", like American Football). Possession also changes if a receiver is outside the playing area when he or she catches it.

The defending team attempts to stop the team with the disc from making progress up field by marking them (as in soccer or basketball). The theory is that the offence won't want to pass to a player who is being marked closely, as it's likely to result in an interception. So it boils down to the offence players trying to get free of their markers to receive a pass, while the defense makes every effort to stay with them in the hope of forcing a turnover.

Fouls and "Spirit of the Game"

Ultimate is essentially non-contact; any contact between players can be declared a foul. There's a variety of other minor violations, but that's the big one.

Ultimate is unique in that it is refereed by the players themselves, even at World Championship level, according to a code of conduct known as "the Spirit of the Game". This places the responsibility for fair play on the players themselves. In that respect, playing Ultimate is a completely different experience to playing other sports. And believe it or not, Ultimate's system of self-refereeing works. Beautifully.

Ultimate in 10 simple rules

1. The Field -- A rectangular shape with end zones at each end. A regulation field is 64m by 37m, with end zones 18m deep.
2. Initiate Play -- Each point begins with both teams lining up on the front of their respective end zone line. The defense throws ("pulls") the disc to the offense. A regulation game has seven players per team.
3. Scoring -- Each time the offense completes a pass in the defense's end zone, the offense scores a point. Play is initiated after each score.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Substitutions -- Players not in the game may replace players in the game after a score and during an injury timeout.
7. Non-contact -- No physical contact is allowed between players. Picks and screens are also prohibited. A foul occurs when contact is made.
8. 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.
9. Self-Refereeing -- Players are responsible for their own foul and line calls. Players resolve their own disputes.
10. 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.

Strategy and tactics

Offensive strategies

Teams employ many different offensive strategies with different goals. Most basic strategies are an attempt to create open lanes on the field for the exchange of the disc between the thrower and the receiver. Organized teams assign positions to the players based on their specific strengths. Designated throwers are called handlers and designated receivers are called cutters. The amount of autonomy or overlap between these positions depends on the make-up of the team.

One of the most common offensive strategies is the vertical stack. In this strategy, the offense lines up in a straight line along the length of the field. From this position, players in the stack make cuts (sudden sprints out of the stack) towards or away from the handler in an attempt to get open and receive the disc. The stack generally lines up in the middle of the field, thereby opening up two lanes along the sidelines for cuts, although a captain may occasionally call for the stack to line up closer to one sideline, leaving open just one larger cutting lane on the other side. In the college game, the vertical stack is more prevalent on the East Coast.

Another popular offensive strategy is the horizontal stack. In the most popular form of this offense, three handlers line up across the width of the field with four cutters up field, also lined up across the field. It is the handler's job to throw the disc up field to the cutters. If no up field options are available, the handlers swing the disc side to side in an attempt to reset the stall count while also getting the defense out of position. In the college game, the horizontal stack is used frequently in the Midwest.

Many advanced teams develop specific offenses that are variations on the basics in order to take advantage of the strengths of specific players. Frequently, these offenses are meant to isolate a few key players in one-on-one situations, allowing them more freedom of movement and the ability to make most of the plays, while the others play a supporting role.

Players making cuts have two major options in how they cut. They may cut in towards the disc and attempt to find an open avenue between defenders for a short pass, or they may cut away from the disc towards the deep field. The deep field is usually sparsely-defended but requires the handler to throw a huck (a long downfield throw).

Defensive strategies

One of the most basic defensive principles is the force. The marker effectively cuts off the handler's access to half of the field, by aggressively blocking only one side of the handler and leaving the other side open. The unguarded side is called the force side because the thrower is generally forced to throw to that side of the field. The guarded side is called the break-force side because the thrower would have to "break" the force in order to throw to that side.

The reason this is done is that with evenly matched players, the advantage is almost always with the handler and against the marker. It is relatively easy for the handler to fake out or outmaneuver a marker who is trying to block the whole field. On the other hand, it is generally possible to effectively block half of the field.

The marker calls out the force side ("force home" or "force away") before starting the stall count in order to alert the other defenders which side of the field is open to the handler. The team can choose the force side ahead of time, or change it on the fly from throw to throw. Aside from forcing home or away, other forces are "force sideline" (force towards the closest sideline), "force center" (force towards the center of the field), and "force up" (force towards either sideline but prevent a throw straight up the field). Another common tactic is to "force forehand" (force the thrower to use their forehand throw) since most players, especially at lower levels of play, have a stronger backhand throw. "Force flick" refers to the forehand; "force back" refers to the backhand.

When the marker calls out the force side, the team can then rely on the marker to block off half the field and position themselves to aggressively cover just the open/force side. If they are playing one-to-one defense, they should position themselves on the force side of their marks, since that is the side that they are most likely to cut to.

The simplest and often most effective defensive strategy is the one-on-one defense (also known as man-on-man or just man), where each defender guards a specific offensive player, called their "mark". The one-on-one defense emphasizes speed, stamina, and individual positioning and reading of the field. Often players will mark the same person throughout the game, giving them an opportunity to pick up on their opponent's strengths and weaknesses as they play. One-on-one defense can also play a part role in other more complex zone defense strategies.

Zone defense

With a zone defense strategy, the defenders cover an area rather than a specific person. The area they cover moves with the disc as it progresses down the field. Zone defense is frequently used when the other team is substantially more athletic (faster) making one-on-one difficult to keep up with, because it requires less speed and stamina. It's also useful in a long tournament to avoid tiring out the team, or when it is very windy and long passes are out of the question.

A zone defense usually has two components. The first is a group of players close to the handler(s) who attempt to contain the disc and prevent forward movement, called the wedge, cup, wall, or clam (depending on the specific play). These close defenders always position themselves relative to the disc, meaning that they have to move quickly as it passes from handler to handler.

The wedge is a configuration of two close defenders. One of them marks the handler with a force, and the other stands away and to the force side of the handler, blocking any throw or cut on that side. The wedge allows more defenders to play up the field, but does little to prevent cross-field passes (such as a swing).

The cup involves three players, arranged in a semi-circular cup-shaped formation, one in the middle and back, the other two on the sides and forward. One of the side players marks the handler with a force, while the other two guard the open side. Therefore the handler will normally have to throw into the cup, allowing the defenders to more easily make blocks. With a cup, usually the center cup blocks the up-field lane to cutters, while the side cup blocks the cross-field swing pass to other handlers. The center cup usually also has the responsibility to call out which of the two sides should mark the thrower, usually the defender closest to the sideline of the field.

The wall involves four players in the close defense. One players is the marker, also called the "rabbit" or "chaser" because they often have to run quickly between multiple handlers spread out across the field. The other three defenders form a horizontal "wall" or line across the field in front of the handler to stop throws to cuts and prevent forward progress.

The players in the second group of a zone defense, called mids and deeps, position themselves further out to stop throws that escape the cup and fly up field. Because a zone defense focuses defenders on stopping short passes, it leaves a large portion of the field to be covered by the remaining mid and deep players. Assuming that there are seven players on the field, and that a cup is in effect, this leaves four players to cover the rest of the field. In fact, usually only one deep player is used to cover hucks (the "deep-deep"), with two others defending the sidelines and possibly a single "mid-mid".

Alternately, the mids and deeps can play a one-to-one defense on the players who are outside of the cup or cutting deep, although frequent switching might be necessary.

One final zone defense strategy, known as the Clam or Chrome Wall, uses elements of both zone and man defenses. In Clam defenses, defenders cover cutting lanes rather than zones of the field or individual players. The Clam can be used by several players on a team while the rest are running a man defense. This defensive strategy is often referred to as Bait and Switch. In this case, when the two players the defenders are covering are standing close to each other in the stack, one defender will move over to shade them deep, and the other will move slightly more towards the thrower. When one of the receivers makes a deep cut, the first defender picks them up, and if one makes an in-cut, the second defender covers them. The defenders communicate, and switch their marks if their respective charges change their cuts from in to deep, or vice versa. The Clam can also be used by the entire team, with different defenders covering in cuts, deep cuts, break side cuts, and dump cuts.

The exact configuration of both groups depends on the specific style of zone defense, and there are wide variations. One of the advantages of knowing a number of zone defense styles is to confuse the opposing team by switching or using an unknown style.

A Glossary of Ultimate Jargon

air bounce: a backhand or forehand throw that is aimed slightly downward, but is buoyed by a

cushion of air.

backhand: a standard throw; right-handed player places thumb on top of disc, curls fingers underneath, extends arm to left side of body.

bid: an impressive (but failing) diving attempt to catch the frisbee. Often used in a positive way, ex. "Nice bid"

blade: a forehand throw that goes high in the air and curves left; an extreme version of the reverse curve.

chilly slow it down, be patient, wait a moment for the game to get reorganized again.

clog: to prevent good cuts by standing in the way of your teammates.

corkscrew (see "hammer") like a hammer throw but the frisbee is held in a backhand grip rather than a forehand grip, so the frisbee flattens out and curves the opposite way from the hammer.

cut: a run by a receiver to shake his defender.

deep: a receiver who cuts for hucks.

disk in signals that the disk is in play.

force guarding on only on one side of the thrower to make them throw to the other side.
The direction you want them to throw is the direction of the force.

Types of Force:

Force In: force to the middle of the field
Force Out: force to the outside of the field
Force Sidelines: force to the near sidelines
Force Home/Away: force to the home or away side
Force Forehand: force the thrower to use a forehand throw
Force Backhand: force the thrower to use a backhand throw

forehand: a difficult but useful throw; thrower leads with middle finger along rim, with index finger supporting disc; looks similar to a sidearm pitch in baseball; also called a flick.

hack: a foul.

hammer: an overhead throw with a forehand grip in which the frisbee is released at an angle so that it flattens out and flies upside down.

handler: one of a team's primary throwers.

high release: a backhand throw held and released over the thrower's head; very difficult to block.

inside out: as a backhand, a throw to the right that curves left; as a forehand, a throw to the left that curves right.

layout dive!!! "If you didn't catch it, you should have laid out"

mid: a receiver who cuts for shorter passes than a deep.

pick an intentional or unintentional block (like basketball) where a player gets between you and the player you are covering

pull like a kickoff in football, the throw that begins the possession.

reverse curve: as a backhand, a throw to the left that curves right; as a forehand, a throw to the right that curves left.

run through what you shout to tell another player to run past the disc without picking it up

scoober: a fast, difficult-to-intercept throw; similar to a hammer, a scoober is held overhead, but with a backhand grip.

sky jumping to catch the disc

stack offensive strategy in which all the players line up down the middle of the field and alternately make cuts to the side.

stall count The defensive player counts up to 10 while defending the offensive player. The offensive player must throw the disc before the 't' of ten otherwise it's a turnover.

swill: a bad throw.

http://www.whatisultimate.com/

http://www.ultimatehandbook.com/Webpages/History/histulti.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimate_(sport)