About Ultimate

Ultimate is an exciting, non-contact sport played by hundreds of thousands the world over.  Mixing the best features of sports such as Basketball, Netball and American Football, it is an elegantly simple, yet fascinating and demanding game.  And it's played with a flying disc*.

Check out the new WFDF Rules pages.

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WFDF Rules of Ultimate 2009
WFDF 2009.pdf
Adobe Acrobat Document [151.0 KB]
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Summary of rule changes 2009
WFDF Summary 2009.pdf
Adobe Acrobat Document [33.0 KB]
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Played seven-a-side on a pitch similar in size to a football field, players on a team must pass the disc between themselves with one player catching the disc in their opponents endzone to score a point.  Ultimate is a non-contact sport and, unlike other competitive sports, is completely self-refereed.  This fundamental aspect of the sport is known as the Spirit of the Game.  Competitive play is encouraged but never at the expense of respect between players, adherence to the rules, and the basic joy of play.

 

Ultimate can be easily described in 10 simple rules, shown below.  For further information please see www.whatisultimate.com or www.wfdf.org.

 

  1. The Field -- A rectangular shape with endzones at each end.
  2. Initiating 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.
  3. Scoring -- Each time the offense completes a pass in the defense's endzone, 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.  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.

*Frisbee is a registered trademark of Wham-O Inc.