An Ultimate Introduction

What is College Ultimate like?

Now I know the hype video above is exciting but before you can start jumping into the end zone to win the game some fundamental terminology needs to be defined. Ultimate has a lot of its own jargon that players can tend to throw around on the field without realizing. Let’s review some of the basics and work our way up slowly.

Basic Rules

Perimeter Line Goal Line Team Line Equipment Line

First, what are the basic rules, and how does one team win? Ultimate is a 7v7 sport played on a 110 by 40-yard field with 20-yard endzones, usually imagined as a skinnier American football field. Refer to the diagram above for visual aid.

A point begins with each team lining up in opposite endzones. The team on offense initiates the beginning of a point by raising a hand, signaling to the team on defense they are ready. The team on defense then raises the disc in the air and throws the disc from their endzone to the other side of the field in what is called a “pull.” This is similar to a kickoff in American football. After the disc is pulled, both teams are free to leave their endzones and begin play. After a team catches a disc in the endzone they receive a point. Both teams then proceed to their respective end zones, with the team that just scored staying in the endzone they scored in. The team that scored will now start on defense and pulls to the other team in the opposite endzone, restarting the above process. Play continues until a team reaches a certain number of points, usually 13 or 15 for college purposes.

One of the most defining rules of the sport is that when holding the disc, one cannot move except around one “pivot” point, usually their non-dominant foot. This rule is very similar to how basketball travels and pivoting works. This rule requires that the disc be thrown, caught, and thrown again until a player on offense catches the disc in their respective scoring endzone.

To make sure that a player on offense does not waste time on the field, a defender is allowed to “stall” the player on offense who has possession of the disc. If the defender can count to ten before the disc changes possession, then a turnover occurs. A turnover may also occur if the disc touches the ground, is caught out of bounds or is intercepted by a defender. The defense then becomes the offense, and the offense becomes the defense.

 

Catching and Throwing

There are two crucial skills of ultimate that determine your ability to play the game, catching and throwing. Being able to catch the disc maintains possession for you and your teammates and being able to throw accurate passes makes catching the disc easier.

There are two throws that are the most common in ultimate. The first is the backhand, most likely the most popular way to throw a disc casually. The second is the forehand, also known as “flick,” which is less popular but just as fundamental to playing
ultimate. It is crucial to know how to throw both the backhand and forehand styles as it gives you the ability to throw on either the left or right side of your body without changing your dominant throwing hand.

A backhand grip modeled on the left and forehand grip modeled on the right

While there are other throws like the hammer or scoober, we are not going to focus on those, to begin with. I would encourage you to establish a solid backhand and forehand throw before branching out. You will be using these two basic throws for the rest of your ultimate career and can always be improved.

Fouls

Ultimate is also known as a self-officiating sport. Ultimate refers to this as “Spirit of the Game,” describing how players call their own fouls and resolve their own disagreements. Any fouls that occur must be called by one of the 14 players on the field. Depending on the foul, play stops and the individuals affected stop and discuss what occurred. After discussing the fouling player can then declare whether the foul is “contested” or “uncontested” depending on if they thought the foul call was valid. If contested, then the disc is sent back, and players return to their positioning before the foul was called. This results in a sort of do-over. If uncontested, then the foul is accepted, and play continues from that point after allowing the fouled player appropriate compensation.

Ultimate is also a non-contact sport. Any contact, intentional or unintentional, that affects play is considered a foul. 

There are many types of fouls that I aim to talk about in another post. Rules are an important part of the game because ultimate is a self-officiating sport. You will be at a serious disadvantage if you are unable to recognize fouls in the game and call them for yourself. The only one who can hold you accountable is you!

Positions

There are two positions in ultimate when playing offense. The handler and the cutter. Usually, there are three handlers and four cutters on the field at the same time. However, these positions are dynamic and can change as the disc progresses down the field. A handler acts as a main thrower for the team, meaning they can throw accurately and precisely. They also possess good decision-making to help the offense maintain rhythm and positioning on the field. Cutters on the other hand act as the main receivers of the disc. A good cutter is known for speed, stamina, and timing. Meshing these two skill sets allows the handlers and cutters to advance the disc down the field to score in the endzone.

Extra Resources

Some great external resources to use are USAUltimate and YouTube in general. There is so much content out there that I would encourage you to explore and find out more. If you’re not connected to an ultimate team on campus or in your area, try to find others that are more experienced in the sport than you are. Facebook groups are a great place to look for local pick-up games in your area so I would suggest starting there if you’re not plugged in. I like to think that you learn the best by doing, so get out there and play some ultimate!