Choose Ultimate

I couldn’t go through all of these days and not bring up Ultimate Frisbee.

I have been playing since 2006 when I tried out for Ohio State Leadbelly. That year we played in the college national championships and finished tied for 9th. Ultimate has played an integral part of my life as it was because of it that I met my wife, Jennie, and so many great friends.

I don’t get to play as much as I would like to anymore. I still play a few tournaments with my wife and friends, and I also coach a high school club called Fox Valley Fusion from Algonquin.

Ultimate requires a lot of endurance and athleticism. In a weekend tournament a player can expect to run between 12 and 16 miles. It is like combining a frisbee, football, and soccer together. If you have never seen it played check out WatchESPN the weekend of 10/18-10/21 for some potential air time.

Below are some basics of the game.

Field size is 110 yards long, 40 yards wide and 20 yard end zones. A point is scored when an offensive player catches it in the end zone. A typical game is played to either a point total of 15 or 90 minutes whichever happened first.

You cannot run with the frisbee and so once a pass is completed you must stop and set a pivot foot. The thrower has 10 seconds to throw it to a teammate.

Turnovers occur if the disc hits the ground, the disc lands out of bounds, the disc is intercepted, or if the 10 seconds runs out. The game is meant to be non-contact with the players self officiating. Lastly is a term called spirit of the game. It is difficult to describe in words.

It is better experienced on a first hand basis. So get out there and watch or find a place to play. Anyone can learn to throw and catch a frisbee!