In 1968, a tumultuous year for America and the world, Martin Luther King Jr. and then Bobby Kennedy were assassinated, a war raged in Vietnam and the country was coming to grips with the civil rights and women’s rights revolutions. In Maplewood, students and staff members of the Colombian High School adapted the rules of Frisbee Football to invented the fast-moving team sport we know today.
Ultimate can be played on grass, indoors or on the sand. Standard outdoor games are played on a 37x110m field, divided into a 64 m playing field and a 18 m end zone at each end. Play is with two teams of seven. Game is played with a 175g disc.
The objective of the game is to score points by passing the disc to a player in the opposing end zone, not unlike in American football or rugby. Players may not run with the disc, and may only move one foot (pivot) while holding the disc.
No contact is allowed amongst opponents, but the games are self-officiated, requiring players to strongly respect the “Spirit of the Game”. Ultimate players should always remain fair-minded, no matter how competitive the game they’re playing.
About 5 million people play ultimate in the US alone. The sport is also fairly well spread in Europe (UK, Scandinavia and Germany), and in East and South East Asia (Japan and the Philippines).
Ultimate has been played in Switzerland ever since 1980, when Flying Saucers Luzern was founded, and now involves about 30 clubs, playing in an open, a coed and a women’s division. Flying Angels Bern currently hold the European Champions.
