WHAT IS ALTIMAT?
Ultimate is a team sport with a flying disc (frisbee). The game is played on a field measuring 100×37 meters. The playing part of the field is 64×37 meters and scoring zones in which you need to catch a disc 18×37 meters.
The task of each team is to win a point. To score a point, you need to catch the disc in the opponent’s zone. But there is a nuance: the player who has the disc in his hands does not have the right to move around the field at this moment, but he can pass it in any direction to the players of his team. True, the expression “has no right to move with the disc” is slightly false: a player with a disc has the right to rotate in any direction without letting go of his supporting leg (here hello to basketball players!).
Ultimate is a non-contact sport. Therefore, the players of the defending team take the disc directly, in other words, snatch it from the opponent’s hands. But they can interrupt / intercept him in the air or make the opponent make a mistake to make a bad pass. An incomplete pass is a loss and transfer of disc possession. In other words, first defend, then attack.
After the team scores a point. She (you will not believe) gives the disc to the opponent and again defends, trying to seize the initiative (disc insertion is similar to a football fairplay , where the players kick the ball away from the opponent’s goalkeeper).
REALLY SPORT WITHOUT JUDGES?
Yes exactly. Ultimate is a sport without refereeing. Here, every dispute and disagreement is resolved by the players who participated in the controversial moment. Most often, a dispute is resolved by responding to an “agree / disagree” ad. Until I bore you with the rules, they are complicated. Not every player in Russia can boast of ultimate knowledge , including me. There are subtleties. I can only say that the rules are worse than in football, basketball, volleyball and other sports.
So, back to refereeing. The Ultimate is such a thing as the “spirit of the game.” This is the charm of this sport. The most important thing is honesty and respect towards the opponent. In many sports you will find players who should be given Oscars or a referral to a psychotherapist for gross fouls. This is highly discouraged in Ultimate .
The most attractive feature of Ultimate is the lack of penalties for violations. Full trust between players is implied – no player will deliberately break the rules. All actual violations occur by chance – and therefore do not require serious punishments (in fact, there are no punishments at all). This idea is quite innovative. Imagine a country where there are no complex mechanisms to support legislation, since all residents never intentionally break the law. Looks like a frivolous utopia? In the world of ultimate, this is reality!
In Ultimate, each player is responsible for their behavior on the pitch. There are no judges who make sure everyone behaves like an adult. Responsibility is to declare your fouls if the person who was fouled has not done so. And it is right. You can foul yourself. Ultimate is based on honesty and the belief that no one will deliberately cheat. Like matrimony, income tax system and buffet.
Sometimes in Ultimate situations arise when your rivalry with some player or even the whole team is especially strong. This is possible if you are the two best players on the field, if your teams go point for point, or if your team loses 8 points and reduces the gap to two. It is at such moments when you and your opponent are covered in a mixture of dirt and sweat; when you have completely laid out on the field, but still find the strength to run, that’s when you understand what a real player is. You and your opponent inspire each other not only to keep fighting, but also to improve your level of play. And on the battlefield, knowing that only one of you will win, you play against the opponent the way you want him to play against you: giving everything on the field, respecting the opponent’s desire to win and treating the declared fouls with understanding. You do this because you know that no matter how badly they want to win, they will do it honestly. And after the game, regardless of the result, you shake your opponent’s hand, look him in the eyes with respect, and say: “Cool defense”. This is the Spirit of the Game.
This publication describes only a small percentage of the game. I could tell you many short subtleties of the game, but then it will result in a long post that few people can master. In the future, I will try to paint all the rules and trivia of sports. The ultimate for players is more than a game – it’s a way of life. I’ll talk about this later too.