The Spirit of The Game

Starting on a high school field in New Jersey, Ultimate Frisbee continues to grow as a serious and international sport.

First, Frisbee is the name of the company that began making the flying disc based off the pie tin used by the Frisbie Pie Company. The pie tin was used to play a game of catch, and in 1948 the idea was turned into the Frisbee.

In 1967, the first rules of ultimate Frisbee were drawn up at a high school in Maplewood, NJ – and the first college game of ultimate Frisbee was played in 1972 between Rutgers and Princeton….so it’s not only an American born sport – but bred in New Jersey.

The sport, now known simply as Ultimate, continues to play a major role on college campuses. It has grown to include professional teams, has a governing body, and is being spread internationally with approximately 50 nations represented in the World Flying Disc Federation.

Ultimate is also incorporated into some school’s physical education curriculum as was done in Franklin Lakes, and lesson plans built around Ultimate in Oakland’s middle school. Indian Hills High School has also hosted school sponsored Ultimate events for the students.

The sport of Ultimate is the perfect pick-up game sport, and warm weather is not a prerequisite as players seek out indoor facilities such as Ultimate Sports in Oakland, NJ where a recent all night tournament was held this winter.

Ultimate has always been played under the Spirit of The Game (SOTG) rules where players call and resolve their own disputes, “Ultimate relies upon a spirit of sportsmanship that places the responsibility for fair play on the player. Highly competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of mutual respect among competitors, adherence to the agreed upon rules, or the basic joy of play.”

Most Ultimate games and tournaments continue to be played under the SOTG, sometimes with the assistance of observers whom players can consult. The professional leagues, started in 2012 and 2013, have instituted referees in an effort to make the game more appealing for fans.

The issue continues to be one of great debate, especially at the college level, as proponents of referees believe it helps level the field for all players; and, opponents who insist that the Spirit of the Game is intrinsic to the sport, and referees encourage players to abandon the Spirit of The Game rule to seek a competitive advantage.

USA Ultimate, the governing body for the sport in America, provides a guide as to what the Spirit of The Game entails. It is intened to instruct players as to how the SOTG should be applied when playing Ultimate — but the same guide can be a good guide for life in general.

“…human nature rears its ugly head from time to time – just as in any sport, just as in life. Yet, one of the many beauties of Ultimate is how, even amid the most difficult of situations, utmost graciousness is allowed to meet that challenge head on. Through this balance, Ultimate players are free to demonstrate the most honorable and the most joyous sides of human nature in sport.”

The Spirit of the Game is the basis for UltimatePeace.org which for the past 4 years has been conducting Ultimate camps in the Middle East that bring together Israeli and Palestinian children and youth for an Ultimate camp program. Hundreds of Arab Israelis, Israeli Jews, and Palestinian youth make up 25 teams that learn and play Ultimate together under the Spirit of The Game rules.

It is estimated that more Frisbees are sold than than footballs, baseballs and basketballs combined – and only time will tell how the sport of Ultimate evolves as it seeks to become an established professional sport.