PE and Health

Ultimate frisbee

by Emily Nancarrow, teacher of Physical Education and Health

On Wednesday 15 May, six Year 9s and three Year 12s joined forces to represent Preshil in an Interschool Ultimate Frisbee Competition hosted by Ultimate Victoria.

On arrival, we were all too aware of the minimal (and that's an understatement) amount of training we had undertaken in the lead up to the competition. Despite this fact, our energy and enthusiasm was high and we began the tournament with a win! Unfortunately our novice abilities didn't take us much further than that. We were unsuccessful in winning the next few games and, despite some spectacular intercepts, a “super hero-style" catch or two and a few very well-deserved points, unfortunately we didn't qualify for the grand final play-offs. The best thing about ultimate frisbee though is that winning isn't everything!

Ultimate fisbee, sometimes just called ultimate  is a non-contact sport, with approximately five players on each side. It is often described as a combination of netball (because you cannot run with the frisbee) and American football (because you score a point for catching the disc in the end zone). Although it is usually played on a football-sized pitch, the fields on the day were slightly smaller to allow for multiple games to be played at the one venue. Each team starts in their opponent’s 'score zone' and the aim of the game is to pass the frisbee down the field and catch it within your own zone. If successfully caught, you score a point.

Unlike other competitive sports that focus solely on winning, ultimate frisbee emphasises the spirit of the game. Being self-refereed, players from both teams are required to make consensus decisions to settle any disputes about rules or fouls, even at World Championship level.

Competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of respect between players, adherence to the rules or the basic joy of play. As well as demonstrating sportspersonship, players are required to commit to fairness, respect and, above all, having a good time. Ultimate Victoria refers to this as the 'spirit score' and each team awards their opponents a score out of 10 at the end of the game. There is little room here for ruthless, competitive rivalry and, instead, teams walk away feeling a sense of achievement, having participated in a respectful and fun game. In addition to the spirit score, at the end of each game teams stand in a circle, interlinked together and compliment the other team on their play. This, for me, was the best part of the game and the 'ultimate' way to boost morale and facilitate respect between the teams. We didn't come home with the golden cup… but we did have an excellent day of fun, fitness and flying frisbees.