Frisbee sports
Flying disc sports are sports or games played with discs, often called by the trademarked name Frisbees. Ultimate frisbee and disc golf are sports with substantial international followings.
History
The flying disc was developed in 1948 by Walter Morrison. On January 23, 1957, Wham-O bought the rights to the invention and released it later under the trademarked name Frisbee.Although playing catch with discs as a pastime and proto-golf games are documented from the early 1900s, and doubtlessly occurred from time to time before, disc sports began to flower in the late 1960s. As many young people became alienated from social norms, they sought alternative recreational activities, including throwing a Frisbee. What started with a few players in the sixties, like Victor Malafronte, Z Weyand and Ken Westerfield experimenting with new ways of throwing and catching a disc, later would become known as playing disc freestyle. Organized disc sports began in the 1970s with promotional efforts from Wham-O and Irwin Toy. These were national tournaments and Frisbee show tours at universities, fairs, and sporting events. Disc sports such as freestyle, double disc court, guts, ultimate and disc golf became this sport's first events. Two sports, the team sport of ultimate and disc golf, are very popular worldwide and are now being played semi-professionally. The World Flying Disc Federation, Professional Disc Golf Association and the Freestyle Players Association are the official sanctioning organizations for disc sports worldwide.
Guts was invented by the Healy Brothers in the 1950s and developed at the International Frisbee Tournament in Marquette, Michigan. Ultimate, the most widely played disc sport, began in the late 1960s with Joel Silver and Jared Kass. In the 1970s, it developed as an organized sport with the creation of the Ultimate Players Association with Dan Roddick, Tom Kennedy, and Irv Kalb. Double disc court was invented and introduced in the early 1970s by Jim Palmeri. In 1974, freestyle competition was created and introduced by Ken Westerfield and Discraft's Jim Kenner. Judging standards were developed by the Freestyle Players Association. In 1976, the game of disc golf was standardized with targets called "pole holes" invented and developed by Wham-O's Ed Headrick and the Professional Disc Golf Association.
Beginning in 1974, the International Frisbee Association, under the direction of Dan Roddick, became the regulatory organization for all of these sports.
Ultimate Frisbee
Ultimate Frisbee is a competitive non-contact team sport. The object of the game is to score points by passing the disc to a team member in the opposing team's end zone. Players may not move about the field while holding the disc. Catching is done with one hand or both hands on the rim or with hands simultaneously on the top and bottom, sometimes referred to as a clap-catch. When catching with one hand on the rim, paying attention to hand placement is essential, so that you catch on the correct side of the disc, depending on the direction in which the disc is spinning. One side will tend to spin out of your hand, while the other side will spin into your hand, making for a more secure catch. Many players avoid this problem by catching with both hands when possible. The most popular throws used in a game of ultimate are Flying disc techniques, backhand, sidearm/forehand, hammer, and scoober. Being a deep threat, with multiple throwing techniques and the ability to pass the disc before the defense has had a chance to reset, is always optimal. Some players use a throw and catch freestyle practice to help improve their ultimate handling skills. The game was invented in 1968 as an evening pastime by Jared Kass.Ultimate is distinguished by its Spirit of the Game - the principles of fair play, sportsmanship, and the joy of play. USA Ultimate and Ultimate Canada are the rules and sanctioning organizations for ultimate in the US and Canada. While USAU and WFDF rulesets differ, the organizations have been working together over the past 3 years to bring the rulesets into closer alignment. The American Ultimate Disc League and Major League Ultimate are the first men's semi-professional ultimate leagues. The Major League Ultimate ceased operation on December 21, 2016. In 2019, the , ultimate's first Women's semi-pro league launched followed by the in 2020. Currently, the highest level of International Ultimate is the , followed by the .
Games based on Ultimate
A number of games have evolved that are derived or similar to Ultimate, but played with different rules. These games are often played when available fields or teams are too small for a full-sized ultimate game.| Game | Description |
| Goaltimate | a half-court flying disc game derived from ultimate, similar to Hot Box |
| Hot box | a non-contact team sport which is similar to Ultimate, but played on a smaller field and with fewer players |
| a high-energy, predominantly urban sport played on a smaller field than ultimate | |
| also known as D-Hoops, is a flying disc sport that combines ultimate and basketball. It is played on a regulation basketball court, making use of existing floor markings to define its boundaries and obstacles. It is played with a 145 gram disc and a specifically designed apparatus called the Disc Hoops Rim that is affixed to the rim of a basketball goal. Larry Storey is the inventor of both the sport and the Disc Hoops Rim. | |
| Schtick disc | an Ultimate variant played with two discs where running with the disc is allowed; generally more forgiving operations of play than most team sports makes the game more fun and accessible to players of varied abilities than traditional ultimate. The game was conceived and pioneered by a group of friends from Delaware, USA and/or graduates of Rice University, and was first played in 1994 on Assateague Island. It has since been played throughout the US and in Australia as well, having been featured at Sydney's since 2001. Typically, a football halfway line is used to mark the midline, as precise knowledge of the line's position is frequently required for tactical play. Scoreboxes can be marked out by any means that is easily visible, though traditionally bundled socks or knotted rags have been used. |
| Kan-jam | is a flying disc game, played with a flying disc and two cans in which you deflect the disc into the can. |
Many other rules variants for ultimate are played regularly, either to accommodate the number of available players, speed up certain elements of the game, or to help a team practice specific aspects of their strategy.
Disc golf
Disc golf is a game based on the rules of golf. It uses discs smaller and denser than an ultimate disc. The discs are thrown towards a target, which serves as the "hole". The official targets are metal baskets with hanging chains to catch the discs. In , the PDGA severed ties with WFDF, leaving it unclear who is the primary driver for global growth of the game.Urban disc golf
Before there were standardized targets called pole holes, disc golf used to be played in parks and urban settings using natural objects as targets. In some cases courses were created by the players themselves as they played, with each player taking turns determining targets and throwing designationsFreestyle play and competition
Disc freestyle, also known as freestyle Frisbee, is a sport and performing art characterized by creative, acrobatic, and athletic maneuvers with a flying disc. Freestyle can be performed either individually or, more commonly, in groups. It is done for both competitive and recreational purposes. In the early 1970s, before the invention of the "nail-delay", freestyle catching possibilities would depend on the throw you were given; it was always spontaneous and unpredictable. Play with this type of freestyle was performed with two players standing 30-40 yards apart. The throws were fast and varied, and the catches were right off the throw, except for the occasional kick or slap-up, and rarely a pause between the catch and the return throw. At advanced levels, the throws and catches would become a flow that is created once you master the basics. It was fast and fluid, and would visibly resemble martial arts and dance. Most competitive freestyle today centers around the nail-delay with many players using what are called delay-aids.Many players of other disc sports will often use a throw-and-catch version of freestyle to warm up for their disc games. Ultimate disc players often use freestyle to improve their throwing and catching skills as well as a good way to add focus and flexibility to their game.
Freestyle competition is an event where teams of two or three players perform a routine that consists of a series of creative throwing and catching techniques set to music. The routine is judged based on difficulty, execution, and presentation. The team with the best total score is declared the winner.
In 1974, Ken Westerfield and Jim Kenner, introduced and won the first flying disc freestyle competition at the 3rd annual Canadian Open Frisbee Championships, Toronto, Ontario, Canada and the Vancouver Open Frisbee Championships. These were the first Frisbee freestyle competitions.
A year later the American Flying Disc Open in Rochester, New York, the Octad in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and the 1975 World Frisbee Championships held at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, adopted Westerfield and Kenners freestyle competition format as one of their events. Today, this same freestyle event is one of the popular events in Flying disc tournaments worldwide.
The Freestyle Players Association was formed to oversee the competitive aspects of freestyle frisbee and to help new players learn how to freestyle.