What Is Ultimate Frisbee And Where To Play In Australia

Ultimate Frisbee, the game that ultimately takes the cake on. . . frisbee-ing. The name, in and of itself, is hardly a giveaway for how to play the sport. So how do you play it? What makes ultimate frisbee so ultimate? 

HOW TO PLAY

If you’ve been around our site, you undoubtedly know that there are a lot of variations to throwing around a disc and the types. Did you know, though, that ultimate frisbee is one of the first disc sports played after the frisbee was invented?

It all started with a humble pie company by the name of Frisbie Pie Company. Just as you’d expect from college kids, they decided to throw it around. It soon became a game to throw and catch the pie tin, and Wham-O, the company previously responsible for hula hoops, decided to produce a durable product, which they aptly named the frisbee. Since then, college students and high school students adapted the basic concept into a game that decided a winning team, and the game created from scratch was dubbed Ultimate Frisbee.

Ultimate Frisbee is now a game played internationally. It has become more than a game between friends. It is now played in the World Games. What once was a simple tossing game has now become highly competitive. The game is quite easy to learn with basic rules that define points and a clear winner. Ten rules define can set you out in the field today.

1. The regulation size of an ultimate frisbee competitive field measures 64 meters by 36.5 meters with endzones required at 23 meters deep.

2. Seven players are required for each team. Each team lines up on their endzone with one team primed to throw the frisbee. The team with the starting frisbee tosses it to the offense team.

3. A point is scored every time the offense team successfully completes a pass in the defense team’s endzone. 

4. A pass is completed when a team member catches the disc. The person with the disc may not run with it. The thrower must toss the disc within a ten second time limit. If the disc is not thrown within this time limit, the disc is forfeited to the defense team. The defense player guarding the throwing counts the ten seconds.

5. When the pass is incomplete, the frisbee goes to the defending team, which then becomes the offense team. An incomplete pass may be intercepted, out of bounds, or simply dropped during play.

6. Substitutions are welcome after a point is scored or when a team member experiences an injury.

7. Ultimate Frisbee is a no-contact sport, which means that physically assaulting another player results in a foul.

8. Ultimate Frisbee is self-officiating. Any reports, accidents, and fouls are given from the inside. Players within the game do not determine rulings from a referee and must setting disputes from within.

9. Since Ultimate Frisbee is ultimately refereed from the inside, someone who commits a foul is judged by other members of the ultimate frisbee game to determine if the ruling is correct. If the person who committed the foul argues with the ruling, the play is repeated.

10. Just as with all frisbee sports, Ultimate Frisbee depends on the Spirit of the Game. Though Ultimate Frisbee is competitive, it should never disrupt the sense of unity within the game.

And that’s it. Ultimate Frisbee is designed to include everyone who is willing to learn and play. The competitive nature of the game is ultimate subjective to the players involved. Fun is always more important than crushing another team.

WHERE TO PLAY

Well, this is all fun and games until you don’t have a place to play. So where do you find an Ultimate Frisbee location? First of all, if you have a lot of friends interested in the sport, go out and find a local field or park in which you can play! Many towns have a local sports center or open park that provides places to play.

Family reunions often take place in open areas that are prime spots to play. All you need is a frisbee. Be careful, however, to find a place that is conducive with the sport. If you play on an empty lot next to a drug dealer’s house, you’ll likely get an injury from stepping into some sort of hide out. Instead, try to look for locations that will help you and your teammates enjoy even grounding and away from locations where a flying frisbee may whack someone in the head.

But what if you want to play but don’t have fourteen people on hand to play with? You’re not out of luck. Clubs across Australia provide places to play Ultimate Frisbee with people from all over your area, and they’re a great place to start your Ultimate Frisbee journey. How do you find local clubs? Usually, sports centers within towns have a wide variety of clubs from which to choose. 


Since its first club establishment in the 1970s, Ultimate Frisbee has grown exponentially. You’ll likely find at least someone in your area who has played Ultimate Frisbee in the past. People in your neighborhood are great resources for finding locations to play. Since Ultimate Frisbee is competitive and it takes fourteen people to play, people who have played in the past can offer guidance about where to go for future plays. And, since Ultimate Frisbee also includes substitutions, as your friend if you can tag along to their next game to get some perspective on the sport.

The Australian Flying Disc Association’s (AFDA) website provides locations for leagues all over Australia to both begin and compete. Not only does the AFDA provide resources for Ultimate Frisbee, but it also delivers information about disc golf. Between the two sports, it’s unlikely that you’ll find yourself without a place to play with frisbees in your area. 

Follow these links to where to play in your state:
WA, VIC, NSW, TAS, QU, SA, ACT, NT

Ultimate Frisbee is not new to sports, and it is certainly not new to frisbees themselves. Wherever you go, you’ll likely find someone who has a link to the sport. Check out local sports centers and talk to your neighbors to find the best locations to get started. Ultimate Frisbee is made for team building, so, even if you don’t know the people around you as well as you’d like, get out there and participate. Believe us, there will be more than one person out on the field who will be glad you did.