Ultimate Basics

• The action of the game combines the passing and scoring of hockey, the cutting and guarding of basketball and football, the non-stop field movement of soccer and rugby, and the finesse and accuracy of non-team sports like disc golf or tennis.
• The field is 70-yards long with two 25-yard endzones, and it is 40-yards wide
• Two teams of seven (7) play against each other (normally 5/2 men to women, or 4/3 men to women)
• Games are usually up to 15 points, and last about 1.5 hours
• The players on one team pass the disc to each other moving up the field and score one point when a teammate catches the disc in the endzone
• There is tons of running in Ultimate. You're either running, or you're sprinting. But no worries, you're normally covering someone who's the same size and speed as you are, so it always comes out pretty evenly matched
• Once a player catches the disc, they are not allowed to run with it, and must stop and pivot
• The handler (like a quarterback) pivots back and forth, in an attempt to shake the marker (a defender) in order to have an unobstructed lane to pass to a fellow offensive player
• The handler has only 10 seconds in which to get a pass off to a fellow player
• All players are allowed to pass the disc in any direction
• Normally one defender will match up with an offense player, and they will cover each other until a point is scored
• Players, because they pivot both ways, must be able to throw the disc using their backhand and their forehand
• If the disc is defended, or thrown away, the play of the game reverts in the opposite direction immediately (thus, once defense, is now on offense)
• No subs are allowed until a point is scored (unless an injury occurs)
• If a foul is called, the players quickly decide whether to contest it or not. If not, then the disc reverts back to the original thrower, as if the foul never occurred, and then play resumes.