Basic Rules

written by Alex Evans Š1995

1) Spirit of the game - It's assumed no ultimate player will deliberately commit a foul, and there are no harsh penalties for doing so, but rather a method for starting play in as fair a way as possible
2) The Pitch - Ultimate is played on a grass pitch totalling 120 yards long by 40 yards wide.
3) The Pull - Seven members of each team stand at opposite end zone lines. The pulling team (or defence) then throws the disc as far as they can towards the recieving team (the offence)
4) Offence - A member of the offence catches or picks up the disc and tries to work it up the field by passing it to team-mates. You may not run while holding the disc, but must keep one foot (the pivot foot) stationary, as in basketball or netball, and you may only hold the disc for 10 seconds at a time.
5) Defence - The aim of the defence is to try to gain possession by forcing a turnover. The usual way to do this is through man marking, where each defensive player takes one member of the opposite team and tries to close them down.
6) The Turnover - A turnover occurs whenever a pass is incomplete. This may be because of a drop, if the disc goes off the field (out of bounds), or if the defence intercepts or knocks down a pass. Also a turnover occurs if an offensive player holds it for more than 10 seconds (a stall out). Whenever a turnover occurs the defensive team becomes the offence and vice versa. The new offensive team then picks the disc up and tries to play it towards the opposite end zone.
7) Scoring - A goal, or point, is socred when one team manages to complete a pass into their opponents endzone. If the catch is made in mid-air then the first posint of contact with the ground must be in the endzone, be it with the foot, body or hand. If the catcher is on the ground then all contact must be inside the zone - one foot in and one foot out counts as not in. If the catch is made outside of the zone, but the recievers momentum carries them in, then they must walk back out of the zone and play from the line
8) Change of Ends - After each point is scored the defensive team, whcih conceded the point, must walk back to the opposite endzone. The team which has just scored then pulls the disc to them. In effect this means that the team that lost the point gets first possession, and that the two teams change ends each point.
9) Fouls - A foul occurs in Ultimate whenever one player initiates contact with another. The person who has been fouled declares this (and gets the disc back if the foul caused them to lose it). Other infringements include strips (where the disc is pulled out of someone's hand), travelling, and picks (a type of obstrcution, like a screen in basketball).
10) Matches - A full length match is to 21 points and 2 points clear of the opposition, and usually last 2 hours (they can take over 4).

The official rules can be found at http://www.wfdf.org/index.php?page=rules/wfdf_ultimate_rules.htm