About Ultimate Frisbee

Ultimate is a fast, free flowing game of "organised frisbee". Played in over 50 countries it combines elements of many sports, including netball and American football (gridiron). The aim of the game is for your team to complete passes up the field and catch the disc in an end zone.

Imagine an AFL game with players taking "marks" using a disc instead of a ball and you should be able to visualize how the game is played. As one team attempts to work the disc up in the field towards their end zone you see chest marks/catches, overhead contests for the disc and dives for low throws. The opposition tries to stop you making completed passes and hence win the disc.

Once you catch the disc you can not run with it and must throw the disc within 10 seconds or "turn over" the disc to the opposition.

Ultimate is non-contact and teams are generally mixed. There are no referees or umpires in Ultimate - it is you, together with your fellow players who make the decisions. It is this aspect that really separates Ultimate from other sports and helps make Ultimate really fun

Two teams of seven players play on a long rectangular field with endzones similar to touch football (or American Gridiron field) at each end as shown in the following figure.

Beach Ultimate is generally played on a slightly smaller field with teams of four or five players.

To start, both teams line up in opposite end zones. The defending team throws ("pulls") the disc from their end zone to the offensive team. The offensive team tries to make connecting passes down the field until the disc is caught in their opponents' end zone, scoring one (1) point. The defensive team tries to stop them completing passes.

The scoring team stays in the end zone where they just caught the disc. The other team has to make the long, long trek down to the other end of the field. The scoring teams then pulls (throws) the disc to the other team. Games are usually to 15 points, or time-capped to 90 minutes

About the Queensland Ultimate Scene

Ultimate Frisbee has been played regularly in Queensland since the late 1980’s, with the commencement of regular games and formation of a club at the University of Queensland in St Lucia, Brisbane. The Brisbane scene has grown considerably, with Ultimate now played somewhere in the city on most nights of the week and most weekends.

In the 1990’s, clubs and associations playing regularly on weeknights were established in Townsville, primarily at the James Cook University, the Gold Coast, initially at Bond University. Ultimate was played regularly in Gladstone from 2001-2005. The sport is now also played regularly in Cairns.

The Queensland Mixed Ultimate Championships, known as the Halibut, have been played annually in late July/early August since 1997. The Open and Women’s Championships, known also as Northerns, have been played since 2005.

Queensland has hosted the Australian Ultimate Open and Women’s Championships (AUCs) in 1991, 1999, 2004 and 2011, and the Australian Ultimate Mixed Championships (AMUC) in 2001 and 2008. Ultimate has been played at the Australian University Games (AUGs) in Queensland in 1997, 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2011.

Administration of Ultimate and Disc Golf in Queensland is led by the Queensland Ultimate Disc Association, which cooperates with the Queensland Government and the Australian Flying Disc Association.