Rules of Ultimate
1. Spirit of the Game
- 1.1. Ultimate is a non-contact, self-officiated sport. All players are responsible for administering and adhering to the rules. Ultimate relies upon a Spirit of the Game that places the responsibility for fair play on every player.
- 1.2. It is trusted that no player will intentionally break the rules; thus there are no harsh penalties for inadvertent breaches, but rather a method for resuming play in a manner which simulates what would most likely have occurred had there been no breach.
- 1.2.1. If there is a deliberate or egregious breach of the rules or Spirit of the Game, the captains should discuss this and determine an appropriate outcome, even if that outcome is not in accordance with a specific rule.
Annotation: Deliberate or egregious breach of the rules
For a breach to be considered egregious it should be considered a type of breach that you would not normally expect within a standard game of Ultimate, or one for which there is no reasonable justification within the rules.
Example: A defender commits an egregious dangerous play that results in a foul against a receiver who was attempting to gain possession of the disc in their attacking endzone.
Result: Captains may choose to allow the receiver to claim a goal, instead of the receiver gaining possession and moving to the goal line.
Example: A thrower deliberately travels to enable them to move past the marker and gain yardage upwind on a turnover.
Result: Captains may choose to treat the turnover location as the spot where the disc was thrown.
Example: A defender intentionally double teams the thrower, with no regard for any other offensive players, and gets a block.
Result: Captains may choose to return the disc to the thrower.
Steinar's comment (unofficial!): Captain's clause
There used to be a “Captain's clause” where the two teams' captains could agree to play under any other set of rules, and many players seem to believe that it still exists; however, it has not been in the WFDF rules since 2001. This rule is the closest thing that exists, and it is applicable only in exceptional circumstances. Of course, any tournament could choose to play under non-WFDF rules as they choose.
- 1.2.1. If there is a deliberate or egregious breach of the rules or Spirit of the Game, the captains should discuss this and determine an appropriate outcome, even if that outcome is not in accordance with a specific rule.
- 1.3. Players should be mindful of the fact that they are acting as referees in any arbitration between teams. Players must:
- 1.3.1. know the rules;
- 1.3.2. be fair-minded and objective;
- 1.3.3. be truthful;
- 1.3.4. explain their viewpoint clearly and briefly;
Annotation: Providing evidence to support a call
What: It is an essential component of good spirit that a player must be prepared, if asked, to explain concisely the objective evidence that led to making a call, or contesting a call.
Example: After making a travel call, if asked, the defender might explain “I saw you lift your pivot foot while the disc was still in your hand.”
Why: The objective evidence is evidence that can be tested for validity. It makes it clear that the call was not based on emotion or what the player wanted or expected to happen, but what they actually observed.
If a player is not reasonably certain of the objective evidence, they should not make a call.
Extra: Players should be aware and understanding of the language limitations accompanying international play, however opponents should still be able to communicate, even through gestures, what they saw. Team captains and team mates should get involved if they think their team’s player is wrong or does not behave correctly.
- 1.3.5. allow opponents a reasonable chance to speak;
- 1.3.6. consider their opponent’s viewpoint;
- 1.3.7. use respectful words and body language with consideration of potential cultural differences;
- 1.3.8. resolve disputes as quickly as possible;
- 1.3.9. make calls in a consistent manner throughout the game; and
Annotation: Making calls in a consistent manner throughout the game
What: Players should make calls without taking into account the context of the game. This means that players should not start making more calls just because the game is nearly over and the scores are quite close.
Example: If at the start of the game minor travel infractions were not called, then they should not be called later in the game.
- 1.3.10. only make a call where a breach is significant enough to make a difference to the outcome of the action.
Annotation: Only calling significant breaches
What: Players should allow for a reasonable degree of tolerance for minor breaches involving small discrepancies in distance and time.
Example: If the thrower established a pivot one centimetre away from the correct pivot location then a travel infraction should not be called.
- 1.4. Highly competitive play is encouraged, but should never sacrifice the mutual respect between players, adherence to the agreed-upon rules of the game, player safety or the basic joy of play.
- 1.5. The following actions are examples of good Spirit:
- 1.5.1. retracting a call when you no longer believe the call was correct;
- 1.5.2. checking in with an opponent on the sideline after a contentious interaction;
- 1.5.3. complimenting an opponent for good play or Spirit;
- 1.5.4. introducing yourself to your opponent; and
- 1.5.5. reacting calmly towards disagreement or provocation.
- 1.6. The following actions are clear violations of the Spirit of the Game and must be avoided:
- 1.6.1. dangerous play and aggressive behaviour;
- 1.6.2. intentional fouling or other intentional rule breaches;
- 1.6.3. taunting or intimidating opposing players;
Annotation: Intimidation
What: A player could be deemed to be engaging in intimidating behaviour if, for example, they yell loudly at an opponent with the intention of distracting the opponent as they are about to make a catch. Simply undertaking a normal action within the game, such as making a bid in front of someone, should not be seen as intimidation.
- 1.6.4. celebrating disrespectfully after scoring;
Annotation: Disrespectful celebration after scoring
What: This includes spiking directed at an opponent and taunting of the opponent by “showing” them the disc. These actions must be avoided.
Result: Opposing team captains and spirit captains should discuss all matters relating to violations of spirit and try to resolve them.
- 1.6.5. making calls in retaliation to an opponent’s call;
- 1.6.6. calling for a pass from an opposition player; and
- 1.6.7. other win-at-all-costs behaviour.
- 1.7. Teams are guardians of the Spirit of the Game, and must:
- 1.7.1. take responsibility for teaching their players the rules and good Spirit;
- 1.7.2. discipline team-mates who display poor Spirit;
- 1.7.3. provide constructive feedback to other teams about what they are doing well and/or how to improve their adherence to the Spirit of the Game; and
- 1.7.4. call a Spirit Stoppage to address Spirit issues, as appropriate.
- 1.8. In the case where a novice player is involved in a breach and does not know the rules, experienced players should assist to explain the breach.
- 1.9. An experienced player, who offers advice on rules and guides on-field arbitration, may supervise games involving beginners or younger players.
- 1.10. Calls should be discussed by the players directly involved in the play, and by players who had the best perspective.
Annotation: Seeking perspective from non players
It is still up to the players involved to make the final call. Non players must not provide advice regarding a call unless they are requested to by a player involved.
If play has stopped, and a player is unable to make a call, for example due to injury or language barriers, then a teammate may make a call on their behalf.
Teams may use a non-player as a translator to assist in communication during a stoppage.
Annotation: Use of technology
Players may view photographic or video footage of a call if it is available. However play may not be unreasonably delayed for this purpose. See the Appendix for more detail.
Extra: For example, live instant replay in a stadium setting may be used by players to resolve a contested foul call. Players may not, however, request that a particular play be replayed on the screen. If, after reviewing the video, players still cannot agree, they should not delay the game to rewatch the play multiple times; instead, the play should be treated as a regular contested foul.
Steinar's comment (unofficial!): Showing vs. describing photos
There's a subtlety in this annotation: If you have photos or video, you cannot say “I have photos where you were clearly out”. You have to show them the photos and let them make up their own mind; often, it turns out different people can easily see different “very clear” things from the same photos.
- 1.10.1. If a player who was not directly involved believes that a team-mate has made an incorrect call, or caused a foul or violation, they should inform their team-mate.
- 1.10.2. Non-players, apart from the captains, should refrain from getting involved. However players may seek other peoples' perspectives to clarify the rules, and to assist players to make the appropriate call.
- 1.11. Players and captains are solely responsible for making and resolving all calls.
Steinar's comment (unofficial!): Spirit captains
It is unclear whether “captains” includes spirit captains or just means both teams' team captains, but my interpretation is that a spirit captain would often be fine to send out instead of the captain. There probably should not be six people discussing a call, though.
Steinar's comment (unofficial!): Game advisors
Certain high-level WFDF tournaments include game advisors, but they are not referees and not USAU observers; they can give rules explanations and their own perspective when asked, but do not make rulings of any kind and cannot move on the field during play. Please do not call them observers. USAU observers can make certain active calls and on request make binding rulings on disputes.
Annotation: Calls by captains
A captain should not make a call that stops play if they were not directly involved in the play. However a captain can be involved in resolving any call once play has already stopped.
- 1.12. If after discussion players cannot agree, or it is not clear and obvious: the disc must be returned to the last non-disputed thrower.
Annotation: Discussion of what occurred in a play
Before the disc is returned to the thrower when players cannot agree, players should discuss what happened in the play. Both players involved should attempt to clearly explain what they think happened and listen to the view of their opponent, or other players with good perspective on the play.
If discussion is difficult due to a language barrier, then gestures or recreations of the incident can be used to indicate what was experienced during the incident (eg striking yourself across the back of the hand to show that your hand was hit as you were trying to catch the disc). Teams may also use a non-player as a translator to assist in communication during a stoppage.
There are times where an event happens where it is not possible to be reasonably certain of exactly what happened (eg no one had a good view, or it happened too quickly). There are also times where it can be difficult to determine whether something ‘affected the play’. In those circumstance the disc should be returned to the last non-disputed thrower.
Discussions should be as brief as possible with the preferred outcome being either a retracted call, or an accepted call. However once it becomes clear that no resolution will be reached, the disc should be returned to the last non- disputed thrower. The suggested maximum length of a stoppage due to a discussion is forty-five (45) seconds). See the Appendix for additional timing rules.
Steinar's comment (unofficial!): Reading from cover to cover
If you are entirely new to the rules, reading them from start to finish probably isn't the best way to go; they are long (more than 50 pages!), and some things are presented out of order.
The most relevant rules probably start at section 7, and you may want to skip advanced sections such as section 16 until you've understood all the others. This is not to say the other rules are not important—they are! But you will probably get a better understanding if you are willing to skip around a bit.