Rules & Info - Cache Valley Ultimate

GamePlay basics

Welcome!, we are glad you are here! We hope this provides you with a starting point on what ultimate is and perhaps gets you excited to come and play!

On this page, you can find:

Basic Rules and How to Play
Competitive Game Details
Notes for Team Captains
Common Ultimate Frisbee Terms

Basic Rules/How To Play

Ultimate Frisbee is a non-contact sport.
Once you catch the disc you must try to stop as soon as you’re safely able to.
The lines are out of bounds and if you land with one foot in and one foot out, you are out of bounds, however, as long as one foot first touches inbounds, while you have the disc, it is considered in.
If you are on the endzone line (the line the separates the playing field and the scoring area), you are not in the endzone yet. You must be clearly/completely across the line in order for it to be considered a point.
If you drop the disc on offense, it’s a turnover.
You have 10 (7 in smaller games) seconds to throw the disc. If you still have the disc in your hand, even if you are in the motion of throwing, at 10 seconds, it is a turnover.
If you are guarding the person with the disc you must count to 10 (or 7) out loud, so that the person with the disc can clearly hear you, and at a normal, consistent pace (as close to actual seconds as you can get).

Common Ultimate Frisbee Terms

Positions on the field:

Handler (offense) – a player that typically throws the disc to other players. Anyone can throw the disc at anytime, but usually people who are designated as handlers are a little better at it
Cutter (offense) – a player that usually plays downfield from the handlers and tries to get open to recieve a pass.
Mark (defense) – the person guarding the player with the disc

Types of cuts (offensive “plays”)

Scorch (cut) – when one of the handlers runs diagonally in front of the person with the disc for a short gain
Around (throw) – when the person with the disc throws it around or behind the person guarding them
Reset – when the person with the disc throws it for a short gain or loss for the purpose of gaining more time to throw the disc
Vertical Stack (V-Stack) – when the offense lines up a few yards apart, towards their end zone and typically takes turns trying to get open
Horizontal Stack (H-Stack) – when the offense lines up across the fields, horizontally, from sideline to sideline, and typically are cutting at the same time
Clearing [out] – to move out of the space in front of the person with the disc so that others may enter it
Chilly (this is ideological) – to wait for a few seconds before throwing the disc to make sure you see the field completely as to avoid a turnover

Types of throws (in ascending order of usefulness):

Flick – open-chest throw, it is a need-to-have throw, it is also called a forehand
Backhand – cross-body throw, the other need-to-have throw
Hammer – an overhead, upside down throw, useful for over-the-top looks
Scoober – a cross-body, upside down throw, useful for resets
Chicken Wing – a type of throw, useless except for in “greatest” attempts
Thumber – a rarely used, upside-down throw

Defensive Calls:

Force Home – to force the player with the disc to throw it towards the sideline where their team has all their gear
Force Away – to force the player with the disc to throw it towards the opposite sideline from where their team has their gear
Force Backhand – to force the player with the disc to throw it to the backhand side of the field by standing on the opposite side of their body
Force Forehand – to force the player with the disc to throw it to the forehand side of the field by standing on the opposite side of their body
Stall – counting out loud while guarding the person with the disc. If you reach 10 seconds then it’s a turnover

Fun things that happen (and people get excited about):

Callahan – where offense messes up and the defending team intercepts the disc in their own end zone for a point
Sky – to jump and catch the disc above another player
Cookie Jar – the same as skying another player, except they also reach over the other player to get the disc
Greatest – to jump from in-bounds to out-of-bounds while catching the disc, and before landing, and completing a pass in bounds
Layout – to dive for a catch or to hit the disc away
Bid – to dive for a catch or to hit the disc away
Universe Point – This is sudden death. The next team to score a point, wins the game

Details for Competitive play

Games are played to a specific point total and/or a specific game length. (like game to 13 or 1 hour max)
Halftime is usually taken when a team scores 1+ half of the point cap. If a game is being played to 11 then half may be taken when the first team scores 6 points.
Halftime is usually just a few minutes long.
In some leagues, offense chooses how many of each sex to play with. The other team should match the same number of women or play with one less player. Exceptions are allowed and captains should use their best judgement to try and keep the game balanced.
Games should start within 5 minutes of the horn. After 5 minutes you must play with whoever is present or forfeit.
You may play a game with less players than required.
Using a player not from your team must be agreed to by both captains.
When the horn sounds, play continues until the current point is finished.
Teams get 1 timeout per half. No timeouts may be used after the horn sounds.
If the game is tied when the horn sounds, the next point wins.
If a team ties the game, after the horn sounds, one more point will be played to determine the winner.

Notes For Team/League Captains to Pay Attention To

Please do your best to encourage, reinforce and demonstrate spirit of the game.
Give the benefit of the doubt to offense. In order to be stalled out, it must be a clear stall. We do not have replay to decide fraction of seconds.
A player should be clearly in the end zone for a point to be counted. (Completely across the line)
Remind players that you cannot run into the end zone to score. If any contact with the ground occurs, while you have possession of the disc, before or on the end zone line, then it is not a goal. (frequently players look down at their feet to see where they are, after they’ve stopped moving, not where they were)
If you have a player consistently making calls from a poor perspective or distance, please remind them to let the players with the best perspective discuss the calls.
If a player commits an infraction, out of ignorance, and does not gain an advantage from the infraction, do not stop play, but teach them what happened and how to deal with it in the future.
Do not allow teammates to discuss calls in an aggressive way
Help your team to recognize their bias. Not every call should go your way. Ask for the perspective of others, including the other team, and treat all opinions with respect.
After a score, players should indicate it’s a score, as soon as its determined.
If you are near a boundary line when you score, remain in place until the other team can gain a clear perspective of the score also.
When calling a foul or violation, state what it is.
If players continue to discuss a call, and its clear that it won’t be resolved, treat it as a contest.