Press Release

Ultimate is a non-contact team game that combines some of the elements of soccer, basketball, and gridiron with strong emphasis on sportsmanship and fair play.  Each team has seven players (plus substitutes) on the field.  The traditional playing field is 36 metres wide by 70 metres long with 20 metre deep end zones, which can be varied to suit the number and fitness of players.  The object of the game is to pass the disc to a teammate who is positioned in the opponent's endzone for a goal worth 1 point.  Games can be played to points or to a time limit. 

Play is started with each team lining up on their respective end zone lines and one team "pulls" (throws) to the other team.  The receiving team advances the disc up the field by completing passes from one player to the next.  Similar to basketball and netball, when a player has possession of the disc, he/she must establish a pivot foot and not travel until the disc has been released.  The disc may be thrown in any direction, but if the disc touches the ground, goes out of bounds, or is knocked down or intercepted by a member of the defending team, possession of the disc immediately changes to the defending team. 

Ultimate was first played in 1968 at Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey, U.S.A.  The first Ultimate championships in Australia were held in 1978, but it was not until the late 1980s that it really started to grow.  There are now city-wide leagues in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, and players in nearly 20 universities around the country.  

The World Ultimate Championships, started in the early 1980s, are held every two years with teams from twelve European and Scandinavian nations competing along with the U.S., Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.  Other countries look likely to join soon.  Australia has sent a men's team to every World Championships since 1988, and a women's team to every one since 1990, with a highest place finish of seventh.