Thursday, January 19, 2017

TBT: Official Rules of the Sport of Ultimate (Ninth Edition)

Throwback to the mid-1990's when the pocket-sized printed rules of ultimate was published by the UPA. USA Ultimate is currently following the 11th edition rule set. 

 The magenta-printed rule book describes ultimate as "a non-contact sport played by two seven player teams. The object of the game is to score goals. The disc may only be moved by passing as the thrower is not allowed to take any steps. Any time a pass is incomplete, intercepted, knocked-down, or contacts an out-of-bounds area, a turnover occurs, resulting in an immediate change of possession of the disc. A goal is scored when a player successfully passes the disc to a teammate in the endzone which that team is attacking."


The Preface states:
"The purpose of the rules of Ultimate is to provide a guideline which describes the way the game is played. It assumed that no Ultimate player will intentionally violate the rules; thus there are no harsh penalties for inadvertent infractions, but rather a method for resuming play in a manner which simulates what would most likely have occurred had there been no infraction.

In Ultimate, an intentional foul would be considered cheating and a gross offense against the spirit of sportsmanship. Often a player is in a position where it is clearly to the player's advantage to foul or commit some violation, but that player is morally bound to abide by the rules. The integrity of Ultimate depends on each player's responsibility to uphold the spirit of the game, and this responsibility should not be taken lightly."

No set of rules can replace player's respect for one another and for good spirit.

:Notes:
Two options of game length are provided:
1. Each half lasts for twenty-four (24) minutes of stopped time.
2. A game to points lasts until one team scores twenty-one (21) goals with a margin of victory of at least two (2) goals.

Observers are mentioned near the end of the rule book. "Before the game, the captains may decide to select up to six (6) experienced non-players to act as Observers. In this role, their job is to carefully watch the action of the game. They do not actively call any fouls, violations, picks, or line calls.


No comments: