Ultimate Frisbee

Today Ultimate Frisbee begins. What's Ultimate Frisbee you ask? Well to put it simply it's like Football (American Football) but at the same time it's the total opposite of Football. You have two teams, 7 players for each team on the field at once. The object is to advance the frisbee all the way into the endzone to score a point. However, you can't walk with the frisbee - once you catch it you have to stop and throw to another player on your team. Basically you are not allowed to contact another player, although contact is unavoidable, but as long as the contact is not intentional and dangerously made then no one will complain. Here's 10 Simple Rules to the game - there are obviously more, but these are the general rules. I got these from the Ultimate Players Association webpage.

1. The Field -- A rectangular shape with endzones at each end. A regulation field is 70 yards by 40 yards, with endzones 25 yards deep.
2. Initiate Play -- Each point begins with both teams lining up on the front of their respective endzone line. The defense throws ("pulls") the disc to the offense. A regulation game has seven players per team.
3. Scoring -- Each time the offense completes a pass in the defense's endzone, the offense scores a point. Play is initiated after each score.
4. Movement of the Disc -- The disc may be advanced in any direction by completing a pass to a teammate. Players may not run with the disc. The person with the disc ("thrower") has ten seconds to throw the disc. The defender guarding the thrower ("marker") counts out the stall count.
5. Change of possession -- When a pass in not completed (e.g. out of bounds, drop, block, interception), the defense immediately takes possession of the disc and becomes the offense.
6. Substitutions -- Players not in the game may replace players in the game after a score and during an injury timeout.
7. Non-contact -- No physical contact is allowed between players. Picks and screens are also prohibited. A foul occurs when contact is made.
8. Fouls -- When a player initiates contact on another player a foul occurs. When a foul disrupts possession, the play resumes as if the possession was retained. If the player committing the foul disagrees with the foul call, the play is redone.
9. Self-Refereeing -- Players are responsible for their own foul and line calls. Players resolve their own disputes.
10. Spirit of the Game -- Ultimate stresses sportsmanship and fair play. Competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of respect between players, adherence to the rules, and the basic joy of play.

So that's a quick overview of the game. The frisbee that we use is 175 grams and are excellent for throwing. They are not the cheap frisbees you get at Wal-Mart. They usually cost anywhere between 10-15 dollars. I happen to get mine on clearance at Target for $5 about three years ago. I didn't take this picture, but this is the exact frisbee I have and practice with.

I am excited to get started, mainly because of the level of activity and exercise I will get. Usually I run around the entire time and try to make the other team tired. Well, that's how I used to do it before I got out of shape, so tonight might be a little more a challenge to run the entire time. However, I will do my best.

And in final news, I JUST recieved a phonecall from the repair shop informing me that my truck is done. FINALLY! Only three weeks after taking it in too. Geez, talk about quick service huh! Oh well, in all honesty I am glad it is fixed and it probably was good it hasn't been here because I probably would have driven it around and then I would have been spending money on gas - nevermind that the repair costs far outweight the gas to keep it on the road, but I think you understand... Until again

-=Nolan=-