Ultimate frisbee rules for beginners: how do you play?

Two teams try to score by catching a pass in the end zone they are attacking. The World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF), which writes the international rules, describes ultimate as a seven-a-side, non-contact sport played with a flying disc on a rectangular field with an end zone at each end.

A point starts with the pull: the defending team throws the disc down the field, like a kick-off, and the other team becomes the offence. The offence moves the disc only by passing it, and the player holding it, the thrower, may not run with it. A goal counts when a player catches a legal pass with all their ground contact inside the end zone they attack, and keeps hold of the disc. After a goal, the teams swap end zones and the team that scored pulls next.

What counts as a turnover?

The disc changes teams whenever the offence loses control of it. The main cases are:

• A drop or a miss. The disc hits the ground when no offensive player has it.
• An interception. A defender catches a pass.
• Out of bounds. The disc lands outside the playing field, or a receiver touches it while out of bounds. The boundary lines count as out of bounds.
• A stall-out. The thrower holds the disc too long (see below).
• A handover. A player hands the disc to a team-mate instead of throwing it.

The team that now has the disc attacks the opposite end zone, and play goes on from where the disc stopped.

No. The player holding the disc cannot run with it. After a catch, the thrower must slow down as quickly as possible, without changing direction, until they plant a pivot. The pivot is one part of the body, usually a foot, kept in contact with one spot on the ground. The thrower can then step in any direction with the other foot, as long as the pivot stays put until the disc is released.

There is one exception. If you catch the disc while running or jumping, you may throw it without stopping, provided you do not change direction or speed up first and touch the ground no more than twice after the catch.

What happens if someone travels?

Moving the pivot, or running when you should have stopped, is a travel. Any defender can call "travel", and play does not stop. The thrower goes back to the spot the caller points out, and the stall count pauses until they do. If the thrower has already completed a pass, the defence can call a travel violation instead: play stops and the disc returns to the thrower.

After a turnover, the player who fetches the disc must move at walking pace or faster, and has 10 seconds in the central zone (20 in an end zone) to set the pivot.

The stall count limits how long a thrower can hold the disc. The defender guarding the thrower, called the marker, says "Stalling" and then counts from 1 to 10 out loud, with at least one second between numbers. If the thrower has not released the pass by the time the marker starts to say "ten", it is a stall-out and the other team gets the disc. With numbers at least a second apart, the thrower gets at least nine seconds.

The marker may only count while within 3 metres of the thrower's pivot point. If the marker moves further away, or another defender takes over, the count restarts at "Stalling one".

How do you mark without contact?

Marking is non-contact, so the rules keep the marker a set distance away. The thrower can call these marking infractions, and play carries on:

• Fast count. Counting quicker than once a second.
• Disc space. Any part of the marker is closer than one disc diameter to the thrower's torso.
• Straddle. The line between the marker's feet comes within one disc diameter of the thrower's pivot point.
• Wrapping. The marker's arms come within one disc diameter of the thrower's torso.
• Double team. A second defender is within 3 metres of the pivot without guarding anyone else.

After an infraction that does not stop play, the marker takes the count back one number. When play does stop, the count resumes like this:

There are no referees in standard ultimate. The WFDF rules make every player responsible for administering and following the rules, and call this the Spirit of the Game: fair play rests on each player, not on an official. Players are trusted not to break rules on purpose, so an inadvertent breach carries no harsh penalty.

How are calls made?

• Foul. Non-minor contact between opposing players. Only the player who was fouled can call "foul", and play stops.
• Violation. Any other breach, such as a pick or a time-limit problem. Any opposing player can call it, and play stops.
• Infraction. A travel or marking breach, called by the thrower (any defender can call a travel). Play does not stop.

The other side can accept a call, or say "contest" if they disagree. A caller who decides they were wrong says "retracted". Calls must be made immediately, and only for breaches that matter to the outcome or to safety. If players cannot agree, the disc goes back to the last non-disputed thrower.

What is a spirit score?

Spirit is also measured. At WFDF world championships, players score the opposing team, and their own, from 0 to 4 in five categories: knowing the rules, avoiding fouls and body contact, fair-mindedness, positive attitude and self-control, and communication. The highest possible total is 20.

Good spirit means retracting a call you no longer believe in, complimenting an opponent, introducing yourself. Clear violations include dangerous play, intentional fouling, taunting and calls made in retaliation. When a beginner breaks a rule without knowing it, experienced players are asked to explain it.

A standard game is seven players a side and is won by the first team to score 15 goals. A team fields between five and seven players for each point and may substitute freely after a goal. Half time comes when a team first scores 8. There is no win-by-two rule.

At WFDF events a game also has a time cap. After 100 minutes the point in progress is finished, and if neither team has 15, one goal is added to the higher score to set a new target. Each team gets two 75-second time-outs, and half time lasts 7 minutes. WFDF says these event rules can guide other games too, and a pickup group should agree its own cap before the first pull.

Is there a five-a-side version?

Yes. WFDF's beach ultimate rules are five-a-side, a shorter game that suits a smaller field:

A WFDF championship field is 100 metres long and 37 metres wide, with end zones 18 metres deep. Casual games need only an essentially flat area free of obstructions, with eight cones on the corners of the central zone and end zones.

In mixed ultimate, each point is played with either four female-matching and three male-matching players, or the reverse. The WFDF rules say a form of an alternating 4:3 ratio should be used, and WFDF events use Ratio Rule A, also called the prescribed ratio rule or ABBA.

Under Rule A, a disc flip decides who picks the ratio for the first point. The second and third points use the opposite ratio, the fourth and fifth match the first point again, and the pattern keeps alternating every two points to the end of the game. Half time does not reset it. If the first point is four female-matching players (F) and three male-matching players (M):

Rule A comes with a prescribed pull: on a point with four female-matching players, a female-matching player pulls, and the same for male-matching. WFDF also lists Rule B, where the team at one end zone chooses the ratio each point. Local leagues choose their own rule, so ask before your first game.

Five minutes of agreement before the pull saves arguments later. Run through this list:

1. Mark the field. Put cones on the corners of the central zone and both end zones, and keep bags and spectators off the sidelines.
2. Choose the format. Seven-a-side to 15, or five-a-side to 13? Agree a time cap too, since the 100-minute cap is written for WFDF events.
3. Flip for choices. The winner picks either to receive or throw the first pull, or which end zone to defend, and the other team gets the remaining choice. At WFDF events captains toss two discs and call "same" or "different", but any fair method works.
4. Name two captains. Each team designates a captain and a spirit captain to represent it in a dispute.
5. Agree the ratio. In a mixed game, say which ratio rule you play and who chooses first.
6. Bring light and dark shirts. Every player must wear a uniform that distinguishes their team.
7. Teach the basics. No running with the disc, the ten-count, and how to call a foul.

If the group is lopsided, the fair teams guide covers simple ways to split it evenly before you start.

Flobit helps with the people and the score, not the rulebook.

• Find a game. Post or join an open match for Frisbee, which is what the app calls the sport. Pick 7-a-side or 5-a-side, choose who can join (anyone, men, women or mixed), and use the 280-character note for your ratio rule and "beginners welcome".
• Start fast with your group. Share a Quick Match lobby by code, QR code or flobit.app/join link. Guests don't need an account.
• Keep the score. Live scoring is a running tally: 7-a-side games go to 15 and 5-a-side games to 13. Tap a goal for the team that scored, and undo a mistaken tap.
• Run an event. Ultimate tournaments are team-based. Tournament formats compares the options, and the ultimate frisbee hub explains how teams enter.

The stall count, the calls, the ratio and the Spirit of the Game stay with the players, as they do in any ultimate game.

Can you run with the frisbee in ultimate?

How long is the stall count in ultimate frisbee?

How many players are on an ultimate frisbee team?

What happens when the disc hits the ground in ultimate?

How do you score in ultimate frisbee?

How long does an ultimate frisbee game last?

Who referees an ultimate frisbee game?

What is the ABBA ratio in mixed ultimate?