Ultimate, originally known as ultimate frisbee, is a non-contact team sport played with a disc flung by hand. Ultimate was developed in 1968 by Joel Silver in Maplewood, New Jersey. Although ultimate resembles many traditional sports in its athletic requirements, it is unlike most sports due to its focus on self-officiating, even at the highest levels of competition. The term "frisbee" is a registered trademark of the Wham-O toy company, and thus the sport is not formally called "ultimate Frisbee", though this name is still in common casual use. Points are scored by passing the disc to a teammate in the opposing end zone. Other basic rules are that players must not take steps while holding the disc, and interceptions, incomplete passes, and passes out of bounds are turnovers. Rain, wind, or occasionally other adversities can make for a testing match with rapid turnovers, heightening the pressure of play.
The Pontiac Silverdome was a stadium in Pontiac, Michigan. It opened in 1975 and sat on 199 acres (51 ha) of land. When the stadium opened, it featured a fiberglass fabric roof held up by air pressure, the first use of the architectural technique in a major athletic facility. With a seating capacity of 82,666+, it was the largest stadium in the National Football League (NFL) until FedExField in Landover, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C. expanded its capacity to over 85,000 in 2000.
Flying disc sports are sports or games played with discs, often called by the trademarked name Frisbees. Ultimate and disc golf are sports with substantial international followings.
Ultimate Canada is a not-for-profit organization that serves as the governing body of the sport of Ultimate in Canada. It runs the Canadian Ultimate Championships (CUC) and Canadian University Ultimate Championship (CUUC) series.
Kenneth Ray Westerfield is an American pioneering frisbee disc player, who achieved numerous disc sports accomplishments in the 1970s. A disc sports Hall of Fame inductee in freestyle, ultimate, and disc golf. In addition, he was voted "Top Men's Player" in the 1970–75 Decade Awards. Westerfield produced tournaments, set world records, and won awards in every disc sport. He was a tournament co-director for the Canadian Open Frisbee Championships (1972–1985) in Toronto, the Vancouver Open Frisbee Championships (1974–1977) in Vancouver, BC, the 1978 Santa Cruz Flying Disc Classic in Santa Cruz, California, the 1985 Labatt's World Guts Championships in Toronto, and the 1987 World PDGA Disc Golf Championships in Toronto. Westerfield founded the first ultimate league in Canada – the Toronto Ultimate Club (1979). As one of the original freestylers from the 1960s, used his expertise in several company-sponsored touring Frisbee shows in the U.S. and Canada. Irwin Toy,, Molson Frisbee Team (1974–77), Adidas Canada (1974–1979), Goodtimes Professional Frisbee Show (1978–82), Orange Crush Frisbee Team (1977–78), Air Canada Frisbee Team (1978–79), Lee Jeans Frisbee Team (1979–80) and the Labatts Schooner Frisbee Team (1983–85).
The Ultimate Frisbee Association (UFA), formerly the American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL), is a professional ultimate disc league that consists of 24 teams divided between the South, Central, East, and West divisions. The UFA is located in North America. Each UFA season has 12 regular season games which run from April to July. Following the conclusion of the regular season, the top three teams from every division advance to the playoffs, a single elimination tournament that culminates in a final four style showcase known as the UFA Championship Weekend, which is contested in late August over two days.
The Philadelphia Spinners were a professional ultimate team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They were founded in 2012 by Katrel Kelly and David Fitzgerald as a team in the American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL), but then moved to Major League Ultimate (MLU) in 2013. They played in the MLU until the league was suspended in 2016. The team played in various stadiums throughout the Greater Philadelphia region.
The Connecticut Constitution were a professional ultimate team based in New Britain, Connecticut. They were one of eight teams to take part in the American Ultimate Disc League's inaugural 2012 season. The team was in the Eastern Division of the AUDL. They played their first game on April 14, 2012, defeating the Rhode Island Rampage 29–23.
Major League Ultimate (MLU) was a North American semi-professional Ultimate league from 2013 to 2016. It was composed of eight member teams, seven in the United States and one in Canada. It was formed in 2012, and began its inaugural season in April 2013.
The 2012 American Ultimate Disc League season was the first season for the league. Each team was scheduled to play a 16-game schedule. The Philadelphia Spinners won the championship over the Indianapolis AlleyCats at the Pontiac Silverdome. After the season all but three teams left or folded.
Brodie Smith is a former American Ultimate Disc League player, and current professional disc golf player and YouTube personality best known for his frisbee trick shot videos.
The Cincinnati Revolution was a professional ultimate disc team, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, which competed in the American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL). It was one of the eight charter teams in the AUDL, having competed in the league's Midwestern Conference since its inception in 2012. Originally based in Lexington, Kentucky, and playing as the Bluegrass Revolution, the Cincinnati Revolution moved to Cincinnati before the 2013 season. They played their home games at Sheakley Athletic Center, at the University of Cincinnati. As The Bluegrass Revolution, they played at Henry Clay High School in Lexington KY.
The Madison Radicals are a semi-professional ultimate team that competes in the Central Division of the Ultimate Frisbee Association. The Radicals play their home games at Breese Stevens Field in downtown Madison. Since the team's inception in 2013, they have won five regular season divisional titles in eight seasons. After losing in the AUDL championship games in 2013 and 2015, the Radicals claimed its first championship in 2018. Madison also hosted AUDL Championship Weekends in 2016, 2018 and 2022, winning the championship in 2018.
The Chicago Union is a professional ultimate team that competes in the Central Division of the Ultimate Frisbee Association. The team was originally branded as the Windy City Wildfire. In their first year, the Wildfire had the best record in the then-Midwest Division and qualified for the playoffs in its first three seasons. They play home games at Martin Stadium on the campus of Northwestern University.
The Austin Sol is a professional ultimate team from Austin, Texas playing in the South Division of the Ultimate Frisbee Association. The team was founded in 2016, and played its first match on April 2, 2016. The Sol play their home games at The Pitch. The owner and general manager of the Sol is Patrick Christmas, the head coach is Steven Naji, and the assistant general manager is Ryan Purcell.
The Atlanta Hustle is a professional ultimate frisbee franchise based out of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. They compete as one of 25 teams in the Ultimate Frisbee Association, playing in the league's South Division.
Beau Kittredge is a former Ultimate player, author, illustrator, and mobile video game entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the greatest Ultimate players of all time, noted for his top-end speed and athleticism. Kittredge won one college title, six USA Ultimate club titles, seven world championships, and five AUDL titles. He also won the AUDL Most Valuable Player award twice. He is popularly known for a video in which he jumped over an opponent to catch the disc while playing with the University of Colorado.
The Tampa Bay Cannons were a professional ultimate team in the South Division of the American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL) based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Cannons were active from 2015 to 2022.
The 2017 American Ultimate Disc League season was the sixth season for the league. The San Francisco FlameThrowers won the championship, the team's first title. The league featured twenty-four teams in four divisions, and for the first time, teams played interdivisional games. Eleven Sports Network joined the league as a broadcast partner for the first time, broadcasting a limited slate of games.
The Premier Ultimate League (PUL) is a professional women's ultimate disc league that formed in 2019. The mission of the PUL is "to achieve equity in the sport of ultimate by increasing accessibility to the sport for, and visibility of women, transgender, intersex, non-binary, genderqueer, and genderfluid people through high-quality competition, leadership experiences, and community partnerships". The league strives for gender, racial, and economic diversity in the sport of ultimate frisbee. PUL players are paid $40 per league game.
