It's frisbee, but not as you know it

What is Ultimate Frisbee? It’s a seemingly unknown sport, but it looks to be getting big on Merseyside, with one team regularly turning out players for the Great Britain team. I went to investigate to see what I could find out about the sport.

The objective of ultimate is to score points by receiving a team mate's pass in the opponent's end zone, in a similar way to American Football. The outcome of a match is usually determined by one team achieving a predetermined number of points first. This ensures that a team can only win by scoring, rather than by running the clock down.

It is also known for its "Spirit of the Game", which is what they use instead of referees. Ultimate's self-officiated nature demands a strong spirit of sportsmanship and respect.

I spoke to the team captain of the ‘Catch Those’ Wirral team, George Wallis-Ryder, who is also a member of the Great Britain team, to try and understand the sport a bit better.

He explained: “I think the attraction is that it’s so much more different to the sports that are out there. Because it’s a fairly new sport, not many people really know about it, so even if you just join a club as a beginner,
no-one is going to be that much better than you as there are all kinds of levels out there. You’ll make friends almost instantly.

“The end zone looks like an American football field. Rectangular in shape with two end zones either side. The ‘Spirit of the Game’ is the idea that no one will intentionally cheat, and that playing the game is the most important factor in our sport.

“At the moment I have to put my A-levels before my ultimate career because I want to get into university, get my A-Levels out the way and then get into some really serious 'ultimate' when I get into Uni hopefully.”

It's doubtful that Ultimate Frisbee will ever properly take off in this country, but it’s great to see people with such a passion for the game, and it’s certainly different.