Tag: Rules

Thanks for joining me for another edition of the SerenityThroughSweat blog. Today I want to talk about the most challenging aspect of ultimate frisbee.

I know what a lot of you are thinking, how is anything about chasing a plastic dog toy around a field challenging. First of all, some of the best athletes and people I know play Ultimate, and they highlights speak for the selves (AUDL link). Second, the most challenging part of the game has nothing to do with actually playing, but rather with officiating.

Ultimate is a self officiated game. Like a game of pick up basketball, you call your own fouls and violations, and monitor the out of bounds or scoring lines together with the other team. Below are two sections from the rule book provided by the governing body, USA Ultimate (link)

“Spirit of the Game is a set of principles which places the responsibility for fair play on the player. Highly competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of mutual respect among competitors, adherence to the agreed upon rules, or the basic joy of play. It is assumed that no 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 that simulates what most likely would have occurred absent the infraction. An intentional infraction is cheating and considered a gross offense against the Spirit of the Game. Players are morally bound to abide by the rules and not gain advantage by knowingly committing an infraction, or calling one where none exists.”

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As someone who is super competitive, there is a bit of a learning curve to this mindset. To treat every call, especially ones made by an opponent who has the most to gain from calling infractions, violations, out of bounds etc… As if it is being made honestly, fairly, and without bias, is not a default setting when I’m in competition mode.

I think most athlete’s, and certainly my natural reaction when called for a foul, is to become defensive and argue my case. But, this in and of itself, is a violation of the spirit of the game which dictates that players are morally bound to not gain advantage by calling infractions where none exist, and it is assumed that no player will intentionally violate the rules.

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I think this is very similar to the socio-political landscape we find ourselves in today. There are so many divisive issues, race being at the forefront, and I think the rules of Ultimate, especially the spirit of the game provide a great framework for productive dialogue. The rules state that players must:

1. know the rules;
2. be fair-minded and objective;
3. be truthful;
4. explain their viewpoint clearly and concisely;
5. allow opponents a reasonable chance to speak;
6. consider their opponent’s viewpoint;
7. use respectful words and body language;
8. resolve disputes as quickly as possible;
9. make calls in a consistent manner throughout the game; and
10. only make a call where an infraction is significant enough to make a difference to the outcome of the action.

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These guidelines are obviously oversimplified for issues of sexism, racism, heck even a disagreement with your spouse, but the overall idea that we are in this together and are all responsible for protecting mutual respect and basic joy of Life, sets the table for more productive interaction.

One other important part of the rules that is worth brining up says, ” in the case where a novice player commits an infraction out of ignorance of the rules, experienced players are obliged to explain the infraction and clarify what should happen.”. Notice this doesn’t involve chastisement, or belittling, but rather education. If we operate from the assumption that no one is intentionally causing harm, and then explain the infraction that was the result of ignorance, we can all move forward together.

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I miss playing Ultimate, and I never thought I would be writing about it in a socio-political sense, but maybe we can all find a little spirit of the game and some SerenityThroughSweat, and we will all be better off for doing so.

Thanks for joining me, stay safe and stay sweaty my friends.