Tuesday, September 20, 2005
The Thing About Ultimate...
In writing about ultimate, I am constantly reminded of the universality of sports. So much of what is true about our sport is true about other sports: that it's crucial to understand spacing and weighting; that on-field/on-court conduct is a sore point in the community; that the governing organization has its critics; that there is a yearning for more media exposure; that successful play demands a reasoned, disciplined approach; that teamwork is about the field, the sidelines, and what's said and done away from the game; that sound play competes with flair within a team; that drive comes from within. All these things are important in ultimate, but not just ultimate. So what makes our sport different?
1. The game itself. Okay, it's a great and exciting game, but the actual rules -- though necessarily unique to ultimate -- are plain and simple: move the disc into the endzone. The specific strategies which result from these rules are unique to ultimate, but the principles which guide them are not so novel (cf. basketball zones, soccer positioning, hockey or volleyball formations, football plays and defenses, etc.).
2. The disc and how it flies. The beautiful and varied flight of a disc is unique in sports, and this lends our sport a real charm.
3. Skying and layouts. A consequence of the disc's beautiful flight is the spectacular manner in which it can be caught. A dive, a sky, the combination of athleticism and grace -- these make playing fun.
4. Self-officiating and SOTG. This aspect of ultimate offers something unique and appealing to the outside sporting world. Golf is largely self-officiated and tennis has its rules of etiquette, but neither of these concepts are as centrally embraced as in our sport.
5. The community of players. Go anywhere and you will be welcomed on the playing field. You can find games of chess anywhere too, but it just ain't the same.
As for (1), well any sport has its unique rules, and (5) may be true of balloonists, for all I know. (2) and (3) are related and part of the throw-catch spectacle. (4) is the subject of a series of blog posts, perhaps, but to avoid the appearance of partiality I won't do that until I am no longer on the UPA Board or the Conduct Committee.
What's my point? Okay, this entry doesn't have razzle-dazzle, but (as readers of this site are well aware) not all thoughts do. In fact, these thoughts are more observations than points -- but I'll conclude by saying, if you love our sport then embrace what makes it distinct.
1. The game itself. Okay, it's a great and exciting game, but the actual rules -- though necessarily unique to ultimate -- are plain and simple: move the disc into the endzone. The specific strategies which result from these rules are unique to ultimate, but the principles which guide them are not so novel (cf. basketball zones, soccer positioning, hockey or volleyball formations, football plays and defenses, etc.).
2. The disc and how it flies. The beautiful and varied flight of a disc is unique in sports, and this lends our sport a real charm.
3. Skying and layouts. A consequence of the disc's beautiful flight is the spectacular manner in which it can be caught. A dive, a sky, the combination of athleticism and grace -- these make playing fun.
4. Self-officiating and SOTG. This aspect of ultimate offers something unique and appealing to the outside sporting world. Golf is largely self-officiated and tennis has its rules of etiquette, but neither of these concepts are as centrally embraced as in our sport.
5. The community of players. Go anywhere and you will be welcomed on the playing field. You can find games of chess anywhere too, but it just ain't the same.
As for (1), well any sport has its unique rules, and (5) may be true of balloonists, for all I know. (2) and (3) are related and part of the throw-catch spectacle. (4) is the subject of a series of blog posts, perhaps, but to avoid the appearance of partiality I won't do that until I am no longer on the UPA Board or the Conduct Committee.
What's my point? Okay, this entry doesn't have razzle-dazzle, but (as readers of this site are well aware) not all thoughts do. In fact, these thoughts are more observations than points -- but I'll conclude by saying, if you love our sport then embrace what makes it distinct.
# posted by Eric Zaslow @ 9/20/2005 09:12:00 PM 
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Zaz,
Would you say that ultimate attracts a different type of person than other competitive sports due to reasons #4 or #5?
Would you say that ultimate attracts a different type of person than other competitive sports due to reasons #4 or #5?
That's a good question. Does the culture of ultimate attract like-minded folk, or do new players "assimilate" into the culture or adopt it as their own? I'd guess (with no factual basis) that assimilation is more at play with younger players, whose personality is more malleable. Older people entering the game have probably sought it out either because they are like-minded or open-minded enough to come aboard. Just my guess.
I'm always glad to hear someone else express a basic love for the poetry of disc flight as you did in #2. The uninitiated just don't get it. You either see it or you don't. If I had to guess, I'd say that the vast majority of ultimate heads began with this essential trait: they love to see a flying disc sailing through the air. In its flight, there is a grammar that speaks of freedom (it tends to hang in the air, quite independent of those who wait for it), acceptance (mid-flight, it is beyond our control), nature (sporting with the wind as it does). Its motion is cyclical and progressive; follow any one point on the disc as it moves through space and you get a kind of playful loop-de-loop pattern. Add to that the infinite permutations of disc flight, the I/O's, the O/I's, the inverts, even the much maligned blades, and what you get is an inexhaustable discourse on control, finesse, and perception. I swear, there's nothing like it in the world.
I would place a version of #2 as the primary difference. It's how the disc flies, but it's the aerodynamics, not the aesthetics. The float allows for exciting dives and jumps and catches. The curve creates a truly three-D game.
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