Backcountry Beacon

All work and no play makes Jack or Jill a dull—not to mention irritable—boy or girl. To avoid the training doldrums, mix up your usual regimen, and try Ultimate Frisbee. Seriously. Usually referred to as “Ultimate” for fear of attracting unwanted attention from Wham-o attorneys, the game involves a lot of extremely aerobic running around chasing a plastic disc, which makes it a perfect cross-training complement to any stale training routine.

For the best and, not coincidentally, the most fun workout, it’s best to hook up with people who know how to play rather than luring some friends onto a field and throwing a disc at them. Established pickup games, some of which have been running for years, can be found all around the country and, indeed, all over the world. The Ultimate Players Association maintains a list of games. Failing that, you can check to see if there is a local league in your area that you can join and get placed on a summer league. (One caveat: before you jump in, it might be wise to contact the organizer of any game to make sure the information about days, locations, and times is up-to-date.)

With any luck, there’s a regular game going on relatively close to you. Once you’ve located a game, a little preparation is in order before you show up to play. While most pickup games may be officially ‘open to all,’ nobody is crazy about a hacker showing up and running around without a clue. By observing the following simple rules, though, you can improve your chances of being welcomed into any game.

Rules for Ultimate Pickup Success:

1. Bring beer. Ultimate players tend to be sociable, broke, and thirsty, so providing a cooler full of beverages for post-game consumption is the fastest way to guarantee a warm welcome on fields around the country. Unless, however, the organizers are under double-secret probation from alcohol-banning authorities; some initial discretion is not a bad idea.
2. Get a clue. You could show up with a cooler full of rare microbrews and still get the cold shoulder if you don’t have any idea what you’re doing out there. If a bunch of dudes wearing crop-tops and bandannas is your idea of how to play, guess again. It’s not exactly going to look pro either, at least not at any pickup you’d be allowed to play. However, you can prepare yourself by reading up on the sport.  Armed with some basic information about the rules, you can work a little on your skills; the most important, obviously, is throwing. There are two basic throws, the backhand and the forehand. Give them a little practice in the backyard, but don’t sweat getting them perfect. You’ll find the first couple of times you make a catch in a game, the other players will not-so-helpfully cluster around you, making it virtually impossible to throw any farther than five feet.
3. 

   Fashion Don't

   
   Dress the part. Going barefoot is frequently associated with playing Ultimate but, unless you’re playing on a warm spring day on a college quad, don’t. Aside from the obvious safely reasons, you’re at a serious competitive disadvantage against cleated players, and you look like a hippie wannabe.
   
   

   Much Better

   
   For the same reason, do not, under any circumstances, show up in tie-dye (ditto Grateful Dead and Phish T-shirts). Cotton is OK for style, but keep in mind you’ll be sweating buckets, so a wicking techy shirt might be in order.
4. Play hard. You may be a black hole on offense (nearly every time the disc gets anywhere near you, a turnover results), but if you run your ass off on defense, there will always be a place on the field for you. Pickup Ultimate is heavily populated with players who may be skilled but for the most part can’t be bothered with playing D. If you’re willing to put out the energy to stay within an arm’s length of the person you’re covering, you’ll be a star. Just be sure not to take anyone out with overly aggressive plays; pickup players are out there to have fun, not to get their ACLs trashed.
5. Be humble. Disc hogs are never appreciated, and few things are more universally hated than a newbie who won’t leave the field when others are waiting on the sideline for their turn to play. Play hard for two points, then get out and let someone else in the game. Chances are you’ll need a break, anyway. Also, if you can barely connect on a 20-foot throw, your percentages are only going to be worse on a 40-yard forehand. Resist the temptation to huck the disc to the wide-open teammate streaking downfield until you’re remotely certain of being able to connect. Lack of skill is forgivable, but clueless hubris is not.

Now that you’re all set, get out there and play. There a killer workouts to be had and lots of new friends to be made. Especially if you observe rule #1.

For more information about Ultimate, check out the Ultimate Players Association website

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Tags: Frisbee rules, random, Ultimate Frisbee