3 ms·

1968 Created the 'Ultimate' Anti-Sport Sport

49 points by js2 8y ago

aethr 8y ago
I played a lot of Ultimate in High School in the late 90s, and went on to play for the top University team in Australia in the early 2000s while pursuing my undergrad in Comp Sci. One thing I've noticed about ultimate that makes a significant difference to other sports, is the degree of control you have over the flight of the disc. Releasing the disc parallel to the ground it should fly straight in the direction you release it. But angling it will cause the disc to curve as it flies, quite significantly depending on the angle. This allows the thrower to curve the disc around defenders or even out of bounds to reach a spot on the field where only your player can get to. While you can curve a pass or a shot to some extent in ball spots like football, the degree of control is much smaller. This gives frisbee a "3 dimensional" aspect I find really compelling and really adds to the depth of strategy available to players.
- ubernostrum 8y ago
  the degree of control is much smaller https://i.imgur.com/XECdomK.mp4 https://i.imgur.com/XECdomK.mp4
  - DuskStar 8y ago
    I've yet to see someone kick a soccer ball such that it goes forwards and then comes back above their heads without wind assistance. Doing so with a frisbee isn't trivial, but it doesn't exactly take someone at the apex of skill either.
  - akvadrako 8y ago
    Do you think people can't do that with a frisbee? Curving is a better illustration — you can get a much greater angle with a disc.
    - ubernostrum 8y ago
      I'm sure people can do it with a frisbee. The claim I responded to was that you couldn't do it with other types of sports equipment. The linked image is a counterexample to that claim.
      - aethr 8y ago
        The type of curve in your video is probably used in about 1/4 of medium range passes in an intermediate level game of Ultimate. So what you've shown one of the best football players in the world is capable of in a low pressure situation, is typical fare for an intermediate level Ultimate player in a game situation. There is literally en entire sport called frisbee golf that involves that level of accuracy and control in every throw, at similar distances.
Finnucane 8y ago
I remember playing it as a kid in camp c. 1973, so it must have become a thing pretty fast.
aikinai 8y ago
This is a weirdly anemic article. It could have explored so many interesting avenues like how the sport spread, what kept the "spirit of the game" alive, or how that jives with being a professional (and possibly olympic) sport. But it just ended.
- ndh2 8y ago
  Yea. It went "Ultimate is a thing, and things started existing at some point. Ultimate also started existing at some point. Also there are no refs. Because no, man, I'm not gonna."
Jerry2 8y ago
I recently discovered Disc Golf [1]. It's basically golf but with a frisbee! Here's one of the best players going through one of the best of his rounds [2]. Anyway, it seems popular and I was amazed I never heard of it before since I play Ultimate every summer. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disc_golf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disc_golf [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=352G0B4OClU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=352G0B4OClU
Asooka 8y ago
Non-tracking text-only link: https://text.npr.org/s.php?sId=639615807 https://text.npr.org/s.php?sId=639615807

49 points by js2 8y ago

I played a lot of Ultimate in High School in the late 90s, and went on to play for the top University team in Australia in the early 2000s while pursuing my undergrad in Comp Sci. One thing I've noticed about ultimate that makes a significant difference to other sports, is the degree of control you have over the flight of the disc. Releasing the disc parallel to the ground it should fly straight in the direction you release it. But angling it will cause the disc to curve as it flies, quite significantly depending on the angle. This allows the thrower to curve the disc around defenders or even out of bounds to reach a spot on the field where only your player can get to. While you can curve a pass or a shot to some extent in ball spots like football, the degree of control is much smaller. This gives frisbee a "3 dimensional" aspect I find really compelling and really adds to the depth of strategy available to players.

ubernostrum 8y ago
the degree of control is much smaller https://i.imgur.com/XECdomK.mp4 https://i.imgur.com/XECdomK.mp4
- DuskStar 8y ago
  I've yet to see someone kick a soccer ball such that it goes forwards and then comes back above their heads without wind assistance. Doing so with a frisbee isn't trivial, but it doesn't exactly take someone at the apex of skill either.
- akvadrako 8y ago
  Do you think people can't do that with a frisbee? Curving is a better illustration — you can get a much greater angle with a disc.
  - ubernostrum 8y ago
    I'm sure people can do it with a frisbee. The claim I responded to was that you couldn't do it with other types of sports equipment. The linked image is a counterexample to that claim.
    - aethr 8y ago
      The type of curve in your video is probably used in about 1/4 of medium range passes in an intermediate level game of Ultimate. So what you've shown one of the best football players in the world is capable of in a low pressure situation, is typical fare for an intermediate level Ultimate player in a game situation. There is literally en entire sport called frisbee golf that involves that level of accuracy and control in every throw, at similar distances.

Finnucane 8y ago

I remember playing it as a kid in camp c. 1973, so it must have become a thing pretty fast.

aikinai 8y ago

This is a weirdly anemic article. It could have explored so many interesting avenues like how the sport spread, what kept the "spirit of the game" alive, or how that jives with being a professional (and possibly olympic) sport. But it just ended.

ndh2 8y ago
Yea. It went "Ultimate is a thing, and things started existing at some point. Ultimate also started existing at some point. Also there are no refs. Because no, man, I'm not gonna."

Jerry2 8y ago

I recently discovered Disc Golf [1]. It's basically golf but with a frisbee! Here's one of the best players going through one of the best of his rounds [2]. Anyway, it seems popular and I was amazed I never heard of it before since I play Ultimate every summer. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disc_golf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disc_golf [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=352G0B4OClU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=352G0B4OClU

Asooka 8y ago

Non-tracking text-only link: https://text.npr.org/s.php?sId=639615807 https://text.npr.org/s.php?sId=639615807