We understand that coming along to a practice for the first time can be a bit nerve wracking if you don't know anything about Ultimate. Although it's growing rapidly you might not know anyone to ask, so we've tried to answer a few of the more common things you might need to know before you come to practice.
For this reason we have produced the beginner's Ultimate FAQ, which should answer most of the questions which you might want to know the answers to before you come along for the first time.
It's best to acquaint yourself with the basic rules of the game before turning up. We suggest you have a look at Ultimate in 10 Simple Rules, which explains everything. If you need a deeper understanding of how it all works you can also read the official rules.
No, Everyone else will have lots of discs with them (people in the sport call it a "disc" not a "Frisbee" as this is a trademarked term) so you won't need to bring your own. The official disc of Ultimate Players Association is the 175g Discraft Ultrastar. If you want to buy one and have a practice first then you can get them from a number of online shops in the UK, such as LookFly and Discology. You should probably buy a white disc first as this is the colour that all games are played with. Those alluring colours can come later...
Ultimate is a game that involves a lot of running, so bring clothes that you are comfortable running in. During the summer we play outdoors, so you will be running on grass/mud. Football boots, astroturf boots or trainers are all commonly worn, depending on how hard the ground is.
You will want to bring along a couple of other things:
- Two playing shirts, one white, one dark. These are used when we need to split into two teams for a game.
- Water. Ultimate is a very intense sport, and you will sweat a great deal. Ensure you bring sufficient of water, especially if the weather is hot.
- A change of clothes, if it's muddy. The disc gets muddy, so if you get the disc...
You don't even need to be able to throw a frisbee to turn up, although it is something you can practice yourself. There are two basic throws that you will learn first and these are the forehand throw and the backhand throw. Rest assured you won't be the first person to learn, and more experienced players will always be willing to help you out.
Like most other sports there are words peculiar to Ultimate, however, you can easily decipher this code thanks to the dictionary of ultimate terms provided at The Ultimate Slang Dictionary.