Flying Discs 3: Types of Competition
The Frisbee/flying disc has inspired quite a few sports. Here are brief descriptions of the most widely accepted:
Guts
Played by two teams of five players each on a simple field with goal lines 15 meters long and 14 meters apart. The teams face one another, each defending a goal line. The teams alternate throwing the disc.
One point is scored when a correctly thrown disc is not caught by the defending team. The defenders score a point when the disc is not thrown correctly.
To be correctly thrown, the disc must pass the defenders' goal line topside up and within reach of a defender. The disc must not be thrown above the extended reach of the receiving team.
Game is 21 points. But, if the score is tied at 20 apiece, the game continues until one team leads by two points.
Ultimate
Originally known as "Frisbee football," Ultimate is played by two teams of seven players each on a field 37 meters wide and 100 meters long, including two 18-meter end zones.
When the offensive team successfully passes the disc to a player in the end zone of the defensive team, a point is scored. If a pass goes out of bounds, hits the ground, or is intercepted, the defensive team takes over on offense.
A throw-off is used to start the game and to re-start after a score. On the throw-off, each team stands on its own goal line and a player on the team that scored throws the disc. The other team gets possession at the spot where the disc lands.
A player is not allowed to move while in possession of the disc. A throw must be made within 10 seconds of taking possession, or the disc is awarded to the other team.
The game ends when a team has 19 points with a lead of at least 2 points or when a team has 21 points.
Ultimate can also be played indoors on a handball court with five players on each team.
Goaltimate
Although inspired by Ultimate, as the name suggests, Goaltimate is considerably different. The field is a circle 60 yards in diameter. At one end is a curved "clear line" and at the other there's an arched goal, 18 feet wide and 11 feet high, forming the entrance to an end zone that's 24 feet wide and 24 feet deep.
The distance from the middle of the goal to the middle of clear line is 30 yards. A straight two-point line is 20 yards from the goal.
There are two teams of three players each, and each team is allowed one substitute. The object of the game is to score a goal by passing the disc through the arched disc to a teammate in the end zone. If the pass is made from behind the 2-point, the goal is worth 2 points.
The disc can be advanced only by passing. As in ultimate, it is a turnover if the disc touches the ground, goes out of bounds, or is intercepted. A player is given only five seconds to make a pass.
Game is to 5 points.
Disc Golf
As you might have suspected, this is golf played by throwing a disc instead of hitting a ball with a club. On an official course, the target is a round metal basket on a pole with loose chains suspended above it. Holes range in length from 60 to 150 meters and a course has 9 or 18 holes, as in golf.
Instead of using different clubs for different situations, the player uses different kinds of discs. Typically, a disc golfer will carry five to ten discs, from a "driver" for throwing off the tee to a "putter" for short shots.
Freestyle
In freestyle, teams of two or three players perform choreographed routiens of three to five minutes in length, made up moves, throws, and catches. They're scored by judges on difficulty, artistic impression, and execution.
Double Disc Court (DDC)
The newest of the disc sports, DDC is played by two teams of two players each on two 13-meter-square courts which are 17 meters apart. Two discs are thrown back and forth simultaneously.
A team scores a point when one of its players throws a disc that lands in the other team's court and stays there or when a disc thrown by the other team lands outside the court. If a team touches both discs at the same time, two points are awarded to the other team.
Games is 15 points and a match is usually best of three or best of five games.
Field Events
There are several individual disc events that test a player's throwing and catching skills, as well as endurance.
The two simplest are distance and accuracy. In distance, the player is given five throws and only the longest throw counts. The accuracy event uses a 1.5 by 1.5 meter frame positioned 1 meter above the ground. The player throws four discs from each of seven different throwing positions and gets 1 point for each disc that passes entirely through the frame.
In the Maximum Time Aloft (MTA) event, the player throws the disc high into the air and has to catch it with one hand. The time the disc is in the air is measured by stopwatch.
In Throw, Run and Catch (TRC), the player throws the disc, runs to the spot where it's coming down, and catches it with one hand. The distance the disc travels is measured.
MTA and TRC are sometimes combined in an event called Self Caught Flight (SCF). A player is given five attempts at each discipline, with only the best attempt counting. The MTA time is then multiplied by 5.5 and added to the TRC distance in meters in obtain the SCF score.
Discathon
In the discathon, competitors cover a course 200 to 1000 meters in length while throwing two discs alternately. The first disc is thrown from behind the start line and each subsequent throw must be made from within 1.5 meters of where the previous throw landed. A thrown disc can be picked up only after the other disc has been thrown.
The course is lined with two types of obstacles. The thrown disc must pass on a specified side of single obstacles and must pass between double obstacles.
There are also tests at some double obstacles. In a test, the player must throw the disc from behind a line as the obstacle is approached. A failed test requires the competitor to run a penalty course.