The Ultimate (Frisbee) Blog
Frisbee fanatics across the globe will be mourning the loss of Fred Morrison. Morrison, not to be confused with the other Fred Morrison (a globally renowned composer of bagpipe music), was in fact the creator of the Frisbee. The idea was born in his back-yard, tossing around a cake lid with his missus, and from then on the Frisbee has flown into the hearts and minds of youngsters the world over. In 2007, Morrison said; “That got the wheels turning, because you could buy a cake pan for 5 cents, and if people on the beach were willing to pay a quarter for it, well, there was a business.” And he was right. Since then the recreational flying disc has become a necessary piece of equipment for trips to the park, beach as well as music festivals. But who would have thought that the Frisbee, previously a bit of plastic used to keep the girls entertained while the boys played football, would turn into a sport with a worldwide passion; Ultimate Frisbee (Ultimate).
Ultimate (the sport) is similar to American Football, in terms of scoring (receiving the Frisbee in touchdown zones), but obviously differs without the contact and brutality of the hard-hitting gym monkeys. However, Ultimate experts need to be agile, athletic and immensely co-ordinated to compete in a hugely energetic sport. Ultimate stresses sportsmanship and fair play, and accordingly players are responsible for calling fouls, instead of using a whistle friendly referee…consequently Didier Drogba is not a fan. Thanks to this approach, it’s a rapidly expanding sport, and has become popular amongst students, with men and women playing on same sides. It may sound as though the sport is just a bit of fun, but you would be wrong. Boasting national and international events, Ultimate is a strong as ever.
With its growth, and individuality, Ultimate is one of many sports that we are delighted to welcome to X in the City. ‘UK Ultimate’ is the National Governing Body of Ultimate in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and they will be demonstrating and introducing the sport to a huge audience in October. They want everyone to have an excellent experience of Ultimate, whilst at the same time maintaining “the ‘spirit’ of the game as the underlying principle in everything we do.” (www.ukultimate.com)
With such spirit, I think Fred would be very happy.