Fredericksburg Player in World Ultimate Championships
A Flying Disc Primer
By Paul Cymrot, ADVANCE CORRESPONDENT
Every two years, the World Flying Disc Federation holds the Under-20 World Championships for the sport of Ultimate, sometimes called Ultimate Frisbee. This year’s tournament is being held in Logroño, Spain. USA Ultimate, the organizing body for the sport in the US, has sent teams to compete in all three divisions: Men’s, Women’s and Mixed (co-ed). Fredericksburg’s own Ellie Cymrot—one of our daughters—has won a spot on the mixed team, and will be representing both our home town and the nation this week in Spain.
For those unfamiliar with the game of Ultimate, it is played on a field about as long as a football field, and 65 percent as wide. Gameplay is 7 against 7, but a team will bring 15-25 players in all. Substitutions will happen after every point. The game is usually to 15, although in tournament play they sometimes play to 13 and with a time cap order to fit in multiple games in a day.
One of Ultimate’s two defining qualities, and what makes it the perfect sport, is that the game functions just as well, if not better, in co-ed format. Mixed teams have been part of the sport since it was first formalized in the late 1960s. Curiously, this is only the second World Championship with a mixed division.
Ultimate’s other great quality, perhaps its defining contribution to all sports, is known as “Spirit of the Game.” This is the guiding principle and first rule of Ultimate: That it’s meant to be fair and fun. There are no referees or umpires. Players take it on themselves to play within the rules and call their own fouls. The disc can only be advanced though the air, and once a player catches it, they have to stop and pass the disc to someone else on their team. The opposing team gains possession and goes on offense if the disc is dropped, or swatted down, or intercepted—or after they’ve given up a goal. If there’s a difference of opinion, players discuss briefly and then either re-set to previous throw, or continue as they were, with minimal break in the play. By some mix of magic and the continued goodwill of the Ultimate community, this unique system works wonderfully, even at the highest competitive levels.
There are countless thousands of ultimate clubs in the world. Fredericksburg’s Mothers, born at (and named for) Mary Washington, is one of the early ones, nearly 50 years old and going strong. In Fredericksburg alone, there are teams in local high schools and middle schools, a youth league that practices at Pratt Park, weekly all-age pickup games, and two teams at UMW. Out in the larger world, there are currently two professional leagues. And beside the Pro teams, there’s a whole ecosystem of Club teams. These Clubs are a loose network of longstanding teams, like the Mothers but much better, that play against each other, and despite their modest moniker, it’s where the highest level of play can be found.
It gets more complex and delightful, as well. Within all this, there are age divisions called Youth, Open, Masters, Grand Masters, Great Grand Masters, and so on up to Legends for the founders of the sport, many of whom are still playing. It’s all designed to make sure there’s room for everyone. Ultimate also has one of the most successful and compelling inclusion policies for trans, non-binary, and SMS players, but more on that another time.
Standing at the Ciudad Deportiva Pradoviejo this first morning, watching discs flying every which way on a dozen fields, watching teams from 26 countries in brightly colored jerseys, you don’t have to know any of that history. You only have to admire the way the disc glides through the air. That graceful, curving flight is the engine that makes it all go. That effortless-looking glide was there before the rules, the teams, the leagues, and the community. For all the complicated plays, defensive sets, athletic excellence, and countless hours of practice behind it all, the trajectory of the disc in flight is something pure and true. It makes you look up at the sky and think about what it would feel like to fly.
The Team USA mixed team, Ellie’s team, has 25 players from nearly as many states. They were selected from more than 400 athletes who won invitations to the USA Ultimate tryouts last November. Since being selected for the team, they’ve been together only twice. Once was for a June weekend in Colorado. The other was this last week leading up to the tournament. In all, it’s less than ten days of training together as a team. They’ve crossed the Atlantic together and are staying together at a bland hotel near the fields, on the edge of a lovely town that they haven’t yet seen. A short stroll away from the turf fields and modern apartment blocks where they’re recovering from jet-lag, the old city of Logroño buzzes with outdoor cafes, resonates with church bells, and so far, confounds us with its unpredictable opening hours.
Team USA will play nearly a dozen games in the coming week. Today, they rested, dis yoga in the hotel, and cheered on the Men’s team, who coasted to an easy victory in their game against Singapore this afternoon. After siesta, there will be a parade of nations through the streets of town and into the stadium, Estadio Municipal Las Gaunas, where Spain will play Mexico in front of everyone. It’s going to be great.
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Paul Cymrot is the owner of Riverby Books in Fredericksburg and a longtime Ultimate player.
