Ultimate Frisbee Glossary
Dec 15, 2023
Explore the essentials of Ultimate Frisbee with Ultigenie.com's glossary. Designed for easy learning, this guide breaks down the sport's key terms and strategies, helping you to improve your game and connect with the community. Whether you're starting out or looking to brush up on your knowledge, our glossary is here to help.
Throws and Techniques
Backhand
A throw made with the back of the hand leading and typically delivered on the thrower's dominant side.
Blade
A type of throw that travels in a fast, vertical or near-vertical spin, cutting through the air and descending rapidly.
Forehand, Flick
A throw made by swinging the arm by keeping the palm of the hand towards the sky, similar to a sidearm throw in baseball, commonly used for its quick release and stability.
Hammer
An overhead throw delivered in an upside-down position, often used to pass over defenders.
High Release Backhand, High Release Flick
Throws released from a higher position, usually above shoulder height, often to pass over a defender's reach.
Huck
A long-distance throw intended to advance the disc by a significant portion of the field, often into the scoring area.
Low Release Backhand, Low Release Flick
Throws released from a low position, close to the ground, often to avoid a block by a defender marking closely.
Inside Out, IO, Outside In, OI
Throws that are released with an angle to curve inside-out or outside-in relative to the thrower's body.
Push Pass
A short-distance throw using the pushing motion of the arm and wrist, often used in quick-disc movement situations.
Scoober, Scuber
An upside-down throw with a scooping motion that is less powerful than the hammer but offers quicker release.
Player Roles and Actions
Bid
A diving or jumping attempt to catch or block the disc.
Cutter
An offensive player who runs to get open for a pass, typically downfield from the handlers.
Give-and-go
A quick exchange of the disc between two or more players, often involving immediate cuts after passing.
Handler
A player typically responsible for directing the flow of the offense, similar to a quarterback in American football.
Handler Cut
Movement by a handler to get open for a reset pass, often when the stall count is getting high.
Isolation Play, ISO
A play designed to isolate a single cutter, allowing them to have a one-on-one matchup with their defender.
Layout
A dive to catch or block the disc, extending the body horizontally towards the disc.
Offensive Strategies and Formations
Break
An offensive strategy that involves throwing the disc across the force, to the side which the defense is trying to prevent the disc from moving.
Clear
The action of an offensive player moving out of a space to make room for another player.
Dump
A safety valve pass, usually to a handler, typically when nothing is available downfield or to reset the stall count.
Force
The defensive strategy of taking away one half of the field, trying to force the handler to throw to the other half.
Hexagon, Hex
An offensive formation characterized by a series of passes and player movement designed to create and exploit space dynamically.
Hold the Line
An instruction to players to hold their vertical spacing in a stack to maintain the integrity of the formation.
Reset
A pass backward or to the side, often to a handler to restart the stall count and maintain possession.
Stack
Formations designed to organize offensive players in a structured way to create open passing lanes. A vertical stack lines players up along the field's center, while a horizontal stack spreads players out across the width of the field.
Swing
A pass made laterally across the field, used to change the angle of attack and avoid defensive pressure.
Defensive Strategies and Positioning
Break Side
The side of the field the defense is trying to prevent the offense from throwing to; opposite of the force side.
Cup
A zone defense tactic with three players forming an arc around the handler to prevent short passes and force turnovers.
Defensive Line, D-line
The group of players specializing in defense, responsible for preventing the offense from scoring.
Offensive Line, O-line
The group of players specializing in offense, responsible for scoring points.
Double Team
A situation where two defenders are guarding a single offensive player, illegal in most situations except for marking near the end zone.
Home Side, Away Side
The sides of the field relative to the team benches; the side where the team's own bench is placed is the home side, and the opposite is the away side.
Mark
The defensive player assigned to guard the handler with the disc, attempting to prevent easy throws.
Poach
A defensive strategy where a defender leaves their mark to cover another area or player, looking to intercept passes or provide help defense.
Zone Defense
A defensive strategy where players are responsible for covering specific areas on the field rather than marking individual players.
Violations and Infractions
Contest, No Contest
Calls made after a foul or violation to indicate whether the call is disputed or not, affecting the continuation of play.
Foul
Contact between players generally considered incidental and not part of fair play, resulting in a stoppage of play and a reset of the stall count.
Pick
An illegal move where a player obstructs the movement of a defender who is chasing an offensive player.
Stall
A violation occurring when the handler holds the disc for longer than the allowed stall count, typically ten seconds, leading to a turnover.
Strip
A violation that occurs when a player in possession of the disc has it knocked out of their hands by a defender.
Travel
Moving one's pivot foot without throwing the disc, or not establishing a pivot foot when required, leading to a stoppage and a return to the place of the infraction.
Turnover
A change of possession resulting from a dropped pass, out-of-bounds throw, block, interception, or violation.
Field Markings and Locations
Brick
A marker on the center of the field, often where the disc is placed following a brick call, which occurs when a pull lands out of bounds.
Endzone
The scoring areas at each end of the field where a player must catch the disc to score a point.
Lane
The areas between players or within a formation where cuts are made and space is created for passes.
Game Play and Miscellaneous
Block, Hand Block, Foot Block
Defensive plays that involve blocking the disc with the hand or foot to prevent a successful throw.
Defensive Play, D
A defensive action resulting in a turnover, such as a block or interception.
Greatest
A play where an offensive player jumps from inbounds, catches the disc mid-air, and throws it back into play before landing out of bounds.
Hard Cap
A rule that sets a fixed end time for a match, after which no new points can begin.
Spirit of the Game
Ultimate's underlying principle emphasizing sportsmanship, fair play, respect, and self-officiating.
Time-Out
A break in play called by a player on the field or team after a score, used to rest, strategize, or change lines.
Universe Point
The final and deciding point in a game where the score is tied and the next point wins the game.
Up
A shout used by players to alert teammates that the disc has been thrown and is in the air.