Some History:

In 1967 Joel Silver (yup, the guy producing The Matrix) introduced his idea of Ultimate Frisbee to the Columbia High School student council in Maplewood New Jersey, USA. The next year, the first game was played between two groups of students. They used a Wham-O Master disc.

In 1969 a team had been formed at the school and they played in a parking lot. The only lines that existed were the goal lines.

The first and second set of rules were written in 1970 by Joel Silver, Buzzy Hellring and Jon Hines. On Nov 7th, CHS played the first inter-scholastic game. They won over Milbum HS with 43-10.

The first organised tournament was played on April 25th in 1975. Eight teams took part in a tournament in Yale. Rutgers University won the final against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with 28-24. In 1976 the Yale tournament was expanded and renamed into the National Ultimate Frisbee Championship. Rutgers won again.

Ultimate was also in 1975 introduced into the World Frisbee Championships.

In 1983 the first true World Ultimate Championship was held in Gothenburg, Sweden. Two club teams, representing USA, won open and womens divisions. The european countries were represented by national teams.

In 1989 Ultimate was shown as an exhibition sport during the World Games in Karlsruhe, West Germany. This year also saw the first World Club Ultimate Championship, in Cologne, West Germany.

Today, Ultimate is played in almost every country in the world.

In 2001, Ultimate became a medal sport at the World Games held in Akita, Japan.

The Spirit of the Game:

Spirit of the Game separates Ultimate from other sports - it represents sportsmanship, fair play, and fun for all. It is the essence of Ultimate - the cheers, the comeraderie, the extracurricular activities. Ultimate is not ultimate without SOTG.

From the official rules: "Spirit of the Game - Ultimate has traditionally relied upon a spirit of sportsmanship which places the responsibility for fair play on the player himself. Highly competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of the bond of mutual respect between players, adherence to the agreed-upon rules of the game, or the basic joy of play. Protection of these vital elements serves to eliminate adverse conduct from the Ultimate field. Such actions as taunting of opposing players, dangerous aggression, intentional fouling, or other 'win at all costs' behavior are contrary to the spirit of the game and must be avoided by all players."

In other words, fair play and enjoyment are what makes Ultimate the ultimate sport.