Do We Really Need to Be Told to Play Fair?

Part I of the Spirit of the Game series by Cindy Stowell

The development of most sports follows a similar path. Somewhere, some people have a good idea. They take some physical activity that is challenging and fun, and experiment and tinker with the rules and equipment until optimized. The game begins to spread and to prevent Calvinball-like chaos, rules are drafted. The sport grows more, a national association or league is formed, and somewhere in the midst of the growth, officials are introduced to make calls and enforce the rules. Take basketball, for example. The game was developed in 1891, the first official game played in 1892, and by 1905 there was a national organization and rules calling for 11 officials present at each game. (Today 2 or 3 on-court officials are used in addition to timers and a scorer.) [Wikipedia]

Ultimate didn’t start out much differently. Within the first few years that the sport was developed, kids in New Jersey printed the 1st edition rules. [Ultimate – The First Four Decades by Ultimate History, Pasquale Anthony Leonardo, Adam Zagoria] In the beginning, the creators of the sport weren’t adverse to the concept of a referee or official. The first edition rules state, “A referee or referees may officiate, and, if so, their decision must be final. If no referee is available, the two teams play on an honor system, settling disputes by flipping a coin or by some other such method.” (Flipping a coin, really? They didn’t roshambo back then?) Regardless of its origins, shortly after this point in time, ultimate diverged from almost every other sport out there.

Perhaps it was because the game was a grass-roots (or high school parking lot) sport created by teenagers. Perhaps it was because playing was a lot more fun that being a referee. Perhaps it was because officials cost money or are difficult to line up. Perhaps it was because younger folk are far more familiar with the concept of “play fair” that we give them credit. (Colleen Conrad has noted from her youth ultimate experiences that kids get the concept of spirit really well, and often are better than adults at just accepting a call.) Whatever the reason, officials never became a necessity for ultimate.

In 1979, when the Ultimate Players Association was forming, the 7th edition rules were published, and along with it, the first mention of spirit of the game. “Highly competitive play is encouraged but never at the expense of the bond of mutual respect between players or the basic joy of play. Protection of these vital elements eliminates some behavior from the ultimate field. Such actions as taunting of opposition players, dangerous aggression, intentional fouling or other ‘win at all costs’ behavior are fouls against the Spirit of the Game and should be discouraged by all players.”

At this point, spirit of the game was a necessity. It would be impossible for the game to flourish if people did not respect the rules or others. If people did not make calls as honestly as possible, game play would become too fragmented to be entertaining. Another aspect of spirit of the game, is the discussion of infractions when they do occur. Because most players did not grow up playing ultimate, or watched it every Sunday on TV, hot dog in hand, not everyone knows the intricacies of the rules. Players are supposed to discuss a rule infraction on the field, and often this involves asking other players for clarification. Spirit of the game governs these interactions.

Andrew Thornton describes this central difference between ultimate and other sports in the book Understanding Lifestyle Sport: Consumption, Identity and Difference by B. Wheaton. “Players are supposed to discuss infractions of the rules, which can include asking other players for clarification. This is very different from other sporting environments, where a referee of judge makes all decisions and there is virtually no possibility of players changing or affecting a decision. Thus, in mainstream sport decision-making power is removed from the control of the athletes from the outset of play.”

While in a pickup game of basketball players self-officiate, they are not trusted to do so once the game becomes more competitive and stakes are on the line. J. Leon summed it up the difference between ultimate and other sports nicely, “What’s unique to ultimate is that even at the highest level, it’s self regulated. In other sports, there is essentially some [one] trying to get away with things because the onus is on someone else, a referee. In ultimate, it’s on you.”

Next article in the series: differences in spirit of the game across the country, the world, and over time.