On closer inspection, things begin to look different. The players are not using a all, but a disk — commonly referred to as a Frisbee. Two men on opposing teams are wearing floral-print skirts.

But the most unusual part takes a few minutes of watching to perceive: Amidst all the shouts, cheering and laughter of the well-organized, season's-end tournament, with five simultaneous games, there are no whistles. That's because there are no referees.

Even when played at an international level, Ultimate is self-officiated. It's part of what players call "the spirit of the game," — an emphasis on sportsmanship over competition, and it is what draws many players looking for a fun sport and a good workout in a social context.

Boulder is an Ultimate hot-spot, as are many college towns, with about 600 players signing up each season for community leagues. Many more play on club teams and at the University of Colorado. Veteran players say the counter-culture sport is easy to learn and can be fun in a casual pick-up game or in a bout for a national title.

"When I first started playing, it was introduced to me as having the fast pace of soccer, the scoring and offensive style of football and the camaraderie of bowling," says Boulder club player Jeff Albenberg. "That appealed to me."

Ultimate evolved 30 years ago in the parking lot of a New Jersey high school, with a group of students making up rules as they went along. Those founding players went on to different colleges and taught the game to their classmates. It continues to spread across the country through word of mouth.

The Colorado Springs-based Ultimate Players Association formed 20 years ago as the sport's governing body. It recently reached a member count of 10,000; executive director Bob Byrne estimates about four times that number play the game in less-structured venues.

Byrne says the sport has grown steadily since its inception. Signs of mainstream acceptance include Jockey's stepping in to sponsor the collegiate championship held in Boulder last month and a profile of an Ultimate player in a recent issue of Rolling Stone Magazine.

"In the past, that never happened," Byrne says. "We are on the fringe, but we are no longer outside the fringe."

The rules

The unusual structure, choice of a disk instead of a ball and lack of officials lend to the sport's counter-culture image, although most of the players are typical students or working professionals. The Ultimate community prides itself on being open to newcomers.

"If you like to run, we will teach you everything else," Byrne says. "You can learn all the skills involved in Ultimate."

A step toward de-mystifying the sport is explaining the rules, which differ enough from conventional sports to make it confusing to a beginner.

A regulation field is 70 yards long and 40 yards wide, with 25-yard end zones for scoring. There are seven players for each team on the field at a time; substitutions are allowed after scoring or injury.

Play begins with a disk-throw equivalent to a kick-off. The offense moves the disk up the field with a series of passes. No one can run with the disk — a rule that players say emphasizes teamwork and diminishes the potential for superstar standout. A point is scored when the offense completes a pass in the defense's end zone.

The pace is fast; a person holding the disk has 10 seconds to throw it. Offensive players run to stay open to receive a pass, while defensive players guard them in pursuit, hoping to block or intercept the disk. Intentional physical contact is considered a foul. If the disk goes out of bound or touches the ground, the defense gains possession at that spot and changes to offense.

"It's really athletic and difficult to play, but at the same time it's like chess because it's all strategy," says Rick Snyder, a Boulder computer programmer who played football and ran track in high school, winning the Vermont state championship or the 100-meter dash.

"A lot of these people are athletes from soccer or basketball. After college, they are looking out for a different sport," says Mary Hagler, a perennial figure on the Boulder Ultimate scene. She says the field or court awareness from those sports transfers well.

"I think it is the most physically challenging sport I've played," says Robin Hamilton, a Fairview High School graduate who was named all-around high school athlete of 1993 by the Sportswomen of Colorado for her performance in basketball, softball and track. She attended Colorado State University on a basketball scholarship and now works in Boulder as a bio-tech service engineer.

Hamilton says she enjoys being able to play both offense and defense, and she says the combination of running and throwing makes for a full-body workout.

"(Ultimate) is the most fun because it has such great sportsmanship and teamwork," Hamilton says.

Spirit of the game

Most players would likely identify the esprit de corps on and off the field as the best part of the sport.

"My favorite part is the camaraderie and the respect for team mates and the opposing team," Albenberg says.

It's what players call "the spirit of the game," and it's written into the UPA regulations: "Ultimate stresses sportsmanship and fair play. Competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of respect between players, adherence to the rules and the basic joy of play."

Players make the call if a pass is caught out of bounds, if the disk hits the ground or if a foul occurs. Byrne says some upper-level tournaments have experimented with referees, but the majority of players seem to prefer playing without.

"When you have no refs, it creates a self-responsibility factor, and you bond a little more," Byrne says. In other sports, competitors get away with what they can until the official calls it, he says. In Ultimate, "It is really on you to ensure fair play."

If there is a dispute over a call, players will discuss it until an agreement is reached. "Sometimes you play somebody who cheats, but that is the exception," Byrne says. The nature of the game is such that it really appeals only to those who want to play fair.

"When I picked it up, I'd burned out on traditional sports. I got tired of the attitudes," says Mitch Bennet, who grew up playing hockey. "(In Ultimate) people play really hard, but their attitudes are different. It's great."

The positive outlook fosters a fast friendship among players. "You don't just play and go home," says Scott Gurst. "You go out to dinner afterwards — not just with the people you play with, but also the people you play against."

Social structure

The social aspects are another big draw to those who enjoy the game.

"The people are great," Hagler says. "Everybody is very positive and encouraging and supportive of everyone else."

Players characterize the lower-level co-ed teams as having more of a social emphasis and the upper-level, single-sex teams as focusing more on the sport. Upper-level co-ed teams are a more recent evolution of competition.

Someone interested in playing has a variety of venues from which to choose. Pick-up games happen weekly, but these tend to be through word of mouth and aren't necessarily at a consistent time and place.

Seasonal leagues are the best introduction for someone new to the sport. Sponsored in Boulder by a group called Grass Roots Ultimate, league play is $30 for 10 to 12 weeks. Interested players sign up as individuals, and organizers put together co-ed teams, so the rosters differ each season.

"B" league is for beginners and those interested in casual play. It is not unusual for a veteran player to spend a season in the B league teaching the game to newcomers. "A" league is for individual players looking for a more competitive game.

Those wanting more involvement than league offers form "club" teams. Co-ed club teams usually practice about once a week and travel in and out of state to tournaments on weekends. Single-sex club teams require greater commitment with three or four practices per week, and weekend tournaments tend to be more intense.

Because of Ultimate's prevalence in college towns, players are often well-educated, although this is by no means a standard.

"It's a real wide variety of people," says Tim O'Neill, the president of Grass Roots Ultimate. "We have kids from junior high school playing with their parents' permission all the way up to directors of major corporations in Boulder that are on the older side of the bell curve."

Players say it is easy to get hooked because the game is fun at a beginning level, and there are always new skills to learn for experts.

"A lot of people start," Gurst says, " and very few stop."

To get involved with Ultimate, e-mail Grass Roots Ultimate at league@gru.org.

Whats in a name?

"Frisbee" is a registered trademark of the Wham-O company and not the brand used in Ultimate Players Association-sanctioned competitions. "Discraft is the official disk of the UPA," says executive director Bob Byrne. "We aren't using Frisbees."

Most people learn to play Ultimate as adults, but veteran player Mary Hagler is trying to grow the sport by teaching it to younger kids. She takes time off work to visit area schools, spending a few hours or a whole day with P.E. classes, teaching the students and instructors how to play.
"I'm interested in a juniors program," she says. "My goal is to teach the teachers, so they can teach the kids in class (or after school)."
Many adult players say they wished they had learned the sport as a kid because they prefer it to more conventional sports, Hagler says.
"Something I'm working on in my professional life is re-developing the community corrections system . . . We've talked about ways to keep kids out of trouble. One of those is getting them into an activity after school."
She says Ultimate is a good option because its counter-culture image prevents kids from thinking they have to be jocks to play.

Teachers interested in having her visit their school or players interested in volunteering can call Hagler at (303) 665-5260.