Let's not kid ourselves.
People play Ultimate
because it's fun.

Ultimate is at a crossroads - the same crossroads where beach volleyball and tennis were at before multimillion dollar television contracts were assigned to those sports. The same happened decades ago in baseball, when Major League players first were allowed to accept pay. The problem isn't whether players can make a wrong decision about the roles of money and authority in their game ... it's a question of who does the deciding.

In big-ticket sports, team owners and tournament sponsors shape the evolution of games. They decide which hockey player goes to the penalty box, which basketball player steps up to the free-throw line, and how hard one football player can slam another. Do you want Coors or Chevron to buy an Ultimate team and call the shots? Do you want nonplayers to decide if Ultimate is going to go along with the referee model used in other sports? If you do, say goodbye to the UPA.

Let's not kid ourselves. People play Ultimate because it's fun, but also because it's easy. The game is built around what is basically a children's toy. Cleats? OK. Spandex too, if you can pull it off. But you don't need custom-trimmed Astroturf, fancy equipment - or referees. To bring in referees would be to hand over responsiblility for the game. Not only would we give up what makes Ultimate fun to play, we would surrender the ability to shape the growth of the sport.

The Responsibility of Competition

I show up with my shoes down for one of the goal markers and grab the disc out of my trunk. I like Ultimate because it's not a contact sport, and the people I play with aren't out for blood. But sometimes, instead of releasing tension on the field, I find myself more uptight after the game than before. The shouts of offensive and defensive strategies give way to trash-talking and dirt-kicking. I may sound like a Polyanna, but I like to play disc with people who can cope with the responsibility of competition.

There are attitudes forming in the Ultimate community that promote adding official referees to tournaments. But I hear a phrase like "real sport," and I think membership fees, lines painted on the field, and men in black and white. For the club teams that practice hours every day, increased regulation of tournament games may mean more intense play and more fun. But I see self-refereed Ultimate as a unique form of competition in the world of sports, even at the national level. If I legislate away the responsibility of making my own calls, I give up what brought me to the game in the first place.

Real Audio:
Ultimate player Charlie Glickman tells us why disc players are more reponsible than hockey players or basketball players.

Ultimate player Christina Castagna admits she likes men in Lycra tights better than men in black and white

Story by Matt Margolin
Sound gathered by Ancel Martinez and Chris Arnold