Why you need to be playing Ultimate Frisbee

We, as humans, are competitive by nature. We are seek to identify self worth, we are motivated by seeing personal progress, and, of course, we don’t mind being the best at what we set out to do (or at least pretty damn good).

So, it's no wonder that competitive sports have been a mainstay in our species for centuries, with evidence of competition dating back as far as 173,000 years ago! Throughout history, sports entertainment has proved not only to have significant value for athletes, more likely those with freedom of choice and not forced through slavery of course, but for audiences as well, who consume the excitement through watching their favorite athletes, often labeling them as idols and heroes.

As they say: Father Time is undefeated, no matter how you slice it. If you’re like me, you may be of the idea that you’ll be capable of scoring goals right until your bitter end, but there is no arguing that as we accumulate more responsibilities throughout our journey of life, finding the time for competitive athletic outlets gets difficult, which not only contributes to the body forgetting what it means to be fit, but one might argue that the mind longs to fulfill its instinctual competitive nature as well.

Since this article is geared towards expats, I wanted to introduce you to a sport that has become near and dear to me since I set sail air for the concrete pastures of China 4 years ago and my outlet for competitive sports: Ultimate Frisbee.

Ultimate Frisbee (which also goes by either just “Ultimate”, “Frisbee”, or 飞盘 Fēipán for those in-the-know) is a sport that has been steadily finding its footing as a top-tier amateur sport amongst millennials in the last decade, and has even spawned a handful of professional leagues; the most prestigious of which are generally found in North America, but I’ve heard Japan takes it seriously in their own special way as well.

I often find myself explaining the concept of Ultimate during bouts of small and medium talk, which goes to show it still needs time to become a household name. It is in fact not just a hobby for dogs turned athletic outing or, as many local Chinese attempt to correct me, in fact ping pong (remember it’s called Fēipán in China) and I’ve just been saying it funny all along.

In brief, it’s a sport with 2 goal zones just like many others, with the pace of basketball, the play making, awe-inspiring potential of football/soccer, and scoring a-plenty. Two teams of (generally) 7 compete to work a disc up the field, strategically passing and defending with the intent of scoring or preventing a score, respectively.

Frisbee provides a low-impact yet intense workout that is generally easy on the bones and relatively hospital-inducing injury free, but not without its bangs and bruises, so you can lace up with peace of mind not wondering if you’re overseas insurance will be able to cover helicopter transport to the nearest emergency room. In many ultimate club's, members range in age from 16-50.

What I love about ultimate is the broad spectrum of competition it covers, the accessibility world wide, the low barriers of entry, and, of course, the people who play. There are casual scrimmages, low level tournaments, high level amateur tournaments, and of course as I had mentioned you can often catch professional matches on ESPN.

Do you travel a lot for work or pleasure? Chances are the city you are passing through has anywhere between 1-5 ultimate clubs for you to play “pick up” with, which is the term for an informal get together between 2 or more teams.

I should note that the sport is also co-ed, so whether you are looking for girl friends, guy friends, boy friends, or, DARE I SAY, a potential post match romantic encounter, Ultimate may just have your back. We are the Tinder generation, after all. 

For some, frisbee may be a second lease on life giving you that one hobby you look forward to learning, improving, and staying competitive. For others, it might be the activity that keeps them healthy with all the running around one or two days a week. It may be a social outlet for newcomers to a city or those looking to expand their network.

It can be so many things to so many people.

While I would recommend seeking out your local Ultimate Frisbee club no matter which city you are currently living in or traveling through, I can only speak on behalf of my club here in Shenzhen, the SZUPA (Shenzhen Ultimate Players Association). We welcome pros, newbies, and novices alike. Whether you just want a good workout or want to train your way up to some of the top tournaments in the world, you can start here.

If you're in Shenzhen, add Jeff ("SZUltimate" on WeChat) for more info  for practice times or visit szultimate.com for more information.

EDIT: In the name of making this more actionable, I'll leave the websites for clubs in major China cities here:

Shanghai: http://shanghaiultimate.com/

Beijing: http://beijingultimate.com/

Guangzhou: http://www.guangzhouultimate.com/

See you on the pitch!

Check out some of our previous articles for daily China expat tips:

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