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South Sound Ultimate Players' Fall League is our "competitive league," designed for players with a general knowledge of the game. Players should have experience throwing, marking, and basic offensive and defensive strategies. If you aren't sure if you should sign up, please contact us to ask.

Why a Competitive League?

During our spring league, captains and other experienced players spend a lot of energy teaching new players the rules and basic strategies of ultimate. The teaching that happens at spring league is an important way for us to introduce new players to the game in a supportive environment, but it is a lot of work. For the fall season, we're hoping to create a more competitive environment where experienced players can take a break from teaching and enjoy just playing the game.

Also, because it is more organized than pickup, fall league is a great opportunity to develop experience with different strategies. The ability to work together with a small group of players on experimental strategies doesn't exist anywhere else in Olympia, and involving new players who don't have a fundamental knowledge of the game's basic strategies makes this much more difficult.

What Does Competitive Mean?

Even though competitive means that we want to win, our primary goal is fun, and the most important factor in fun is health. First and foremost, we play safely so that no players get injured. For strategy, we will use a variety of stacks and zones. Instead of stopping play to explain the rules, we'll call fouls and infractions (well, okay, we sometimes give newer folks some explanation). If you drop the pull, it is most definitely a turnover. Spiking is generally experienced as disrespect, even if you don't mean it that way.

Because we're playing under lights that cost us money, we're playing games to a very high number, and most games will get time capped. It would be easy and clever for a team with a lead to stall and run out the clock, but it is considered very poor spirit.

Competitive Fall League Rules

We play by the Official 11th Edition Rules, although we won't be checking times with stopwatches. It is up to all players to keep the game moving. Lighted artificial fields are an expensive luxury, so let's play as much as we can.

Games will start around 6:45 p.m., and be played to 19, or to time. At 8:25, we'll whistle a hard cap. When the whistle blows during play, finish the point, then add one to the highest score and play to that, win by 1. When the whistle blows between points, add one to the highest score and play to that, win by 1.

2 timeouts per game; you can use them anytime before the hard cap. Please keep them short. Timeouts called in the last 5 minutes are not turnovers, just remind the player a timeout is not available and check the disc in.

Halftime is up to captain's discretion. We recommend mirror halves and a 3 minute break after 45 minutes, especially if wind is a factor or numbers are low. Or you might choose to call a halftime at 9 to avoid checking the time.

A team must have at least 6 non-injured players present (at least one of which must be a female). Teams may not "pick up" players of either gender. A team of 6 players can play 6 vs. 7 or 5 vs 7. Injured players must not be pressured to play. If a team lacks the numbers to play by 6:50, points will be assessed one per minute until a score of 6-0 is reached and at that point the game becomes a forfeit. If a team has to forfeit, mix up the players and have a fun game.

Gender Balance and Playing Time

Fall league usually has 4 women per team, which is not enough. As a result, we encourage women to choose the amount of playing time they get. Before the game, either all of the women, or a representative from each team, should discuss their goals for the game and agree upon a plan that works within the constraints of the league. If additional players arrive late this plan should be revised between points.

We would love to require a 4:3 gender ratio, but we don't have the numbers for that most of the time. Offense can call either 5:2 or 6:1 at the beginning of each point. The defense can match the offense's chosen ratio, or play with more women if they like. Women must not be pressured to play. Teams may play 6:0 or 5:0, but may not play more than 6 men at a time.

One of the great things about ultimate is that men and women can play together. Our travelling team, local tournament, and other leagues are all mixed gender, as is most of our pickup play. Because of our current fall league gender imbalance, teams should make an extra effort to involve women in all aspects of the game on the field. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of all players to be safe and respectful of each other, so that we all feel safe and welcome.