School Games
Register your School Games Event and get 10 FREE discs!
In 2018 Ultimate was formally added to the School Games (a Sport England-funded initiative responsible for over 3.5 million sports participation opportunities for young people every year).
The interest we’ve seen from Active Partnerships and School Games Organisers has been huge. Those familiar with the sport won't be surprised to hear that Spirit of the Game has been a major factor in this success, providing children and young people the opportunity to develop communication skills, emotional management and other sporting values, whilst also having fun playing!
Find all the information you need to run a School Games event including simple rules, adaptations and a simple spirit scoring matrix
“The children thoroughly enjoyed their experiences playing Ultimate Frisbee. This is an exciting sport that really encourages team work and respect. The Spirit of the Game element means that children who might normally be intimidated by competitive sport can represent their school and enjoy it. The children thrived in such a positive sporting atmosphere and it was lovely to see them grow in confidence. They didn’t stop smiling all week!” - Russel Scott Primary School, Tameside
Schools Map: find affiliated schools and see where School Games events are taking place
School Affiliation runs on the calendar year - if you have renewed your affiliation this year you can do it here.
Downloadable 10 simple rules and pitch layout:
Ultimate can be played indoors (in a sports hall) and outdoors on grass, Astro or 3G and even on the beach!
At schools and in School Games competition we suggest 4 a-side mixed gender on a pitch roughly 30m x 15m but you can adapt the size of the pitch for your circumstances and the space you have available.
Make sure to factor in safe space around the pitch for a run-off - minimum 1m indoors (although 2m is better if you can) and up to 5m outdoors.
Equipment and Training
Affiliate your school.
Buy discs and as an affiliated school and ask for 5 free discs with your disc order. Affiliate each year and request another set of free discs. Choose primary discs (Jstars) or the Official Game Disc (Ultrastar)
Want help developing skills, confidence and understanding? Book a training course - we will come to you and deliver a 2 hour session. Courses can be booked for teachers, students, young leaders or a combined group. The workshop costs £36 / person for a minimum of 8. If you don’t have enough, you could ask your School Games Organiser to run a workshop near you!
Ultimate Discs
The JStar is the recommended Primary school disc - it is a little smaller, lighter and softer than the full-size disc.
The Ultrastar is the Official Game disc of UK Ultimate and used for all competition. This is the best option for Secondary schools, but some schools may also want some smaller discs to help students getting started.
Don’t forget about Spirit of the Game scoring
Ultimate doesn’t have referees, the players referee the game themselves. If there is an infraction to the rules (a foul for example) players make their own calls, take part in a quick discussion with their opponent and come to an agreement. If they agree on the call, the disc stays with the player who made the call; if the disagree the disc goes back to the last undisputed thrower. This is simply about being honest and remembering it’s ok if you disagree!
Spirit of the Game is what helps players to self-referee acting as a reminder of the categories of good sportsmanship: knowing and applying the rules, avoiding fouls and body contact where possible, maintaining a positive attitude, being fair-minded and communicating respectfully.
Teams should give their opponent a spirit score after their game and there can be spirit winner of the event. Spirit of the Game scoring is a great part of the whole event and can be a good way to help develop sporting values and enjoyment. As an event organiser don’t forget to factor in a minute or two after each game or at the end of the games for teams to score each other and submit their spirit score to you.
School Games format - adaptations for those who already know Ultimate
The School Games format has a simple set of rules with some simplifications on the rules of Ultimate. The main differences are as follows:
Even number of players on a team with the same number of girls and boys. 4-a-side is encouraged for School Games competition to encourage more touches on the disc for all involved
No stall count
No brick mark
Players sub on the fly at any time by high-fiving a teammate of the same gender on the sideline