“Spirit,” there’s a word you hear a lot in ultimate. In fact, spirit of the game is supposedly the founding concept of our sport. I say supposedly because, although everyone seems to agree on the term, exactly defining the essence of spirit is an elusive task. Spirit is fairly established as a cornerstone of our sport, and yet no two players can agree on what it looks like. With this in mind, I gave myself the task of shedding some light on what it means to “play with spirit.”

I started with a look at the roots of the game: Surely history would unlock the mysteries of our founding concept. Of course that ended up being a bust. It turns out some kids in New Jersey thought this sport up as a gag. While tossing the disc around one afternoon, one probably laughed to another, “Hey here’s another dumb rule: there’s no refs…and you have to sing to the other team! He he he!” Even the name “ultimate” was meant to be ironic. Perhaps the greatest irony of all is that the game those kids invented has evolved into a sport which, for most of us, truly does embody the ultimate team sport. Given that the spirit of the game has evolved since its conception,

But on the other hand, if I choose to jog around half-assed, I do not challenge myself or my opponent. And I certainly disrespect my teammates,ultimately robbing the experience of it’s full potential. True ultimate lies in the attitude that I will push myself, my teammates and my opponents to be our best, but never to an unsafe level.

Physical respect is an aspect of spirit that most of us can understand, but mental respect is the real key to spirit of the game.

the next logical step seemed to be investigating how players today define it. Out of all the players that I’ve talked to, no one has admitted to reading up on any “spirit handbook” as a rookie. It seems most of us learned about the fabled spirit of ultimate through the experience of the game. We tried out this new sport and soon discovered a cult of freaks who played for enjoyment, who officiated every infraction themselves, who cheered to their opponents, and who partied as hard as they played (naked…in hot tubs!). We were hooked, we probably didn’t know why, but suddenly a plastic disc was our god.

Having reached this point, I felt like I had come to a firm understanding of player perception of spirit of the game. Yet, what I realized is that these things were just forms, or expressions, of spirit. This still left me with a burning question: What is the underlying philosophy that separates ultimate from other sports and at the same time unites us all in our fanatical love of the game? I thought long and hard on this and looked at it from many sides; I dug deep beneath the surface of what makes our sport unique. And finally, as if a swilly scoober caught me between the eyes, a single word floated into my consciousness: RESPECT.

Respect for others. This, to me, is the essence of the spirit of ultimate. I tossed that concept around in my head for a while, because I wanted to describe precisely what I understood. As the idea solidified in my mind I broke it down into two areas: physical respect and mental respect.

Physical respect comes in the form of respecting other people’s well-being on the field. For example, as I play, I am conscious of how my actions and attitudes affect other players. If I choose to play like a maniac, endangering others’ safety, I take away from the fun for everyone involved.

It is what separates those who understand sportsmanship, from those who do not. Mental respect is trusting that my teammates are capable as people, and so are my opponents. Whether it’s mistakes, bad decisions or foul calls, spirit of the game is recognizing that other players will always choose what to do, the best way they know how. In fact, true mental respect comes from the realization that my opponent is not my adversary, but my collaborator in the
experience: without the other team the game does not exist. You can choose to spend your time resenting and antagonizing other players, or you can choose to focus on yourself.

It’s not always an easy choice; however, your decision will significantly affect your performance and enjoyment of the sport. So what new enlightenment did I uncover out of all of this? Well, I discovered that the essence of “playing with spirit” lies somewhere beneath the experience of playing the unique game of ultimate. I have come to understand this underlying philosophy as a physical and mental respect for other players. I don’t pretend to have solved this vast entity we so often refer to as the spirit of the game, but I hope this was a start. I intend to look at the many other facets of spirit, and how it affects the way we play the greatest sport on earth: ultimate Frisbee.
— Jeff Warner

Jeff is a management training consultant in Edmonton, AB, is Team Leader of Edmonton E.M.U., and plays with Winnipeg Chaos.