The Spirit of the Game

Joey Gray, friend, and long-time champion and leader in the development of Ultimate, has some very instructional insights into the nature of "self-restraint in sport."

"In ultimate, she writes, "sustaining the game is more important than winning at all costs. Players agree to cooperate based on mutual understanding of rules. Anyone can win with ungracious calls - how good can that feel? So players learn negotiation skills that emphasize mutual respect. We want to have fun playing well, so we constantly seek that balance of ego and community called Spirit of the Game."

Joey goes on to quote some of the comments from applicants to the 1998 national team - the first year of the World Flying Disc Federation's mixed (coed) world ultimate championship.

"Once in awhile in an ultimate game you go to absolute war, with an individual, or maybe an entire team. It may be when you're the two hottest players on the field that day, or when your teams trade every point, or maybe when you're down by 8 and bring it back to within two. It's these times, when you and the person you're matched up against are caked with dirt and drenched in sweat, when you've already left it all on the field but still find some way to run hard, that you find out about the real players. It's when you inspire your opponent and they inspire you not just to keep going, but to raise your level of play. And in the midst of the war, knowing only one of you can win, you play against your opponent the way you wish they'd play against you: with everything you've got left, respecting their efforts and their calls, because you know that no matter how bad they want to win, they're going to do it fairly. And when it's all over, when no matter what the outcome, you shake hands, look your opponent in the eye with a stare of mutual respect and say 'nice D,' that's Spirit of the Game."