CU Rules

Questions about the rules? Ask Matt Horn or another captain to clarify. Matt's contact info can be found on the Contact Us Page

Thou shalt obey the rules of frisbee.

Spirit of the Game
The Ultimate community has created and established a notion called the "Spirit of the Game." This special aspect of the culture and etiquette of the sport takes many forms. It's on display when teams cheer each other after games; when a player takes back a poor call; and when national championships are held without referees. No one who has played the game would describe ultimate as "just another sport." Ultimate's unique qualityand fiercely loyal community exist in no small part because of the Spirit of the Game.
The Spirit of the Game is reflected in the rules as well. Fair play is one of the underlying tenets of ultimate. Not only is it explicitly written into the rules that intentional violations are forbidden, but the culture of the game actively dissuades such behavior. Players and teams can soon develop bad reputations if they push the rules. It is every player's responsibility to play by the rules! It bears repeating-play fair, play hard. There's no place in ultimate for cheaters.

Columbia Ultimae League Rules



	CFL Rulebook -Spirit of the Game- see above DRAFTING PROCEDURE: Teams are drafted in the fairest and most equal way possible on a yearly basis. Captains are selected by the commissioner and previous captains as needed. Depending on the state of the league, teams may or may not be allowed to keep a number of their players from the previous year. Regardless, as the draft begins, those players who all captains have seen play the game before, will go into a round-robin draft. Those players who are new to the league or haven't been viewed by all captains instead go into a random draft. In this case, a captain may choose to take a random pull at any time rather than one of the established draftees. Once drafting has commenced, the captains are allowed to make trades, but only until drafting is over. It is illegal to make uneven trades in the CFL. For example, I cannot trade you 3 guys for 1. All other issues of drafting are handled on the basis of neccesity and are subject to change by definition. Finally, the CFL does not allow family or friends to neccessarily be on the same team: if you end up on your brothers or best friend's team, it is purely by luck of the draw or the drafting prowess of that captain. After draft day, no rosters are permitted to be changed unless approved by all Captains. No one but captains are permitted at the draft, unless you are not a league member, and only then at the captains' disgression. BASICS: The Disc- The CFL uses only 175-gram Discraft Frisbees provided by the Commissioner The Field- The field will be 70 yards long, 40 yards wide, with endzones that are 25 yards deep. Length of Game- The games are 40 mins long (two 20 min halves). Time will be stopped after each score and resume again after kickoff. Time will also stop when a contest or injury occurs. Timeouts- Each team is entitled to a 2 minute timeout each half. All times are to be recorded by the timekeeper of each game. PRE-GAME: Prior to the start of the game, the captain of the away team, as designated by the schedule sheets, will call a frisbee in the air flipped by a neutral observer. When in the air, the call of heads or tails is made. The winner of this flip can decide if they want to receive or throw first. The losing team can choose which side they want to begin on. TEAM SIZE AND SUBSTITUTIONS: As of the 2007 season, each team will be permitted to have 7 players on the field at one time. Substitutions can occur after a score, half-time, or time-out. A team is required at least 5 players to take part in a game at all, no exceptions. KICK-OFF: Each team is required to be in their own prospective end-zones prior to kicking off. Only once the disc is in the air can both teams exit the end-zone. In the event that the disc is caught in air, offense begins normally. If the player who attempts to catch it instead drops it, the result is a turnover. You are legally allowed to kick the disc to stop it from rolling. Rolling on the ground is as good as throwing: you still have to play the disc where it stops. Also, if the kicking team throws the disc out of bounds, the receiving team is allowed to center the disc where it originally went out (not where it stopped rolling). Out of bounds is dictated by the established boundaries of the field, layed out in "BASICS" OFFENSE: Offense begins as soon as the one team catches or picks up the disc from the ground. That player must then cease all forward motion. At this point, they are only allowed to pivot on one foot, similar to basketball. That player must then attempt to move the frisbee by throwing to another player. Hand-offs are not permitted. With the exception of kickoffs, when a frisbee is thrown out of bounds, defined by the marked perimeter, a turnover results and the defending team gets the the disk where it went out of bounds. You are not permitted to catch your own pass, unless it is deflected by another player first. A score is made when a player on the offensive team successfully catches the Frisbee, with one foot down in the endzone. If a player touches out of bounds with one foot first, and than in bounds or in the endzone with the other, the disc is out of bounds and a turnover results: the call is made where the first foot falls. As implied, the disc does not have to cross the plane of the endzone to be a score if you land with one foot in the endzone. In the event that a player moves both feet while in posession of the disc, a travel is called and that player returns to the spot and runs the play again. Whenever a defender makes physical contact with the offensive player, a foul may be called by that player. If this is accepted, the disc returns to the offensive player and the play resumes where the foul was made.. If the defensive player disagrees with the foul call, a contest may be called whereby the disc goes back to where the play began and play resumes by the same offense. An offensive player is entitled to one arms length of distance away from a defender in which to throw the Frisbee. This does not include the length of the frisbee itself. The offensive player is required to assert that distance themselves: the defender does not have to comply otherwise. Offensive picks, like in basketball are not permitted in Ultimate and result in a foul. The team with the most offensive touchdowns at the end of the game is declared the winner. DEFENSE: When playing defense, a player in Ultimate is able to impair the flight of the frisbee in any way. All forms of bodily contact with the disc are permitted. A defender is not permitted to knock a disc from the offensive players hands. A defender may at no time make physical contact with the offensive player. If this occurs, a foul should be called by both involved (See OFFENSE). A defender is entitled to call a 10 second stall count on the player he is guarding when they are in possesion of the disc. If that player doesn't call this count, the offensive player essentially has unlimited time to do what he/she wants. If the count reaches "10" and the player still has possesion, a turnover results. If a foul results by either player mid-stall count..the count is reset. In this case, it goes back to 5 if the count was over 5, or back to 0 if the count was not. If a timeout is called while stall counting, the defender may resume counting where they were. Good defense should not be penalized by a timeout. OTHER RULES OR CLARIFICATIONS: I. In the event of a tie in regular season play, the game ends that way. In post-season play, a tie results in a 5-minute overtime period, which is duplicated if continued. II. The Commissioner, co-Commissioner and Captains reserve the right to dismiss any player for inappropriate play III. In post-season play, all players must wear full uniform at all times. IV. No player may be allowed to take the field unless all league dues are paid. V. The Commissioner, Co-Commissioner and Captains are permitted to adjust the rules as needed. VI. Spirit of the Game is a concept unique to ultimate. Essentially it is the term given to the concept that the players call and enforce their own rules on the field. It is designed to promote healthy competitive play with minimal argument. Should a player or team continually violate this, refer to II.