The Birth of Dodge Balltimate

Many times in the past, I've said that a major contributor to my interest in Ultimate Frisbee is the Culture. It's the people and the attitudes. It's the parties and the craziness. It's playing hard and then partying hard. And every now and then, it can result in a moment of sheer genius.

...like the invention of a new game.

Let me explain.

This past weekend was the Delaware Spring league finals. Our team fought hard in the first game but lost - and was therefore sent to the "not winners" bracket. So we stood around with our next opponent enjoying a pre-game beer when we began discussing ways to make the game more fun. Now, in the spirit of full disclosure, I wasn't there yet. I was across the field. But as I walked over, I heard the guys deciding how they could incorporate a dodge ball into an ultimate frisbee game.

Now, a normal group of athletes would laugh at this... but we thought it was brilliant! So after a few minutes of making some rules, we hit the field. And the game goes something like this:

If you don't know how to play ultimate, here's a handy link.

http://www.wikihow.com/Play-Ultimate-Frisbee

1. Before the Defending team pulls the disc, the dodge ball is placed in the middle of the field. Once the disc is pulled, some players will rush in to try and get the ball. Anyone can grab it.

2. When you are holding the ball, you cannot move around. You either have to throw the ball at someone, or drop it on the ground, or pass it to a team mate.

3. If you hit a player with the ball then they have to stand still for 5 seconds.

4. If you hit a player with the ball AND they are holding the disc then it's a turnover.

5. If you throw the ball at a player but they catch it then you are out of the game for the rest of the point. However, if one of your teammates catches a ball that is thrown at them then you can come back in.

I think that's the main set of rules. So you can see that there is a lot of confusion now that 2 objects are moving around on the field. When you are on offense you have to protect the person with the disc. On defense you have to make sure that you don't get frozen when the person you are covering is making a cut towards the end zone.

It's a lot of fun and I can't wait to play it again.