Features

Steve Vaughan (All photos: Tom Styles)

Ultimate Frisbee

Ultimate Frisbee is a fast-moving team sport which can be compared to other team games such as American football, basketball or netball – but is played with a plastic disc like a frisbee.

Sally Fraser on offence

Ultimate was first played 30 years ago and there are over 3,000 players representing 100 teams in the UK.  It is played on football sized pitches with players passing the disc upfield to members of the same team and scoring a point by catching the Frisbee in an 'endzone'. The defending team takes possession if the disc touches the ground or an interception is made. Players cannot run with the frisbee and it is a non-contact sport.

Ultimate is a game for two teams of seven players although rolling substitutes can be used in between points. The winning team is the first one to a set number of points and games usually last 100 minutes. 

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The LeedsLeedsLeeds (LLL) club was established in 2000 by players living locally so that they could train together and improve the standard of Ultimate in the area. The men's team has expanded from about 12-13 players in the first year to currently having over 30 members. 

The women's team which started in 2003 consists of about 35 players and is at the forefront of a rapidly expanding women-only division in the UK. Players are generally from the Yorkshire region, specifically Leeds, York and Sheffield although some other players do travel from as far as Manchester, Newcastle and Durham.

Christian Nistri laying out on defence

The club competes nationally and internationally in tournaments across Britain and Europe every year from April to September. Leeds men have consistently been at the top of the UK Ultimate scene for the past two seasons narrowly missing out on the National Championship title in 2003, 2004 and 2005. They have also finished runners-up in the UK National League in the last two years. 

Leeds women have finished first and third in the UK Women's National League in the last two years and have finished third in the National Championship in both 2004 and 2005.

Both teams also competed in the European Ultimate Club Championships in Germany in July 2005.  Leeds men are currently ranked 5th in Europe and Leeds women 12th in Europe in their respective divisions. More importantly the women's team also won a fair-play award for being the 'Most Spirited' Women's team in Europe. Several Leeds players (both men and women) have also represented Great Britain in European and World Ultimate Championships.

World Championships

Leeds also has a mixed team which has been running for two years and is a combination of Leeds men and women. In 2004 the mixed team finished in the top four in the UK Mixed National League and National Championships, improving to second overall in 2005. This second place result ensured the Leeds mixed team a spot at the World Championships in Perth.

Hannah Easter on offence

Perth will be the Leeds mixed team's first outing to a major international tournament.  The 25-strong squad going to Australia will be made up of men and women aged 21–35 from around the Yorkshire region. The team will be bidding to overcome the challenge of teams from world champions Canada, the sports inventor's USA and fast improving Sweden to name a few. The team is also hoping to go to some smaller European tournaments before then to fine tune the team against foreign opposition. 

Competing at such a high level for a non-professional sport is a drain on personal finances and the estimated cost for players to participate in the World Club Championships in Perth will be £3,000 each. The club is therefore trying to promote the sport and themselves and would be grateful for any local sponsorship to help them fund the trip.

Find out more

The club trains very hard over the winter period at Leeds Rhinos Rugby Academy in Kirkstall every Saturday and members of the public are welcome to come along and ask questions or just watch them play.

All photos in this article by Tom Styles.