Mission Statement
"Serve as a regional resource, promoting growth in the sport of Ultimate and instilling the spirit of sportsmanship at all levels of play"
Unlike with other sports organizations, it is intrinsic to DiscNW's mission to promote and teach mutual respect and fair play, demonstrate the value of team sports for health and social benefits, and perform outreach in the community. The notion of sportsmanship or the "Spirit of the Game" has guided the agency and defines the organizational culture.
DiscNW is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Seattle. We run ultimate leagues, tournaments, camps, and clinics throughout the year. Our focus is on coed recreational play and youth ultimate. We also support elite teams at all levels and divisions. DiscNW serves as a web-based resource for individuals seeking opportunities to play ultimate at pickup games and in organized leagues, tournaments, camps, and clinics. We support local teams (adult, collegiate, and youth) with technical support and limited financial assistance. DiscNW sells ultimate merchandise on a small scale. We communicate with and link together other regional ultimate associations.
Ultimate Frisbee combines the non-stop movement and athletic endurance of soccer with the aerial passing skills of football. A game of ultimate is played by two seven-player squads with a 175g plastic disc on a field similar to football. The object of the game is to score by catching a pass in the opponent’s end zone. A player must stop running while in possession of the disc, but may pivot and pass to any of the other receivers on the field. Ultimate is a transition game in which players move quickly from offense to defense on turnovers that occur with a dropped pass, an interception, a pass out of bounds, or when a player is caught holding the disc for more than a ten-second count. Ultimate is unique amongst competitive sports in that games are governed by Spirit of the Game™ - a tradition of sportsmanship that places the responsibility for fair play on the players rather than referees. Ultimate is played in more than 42 countries by hundreds of thousands of men and women, girls and boys.
DiscNW Major Programs:
Youth ultimate programs take place year round and serve over 1500 local youth players.
- Leagues take place in Seattle, Shoreline, and Redmond.
- DiscNW runs coed team leagues for school based teams in the spring for elementary school (12 teams), middle school (60), and high school (22). There is also a high school league for boys (14 teams) and girls (8).
- DiscNW has partnered with Seattle Public Schools to host a fall middle school league since 1996 which had 28 teams in 2008.
- The Fall High School Hat League is a way for players to enjoy a casual game in the off season.
- Participation in youth events has grown from 1000 players in 2003 to over 2000 in 2009.
- Tournaments are run in Burlington, Tacoma, Monroe, and Snoqualmie
- Spring Reign is the largest coed youth tournament in the world. This year we had 85 teams from Washington, British Columbia, Oregon, California, and Manitoba.
- DiscNW partners with the Ultimate Players Association (UPA) to host a High School State Championship tournament with divisions for boys and girls.
- DiscnW and the UPA also partnered to host the High School Western Championships in 2005 and 2007
Adult ultimate programs also take place year round and serve over 3000 total local players.
- Leagues take place in Seattle, Shoreline, Redmond, Tukwila, Mountlake Terrace, Tacoma, Olympia, Everett, Kirkland, and Snoqualmie.
- Coed hat leagues (individuals sign up and teams are formed by pulling names out of a ‘hat.’) are run in the spring, summer, and fall. In the summer there are hat men’s and masters divisions.
- There are coed team leagues in every season. The DiscNW Spring League has been running for over 25 years – mostly at Magnuson Park. This year we had 50 teams participate.
- DiscNW runs coed leagues in Tacoma, Olympia, and Spokane that serve hundreds of players.
- Leagues for Men, masters, and women players are run in the summer.
- Tournaments are run in Burlington, Redmond, Shoreline, and Seattle.
- Hat tournaments: Tacoma Men’s Hat (summer), Chick Flick (winter), Dangle Wrangle (winter), Turkey Bowl (fall)
- Team tournaments: Hangover (Redmond, winter), Slog in the Bog (Burlington, spring)
- Every summer during the 4th of July weekend DiscNW hosts Potlatch, the largest coed ultimate tournament in the world in Redmond. This year the tournament hosted 98 teams (over 2000 players).
Education programs provide instruction hundreds of players every year.
- Seattle Riot, 2004 & 2005 Club Champions, host a clinic for women and girls every spring that usually attracts 75 players.
- Summer camps
- DiscNW runs Day camps in Seattle that serve about 500 campers each year.
- There is a camp in Tacoma for middle school students.
- Moho is a training program for high-school age players. It’s an opportunity to learn and play the game of Ultimate in addition to what they can get at their own schools.