Jim Parinella, one of the top US ultimate frisbee players, demonstrates a few of the many types of frisbee throws used to get the frisbee past a defender. Some club players already act as if they are in the Olympics. At club tournaments, games now sometimes include litanies of foul calls, intentional fouls, lengthy arguments, fights, and other ugly occurrences. In one now-famous incident, a player from the North Carolina men's club team Port City Slickers spat on an opponent from the Seattle team Sockeye after the Sockeye player scored a point. At the tournament in Singapore, long arguments and physically reckless play marred not only the Taipei-Singapore game but also several other contests.
Some players say the intensity of competition has gotten out of hand.
The UPA has already tried using observers at a few high-level club games. But purists charge that using observers only contributes to the destruction of the spirit of ultimate and pushes frisbee one step closer toward resembling all other competitive sports. And even before that, I competed in a game where both sides requested and agreed to a referee, in 1974. It is not surprising that ultimate frisbee is catching on. A blend of American football, soccer, and frisbee throwing, the game is relatively easy to learn.