Spirit is a combination of respect, integrity and dignity .There's no dignity in choosing to break the rules when the opportunity arises, or respect for others or yourself in arguing, not to be fair but to gain advantage. Respect also means understanding that, no matter how sure you are that the disc was caught out, someone else's reality may be different, and to accept that disagreement without anger or argument. At the cornerstone of all of this is an understanding that your opponent is not your enemy, that without that person or team you couldn't play the game. Playing with spirit by no means implies that you don't play to win, but only that you play to win fairly and honestly. The great thing about spirit of the game is that it can be contagious - the more people that embrace it, the easier it is for others to catch. A game filled with spirited players is a great ultimate game.
The most compelling aspect of ultimate is the absence of penalties. In the preface to the rules, the founding fathers of the sport, such trusting souls, "assumed that no ultimate player will intentionally violate the rules; thus there are no harsh penalties for inadvertent infractions." (In fact, there really aren't any penalties at all.)

In Ultimate, every player is responsible for their own conduct on the field. There's no refereess to make sure that everyone acts like grown-ups, so it's the responsibility of players to call fouls on themselves if the person they have fouled does not call the infraction. That's right. You can call a foul on yourself. Ultimate relies on the honour system and the belief that no one will intentionally cheat

Ultimate's rules, like any sport's, can take a while to learn. However, they can, for the most part, be summed up by the concept of "Spirit." Highly competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of mutual respect between players, adherence to the agreed-upon rules of the game or the basic joy of play. The purpose of the rules of Ultimate is to provide a guideline which describes the way the game is played. It is assumed that no Ultimate player will intentionally violate the rules; there are no harsh penalties for inadvertent infractions but, rather, a method for resuming play in a manner which simulated what would most likely have occurred had there been no infraction. It couldn't be much simpler. Spirit allows the game to be played without refs, without untoward aggression, and without long stoppages in play. It really can't be stressed too much. Spirit is what makes Ultimate so much fun. If you can't relate to the concept of Spirit you might be better off trying a different activity; such as sitting in a darkened room cleaning your firearms and obsessing over conspiracy theories.

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Spirit Of The Game: A Personal Perspective
So I was sitting at a booth in the front square of Trinity in Dublin trying to get new people to get into Ultimate. A few international students stopped just off from the booth and a Swedish guy started saying, “Ah, that’s that stupid sport where you have no referee, so you can just call ‘Foul! Foul!’ and they have to believe you.”

The unique thing about Ultimate Frisbee is that there is no referee. That’s the first most apparent thing. The whole game rests on the idea of fun, and the trust that everyone is there to compete to the best of their abilities. It’s a way of life. I prefer to see it more as a community than a sport.

This means many things. ‘With great power comes great responsibility’ said Ben Parker. What does that mean? I dunno. But spirit in ultimate means looking your competitors in the eye and actually wishing them well. You might beat them, bagel them, humiliate them on the pitch, but it’s still meant to be a well played competitive game. It means trusting your opponent and trusting yourself. So if someone touches you (it is a non contact sport), it’s your right –nay, some may say in order to uphold the game, it is your duty to call a foul! Ok, we’re not a bunch of flowers that are going to wilt with one touch; everyone knows- you’re on a pitch with a bunch of other people running around wildly, someone has to touch you at some point. So the other players generally trust that you called that foul because you felt it obstructed your playing in some way. The guy who fouled you might not see it that way, but that’s the beauty: if there’s a disagreement about any call, the disc simply goes back to the last thrower, and the play is repeated. Then when the play finishes, whatever the outcome, someone on the sideline is gonna mumble, “The disc never lies.”

A lot of newcomers to the game feel hesitant to make calls about picks, fouls, fast counts by the defense but it’s part of the spirit- being competitive while remaining positive, focusing on the love and play of the sport more than how badly you put the other team down. Irish ultimate in particular, maybe simply because it’s early on, but I’m thankful I learned the game here because the sense of fun that goes hand and hand with ultimate here I’ve not seen in such swelling measure anywhere else.

So to finish the story I started with, shamefully I didn’t respect the Swedish guy’s opinion very much, got to my feet and said, “Bullshit, it’s about trusting other people!” Demonstration of How Not to Be Spirited. So no surprise he didn’t come over after I said that and say, “Oh, really? Then tell me more about the game!” He just left.

I’d like to close with a poem, it’s half of a sonnet. It brings tears to my eyes.

Spirit of the game is a team-mate telling me I landed out of bounds.
Spirit of the game is an opponent's helping hand off of the ground.
Spirit of the game is respect for everyone who plays.
Spirit of the game is congratulating impressive lays.
Spirit of the game is coming up with awesome cheers.
Spirit of the game is knowing that all age groups are peers.
Spirit of the game is never assigning any blame.
Spirit of the game is a warm handshake with a new friend after a hard fought game.
Justin Safdie

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