The Ziggles Ultimate Club is the first Ultimate Frisbee club in the Alpes-Maritimes, a sport that combines skill, endurance, and teamwork. It is also a sport whose participants aim to convey a number of values, among which are the culture of the graceful move, responsibility, and above all, fair play.
The Ziggles Ultimate Club (ZUC) was created in September 2003 and has since continued to expand its activities. It already has about thirty members and is affiliated with the French Flying Disc Federation (FFDF). Its members practice a very unique sport: Ultimate.
Originating from the United States and arriving in France in the early 1980s, Ultimate is a team sport played with a disc (frisbee) and featuring two teams of five or seven players. It is played on a rectangular field with an end zone at each end. A point is scored when a player passes the disc to a teammate and it is successfully caught within the boundaries of the opposing team’s end zone. A player cannot walk or run while in possession of the disc. This sport can be played in 3 disciplines: indoor, outdoor, and even beach Ultimate (on sand).
A mixed, non-contact, self-refereed sport
The main characteristics of Ultimate are, first, that it is a non-contact sport. Physical contacts are not allowed. It is also a mixed sport, as teams can be composed of both women and men. Secondly, Ultimate is the only team sport that is self-refereed, meaning it is played without a referee. “Players themselves are responsible for the smooth running of the game. Each player must know and respect the rules. When a foul is noted, one of the players calls out “FOUL.” All players stop immediately, and the game is frozen,” explains ZUC president Rebecca Schmied. “This way, we try to minimize the impact of the foul on the game’s progress. When players can’t agree, the disc goes back to the last thrower, and the game resumes from there.”
“Fair play, an important aspect…”
A rule that, far from limiting the enjoyment and spectacular side of this sport, has the merit of shaping its players in fair play in its purest definition. “Fair play is a very important aspect of all disc sports, and particularly in Ultimate. Each player must know and respect the rules; therefore, it’s up to the participants’ personal responsibility to play fairly and respect the rules. No player should intentionally violate the rules, so the presence of a referee is not necessary,” she argues. During every organized championship or tournament, a fair play ranking is established. “Winning the fair play award is just as rewarding as winning the match,” highlights Rebecca Schmied.
Objective: French Champion
The ZUC nonetheless has sporting ambitions as the association presents three teams in the Indoor category (indoors). The first team is in N1 (the highest division) and has maintained its position for two years. Its best performance was a seventh-place finish during the 2008-2009 season. This group has the obvious objective of becoming the French champion. Teams 2 and 3 participate in the regional championship. Team 2 aims for the podium and, by the same occasion, promotion to N3. In addition, the Ziggles wish to continue being present in the main events of European and French Ultimate Frisbee tournaments and discover new ones.
But the Ziggles’ true objective is naturally to promote their sport and its values throughout the PACA region by organizing demonstrations and introductions in middle and primary schools. The club also organizes, since this season, in partnership with the SUAPS of the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis, training sessions for students.
