Ultimate: The Greatest Sport Ever Invented by Man

Which type of ultimate player are you?

Do you play ultimate for the glory of winning, for the satisfaction of defeating your opponent, and because you're naturally good at it?
Yes: You are an Athlete.

Is ultimate one of many strange, random, and passionate pursuits in your life?
Yes: You are an Oddball.

If you're willing to dig around a bit, there are some excellent ultimate frisbee books in circulation. One of these books Ultimate: The Greatest Sport Ever Invented by Man, was recently suggested by one of my BF team-mates. Since I trusted this team-mates assessment that I would enjoy the book since the author writes sarcastically ("just like you"), I ordered a couple copies. The author, Pasquale Anthony Leonardo sent me a note the same night, indicating that he'd ship the books as soon as he got back from the Potlatch tournament.

After previewing the book at the author's website, and flipping through a few pages of my team-mates copy, I wasn't sure how much more to expect in the 130-page publication. To say that I was pleasantly surprised after determining how complete of a guide the book is to all things ultimate is a huge understatement. Confidentially, I'll call this book The Greatest Book About The Greatest Sport Ever Invented by Man (TGBATGSEIBM).

My favorite element of the book are the eight profiles that ulty players can be categorized into (the two I'd fall into are included above). Having played ulty for a tad over two years, it's amusing to categorize my various team-mates and acquaintances into each of the categories.

The book also contains tips from legends of the games about the things they do best. Tips regarding getting layout D's, skying taller players, and throwing 30 foot scoobers for goals are all informative and will be helpful on the field (ok....so maybe not the scoober tip in my case).

Other laugh-out-loud sections are the 40 most common ultimate nicknames, pick-up tips for tournaments, formulating team names, on/off field ultimate related games, alternate Ro-Sham-Bo games, common responses people give when hearing you play ultimate, how to play on little to no sleep, how to know if your co-worker is an ultimate player, and a brief history and future of the sport. It's also great that Ottawa gets mentioned three or four times throughout the book (yay OCUA....and PROUF!). Lastly, there is a pretty comprehensive glossary of ultimate terms that covers everything from "Throwing Fire" to "Land Sharks".

What makes this such a great read is the fact that the author really knows the sub-culture of our sport. He has been to the great tournaments, he obviously has the contacts to write the informative tip sections, he has figured out what makes ultimate players tick, and yet, he doesn't take the sport too seriously. If you're a beginner, intermediate, or full-fledged ulty addict, you need to order this book. Although I have an extra copy, there's no way you're getting it :P

Sidenote, as mentioned in previous posts, I'm on vacation, and won't be updating regularly. I'll try to do a weekly recap, and look forward to writing a bit about No Borders, but make no promises. Until next time, happy hucking!