Ultimate Frisbee recognised as a sport by International Olympic Committee

Ultimate Frisbee (image for representational purposes only)

The International Olympic Committtee last weekend official recognition to all flying disc sports, of which Ultimate is the most popular.

The announcement was made following a meeting of the IOC in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur on Sunday. The WFDF or World Flying Disc Federation, which is the world’s central governing body for all disc-related sports, acknowledged the IOC’s decision, saying it felt “humbled and honoured” at the decision.

The WFDF released a statement after the decision was announced.

"This is an incredible milestone in the 30-year history of WFDF," it said. "Today's decision will give a further boost to our efforts to increasing the presence of Flying Disc sports in all countries and on all continents."

Ultimate is played outdoors or on an indoor pitch, and is different from other sports in that there are no referees or set rules for players. They are expected to play ‘in the spirit of the game’ and uphold sportsmanship.

Extremely popular in India, the sport saw India’s Under-23 team recently compete in the Ultimate U23 World Championships in London.