About the UOA

Traditionally, Ultimate has relied on a strong spirit of sportsmanship to maintain fair play.  Highly competitive play has always been encouraged, but not at the expense of respect and camaraderie between competitors.  UOA Observers serve the sport by helping preserve the spirit of good sportsmanship by helping athletes adhere to the rules of the sport, settling disputed calls quickly and by keeping the game moving along in a speedy manner.

UOA Observers are dedicated to providing a great Ultimate experience for all athletes who play under their jurisdiction and will do so by hustling to provide best perspective, being super communicative regarding timing issues and by calling honest fair games in an effort to insure good hard physical and enjoyable ultimate at it’s most competitive.

UOA History
The UOA was founded on the car ride back to Wilmington from the ACC Tournament in Chapel Hill during the winter of 2009 by Mike Gerics and Jason Weddle.  We had just completed observing 10 games with some experimental rules(active stall, travel, up/down, red/yellow cards) and decided that with a few more tweaks, that THIS IS HOW ULTIMATE SHOULD BE PLAYED and OFFICIATED.

We added Quick Rulings on all disputed foul and pick calls, active Restarts after all stoppages and traded red/yellow cards for Technical Fouls.  We have also instituted a wide variety of hand signals, philosophies and methods that continue to be reviewed, modified and added to constantly.

Goal
The difference between UOA Observers and ‘referees’ from most sports is that we leave FOUL and PICK CALLING in the hands of the athletes, and are there to settle disputes arising from these calls.  By leaving these physical, opponent vs opponent calls in the hands of the players and by hustling for best perspective in order to provide accurate and fair rulings, we consider ourselves to be keepers of the spirit of good sportsmanship.

Overseeing a clean, hard fought, fair game, played within the rules is the goal of UOA Observers.  We feel that these things are what make for a great Ultimate experience.

UOA Observers shall be dedicated to constant self-improvement as Observers and to the improvement of the UOA as a whole.  This includes offering helpful advice, teaching and supporting fellow UOA Observers and serving as a role model for proper hustle, hand signal mechanics and game management.  UOA Observers should strive to constantly be leaders AND learners.  The UOA feels that the best time to work to improve your ‘Observing game’ is DURING a game!  Observers should strive to meet with one another as often as possible during the course of a game to discuss situations, plays, calls, rulings, etc.  UOA Observers should hustle and get together at the spot of the disc during every time out and at midfield at the end of each half to discuss what has happened, and what will happen next.  These meetings…are what founded and have developed the UOA!

Philosophy
The primary jobs of an Ultimate Observer is to keep the game fair for each team and to permit the game to progress within the rules with as little interference as possible.  Observers do not make calls that decide the outcome of the game.  Rather, athletes commit fouls and violations, and the rules determine the consequences.  Observers are unbiased arbiters of the game and are not concerned with who wins or loses, but in fairness and safety.