FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions

What is Ultimate?: Combining the non-stop movement and athletic endurance of soccer with the aerial passing skills of football, a game of Ultimate is played by two seven-player squads with a high-tech plastic disc on a field similar to football. The object of the game is to score by catching a pass in the opponent’s end zone. A player must stop running while in possession of the disc, but may pivot and pass to any of the other receivers on the field. Ultimate is a transition game in which players move quickly from offense to defense on turnovers that occur with a dropped pass, an interception, a pass out of bounds, or when a player is caught holding the disc for more than ten seconds. Ultimate is governed by Spirit of the Game, a tradition of sportsmanship that places the responsibility for fair play on the players rather than referees. Ultimate is played in more than 42 countries by hundreds of thousands of men and women, girls and boys.

Are there opportunities to play against other schools?: Although ultimate isn't a NCAA sport, but rather a "sports club", clubs from hundreds of schools across the country gather together to play in tournaments. Ammo tends to play mostly in the Midwest, but has been known to travel as far as Florida and Texas for good competition. At the very end of the spring, the College Series begins which is a series of 3 tournaments (Conferences, Regionals, and Nationals) deciding which teams are the best in the nation. Last year, Ammo finished 3rd at Conferences, securing a bid to regionals. This has not been done in the past 4 years.

What equipment is needed to play ultimate?: Ultimate is great in that to compete at a high level you need very little equipment. All you really need is a 175 gram Discraft disc, and something to mark out the fields with. At tournaments it is strongly recommended to invest in cleats. For the spring series, a team uniform is needed.

What do I do if I am interested in playing for Ammo?: If you are a student at the University of Northern Iowa and you are interested in playing for Ammo, please contact us. Throughout the entire year we are looking for new players to come and join in on the Ultimate experience. If you are a High School player interested in ultimate at UNI, we still urge you to contact our captains. When you come up for school visits, we can bring you to a practice and help you get the feel of Ammo ultimate.

Are there tryouts?: Typically for bigger college teams there are. However since UNI is so small we have never held tryouts before.

What can I do to prepare to play on the team?: The best way to stay in "Ultimate" shape is to play as frequently as possible. If thats not possible, we urge you to stay in shape by working out or running frequently during the off seasons. Ammo also puts a lot of emphasis in throwing in the off season. A complete Ultimate player has excellent throws as well as excellent conditioning. Throw as much as possible. In the summers around Iowa, pick up games and summer leagues can be found in almost every city. Dubuque, Ames, and Waterloo both have consistent pickup groups, and Iowa City and Des Moines have really well put together summer leagues for people of any level. We recommend you play as much as you can in the summer.

Why play for Ammo?: First off, we are pretty awesome. Secondly, ultimate is extremely fun, a great way to make a bunch of new friends, and you can learn a new game while competing against other teams across the country.