Teamwork: A Systematic Review of Implications From Psychosocial Constructs for Research and Practice in the Performance of Ultimate Frisbee Games

Introduction: Ultimate Frisbee (UF) is a non-contact, challenging, and self-promoted team sport. Some factors such as the game environment and rules seem to influence athletes' behavior. Goals: Provide a robust systematic review (SR) of the psychological domains associated with UF.Methods: A SR according to Cochrane guidelines was completed. A reproducible search strategy was conducted by two independent reviewers in thirteen online databases: the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, SCOPUS, B-On, SportDiscus, Scielo; APA PsycINFO, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences; Academic Search Complete; Medline (PubMed); ERIC; Google Scholar; Open Acess Thesis and Dissertations. The search occurred from 1st to 30th June 2020, and there were no limitations regarding the year of publication. Original papers that contained relevant data regarding psychological domains in the context of UF in English, Portuguese and Spanish were selected. The combination of the main terms “ultimate frisbee” and “sport psychology” was used in all databases. A total of 464 studies were identified and selected in the last phase of selection. After the Screening (n = 301) and Eligibility (n = 71) phases, a total of 30 potential papers were selected and classified. Finally, only four papers were qualified to be included in the final version of SR.Results: The psychological dimensions revealed in the present study were: leadership; basic psychological needs; behaviors; task cohesion and performance; intrateam communication; performance-avoidance goals; friendship goals; sportsmanship associated with goal-directed self-talk and self-regulated learning.Discussion: To our knowledge, this is the first SR about UF. In reviewing all the findings in the studies, there is evidence that UF can promote teamwork, task cohesion, leadership, and increase friendship-approach goals.Conclusion: The results revealed that group goals and promoting teamwork significantly predicted social cohesion and that teamwork and task cohesion was mediated by communication. UF is characterized by communication between all players, whether they are from the same team or the opposing team. In summary, the current study revealed real-time information about the game and its rules. This is important because UF is one of the few team sports worldwide that are self-referred by participants.Systematic Review Registration:https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=169294, identifier: CRD42020169294.

Teamwork, Spirit of the Game and Communication: A Review of Implications from Sociological Constructs for Research and Practice in Ultimate Frisbee Games

Ultimate Frisbee (UF) is a non-contact, challenging, and self-promoted team sport. Its characteristics, such as the game environment and rules, appear to influence the on-the-pitch behaviour of players. This article examines the content of qualitative studies to determine if and how the unique characteristics of UF may be related to nine sociological themes, that may be identified during gameplay. These themes include the following: (a) competition and performance; (b) enjoyment; (c) communication; (d) cooperation/friendship; (e) behaviors/welfare; (f) teamwork/social skills; (g) environment/lifestyle; (h) rules/self-refereeing and (i) spirit of the Game (SOTG). The review was conducted according to PRISMA guidelines. A comprehensive search protocol was used to identify, screen, and select published research articles under a Qualitative Systematic Review (QSR). The search was occurred from 1 June to 30 December 2020 with no limitations regarding the year of publication. Original English-language papers that contained relevant data regarding sociological themes and UF were selected. As a result, nine papers were qualified to be included in the final version of QSR. The files analyzed were structured with MAXQDA. A total of 521 references were identified and selected for analysis. After the Screening (n = 301) and Eligibility (n = 71) phases, a total of 30 potential papers were selected and classified. Nine studies were included in the final analysis. The three most cited sociological themes in these studies were: communication, teamwork/social skills, and spirit of the game. Research suggests that UF involves patterns of interaction related to communication and the spirit of the game that encourage active lifestyles. Finally, we point out that UF is an appropriate sport to include in physical education classes in which the creation of positive relationships between students is the desired outcome. This topic should be explored further through interventional studies done in different contexts although the evidence suggests that UF offers players unique opportunities to experience a combination of physical activity and enjoyment.

Physical, Physiological, and Technical Demands in Ultimate Frisbee Small-Sided Games: Influence of Pitch Size

Small-sided games (SSGs) are common drills used in various team sports, but the exercise intensity in ultimate Frisbee SSG has not yet been investigated. To clarify the physical, physiological, and technical demands of ultimate Frisbee SSG, we investigated the influence of pitch size on exercise intensity during SSG. Nine male college ultimate Frisbee players played (3 vs. 3) SSG on small (SSGS: 30 × 15 m) and large (SSGL: 40 × 20 m) pitches; both SSGs comprised of four 4 min periods, interspersed by 5 min of passive recovery. Players’ mean heart rate (170 ± 8 and 171 ± 7 bpm), peak heart rate (184 ± 7 and 184 ± 5 bpm), and blood lactate concentration (11.3 ± 4.7 and 11.8 ± 4.6 mmol/L) were similar in SSGS and SSGL, respectively. The total distance covered (1984 ± 166 m and 1702 ± 80 m) and the distance covered during quick (860 ± 112 m and 696 ± 69 m) and high-intensity running (439 ± 95 and 255 ± 44) in SSGL were significantly longer than those in SSGS (p < 0.05). Conversely, the number of accelerations (45 ± 3 and 41 ± 3) and decelerations (44 ± 3 and 40 ± 4), catching errors (2 ± 1 and 1 ± 1), and turnovers (8 ± 2 and 6 ± 2) in SSGS were significantly greater than those in SSGL (p < 0.05). This study suggests that ultimate Frisbee SSG provides high-intensity training, which stimulates the glycolytic pathway. Furthermore, manipulating SSG pitch size effectively modulates the physical demands of SSG.

State Transition Modeling in Ultimate Frisbee: Adaptation of a Promising Method for Performance Analysis in Invasion Sports

Although the body of literature in sport science is growing rapidly, certain sports have yet to benefit from this increased interest by the scientific community. One such sport is Ultimate Frisbee, officially known as Ultimate. Thus, the goal of this study was to describe the nature of the sport by identifying differences between winning and losing teams in elite-level competition. To do so, a customized observational system and a state transition model were developed and applied to 14 games from the 2017 American Ultimate Disc League season. The results reveal that, on average, 262.2 passes were completed by a team per game and 5.5 passes per possession. More than two-thirds of these passes were played from the mid zone (39.4 ± 6.57%) and the rear zone (35.2 ± 5.09%), nearest the team’s own end zone. Winning and losing teams do not differ in these general patterns, but winning teams played significantly fewer backward passes from the front zone to the mid zone, nearest the opponent’s end zone than losing teams (mean difference of −4.73%, t(13) = −4.980, p &lt; 0.001, d = −1.16). Furthermore, losing teams scored fewer points when they started on defense, called breakpoints (mean difference of −5.57, t(13) = −6.365, p &lt; 0.001, d = 2.30), and committed significantly more turnovers per game (mean difference of 5.64, t(13) = 5.85, p &lt; 0.001, d = −1.18). Overall, this study provides the first empirical description of Ultimate and identifies relevant performance indicators to discriminate between winning and losing teams. We hope this article sheds light on the unique, but so far overlooked sport of Ultimate, and offers performance analysts the basis for future studies using state transition modeling in Ultimate as well as other invasion sports.

Independent Sports Television in the Networked Era

As the rise of internet distribution has transformed television, precipitating the continued expansion and fracturing of the medium, sports television has not been excluded. In analyzing the effects of internet distribution on sports television, this article specifically examines how internet distribution has fostered the emergence of independent sports television producers and distributors operating outside the traditional sports television system. Using the sport of Ultimate frisbee (Ultimate) as a case study, the article first argues that the new streaming companies that have emerged around that sport have largely modeled their streams on legacy sports television, but have also looked to adapt the conventions of traditional sports television to the specificities of the sport. Second, the article suggests that a particular area of concern for these independent streaming companies has been representation, as these companies have sought to offer a more progressive form of sports television.

Independent Sports Television in the Networked Era

As the rise of internet distribution has transformed television, precipitating the continued expansion and fracturing of the medium, sports television has not been excluded. In analyzing the effects of internet distribution on sports television, this article specifically examines how internet distribution has fostered the emergence of independent sports television producers and distributors operating outside the traditional sports television system. Using the sport of Ultimate frisbee (Ultimate) as a case study, the article first argues that the new streaming companies that have emerged around that sport have largely modeled their streams on legacy sports television, but have also looked to adapt the conventions of traditional sports television to the specificities of the sport. Second, the article suggests that a particular area of concern for these independent streaming companies has been representation, as these companies have sought to offer a more progressive form of sports television.