Thanks to our awesome friends at VUL (Vancouver Ultimate League), we have this amazing resource of terms and jargon to get you up to speed! Also check out their Players Guide for more awesome info!
Away
For the purposes of knowing your force, the side of the field opposite to where your team’s stuff is.
Bite
On defense, to make a strong commitment in response to a fake, thereby momentarily leaving the cutter or thrower an open path/throw.
Break the Force/ Get Broken
On offense, if you are able to throw to the side of the field that the opposing team is trying to protect, you “break the force”. As an example, let’s say the other team is protecting the left side of the field (backhand throw for right handed players) and giving you the right side of the field to throw to (forehand for right handed players). If you manage a throw to the left side of the field, you “break the force”. Contrarily, on defense, if you are trying to force the thrower to throw to the right side of the field (a forehand for right handed players), and they throw to the left side of the field (a backhand for right handed players), then the thrower “broke the force”. In other words, you “got broken”.
Break Side
The side of the field that the marker is trying to protect the thrower from throwing to.
Check
The person you are defending is your check.
Clear Out
On offense, running quickly out of the way to allow others to cut into the space you were just in. There are areas of the field where the thrower wants to throw to (called cutting lanes). If you are standing still in one of those areas, nobody can catch the disc there. When you cut into open space and don’t get the disc within 1-2 seconds, you need to clear out to allow room for teammates to cut into that space.
Clog
On offense, when someone gets in the way of people trying to cut by occupying the space (cutting lanes) where the thrower wants to throw to for too long.
Cut
To make a hard, decisive run in an attempt to get open for the thrower and receive the disc.
Cutting Lane
On offense, the regions on the field that teams try to keep clear in order to allow cuts and passes to happen. These differ depending on the offensive strategy in use.
Deep Cut
On offense, a long cut towards the other team’s endzone in order to catch a huck or create more space for other cutters.
Dump
A safer, shorter throw to a handler in which yardage gain is not the priority. This usually happens after the stall count reaches 5. It is a good play because it gets the disc into the hands of a strong thrower and resets the stall count at zero. The player who receives the dump pass can also be called the dump.
Endzone Line
The line across the front of each endzone.
Flick
A forehand throw.
Flow
Multiple throws strung together to move the disc quickly up the field.
Force
The side of the field the defense is forcing or encouraging the offense to throw to. The defense will always establish a force so that everyone playing on defense understands which spaces of the field to protect.
Handler
On offense, players who are primarily responsible for throwing and moving the disc. This is usually the team’s stronger throwers.
Home
For the purposes of knowing what side your force is, the side of the field where all your team’s stuff is.
Horizontal Offense
On offense, a strategy characterized by a horizontal stack of players across the width of the field. See a diagram in the
horizontal offense section.
Hospital Pass
A throw that causes the disc to hang in the air giving time for several players to get into position to jump and attempt to catch the disc. This is a dangerous play and can result in players being sent to the hospital. It should be avoided at all times.
Huck
A long throw down the length of the field.
In Cut
On offense, a cut towards the player with the disc for short yardage gains and movement of the disc.
Marker
On defense, the player who is covering the thrower.
Open
You are open when you are running fast to a clear space and your defender is not close enough to intercept the disc if it is thrown.
Open Side
The side of the field that the marker is trying to force the thrower to throw to.
Pancake
A form (the best form!) of catch. Using both of your hands to catch the disc: one hand on the top of the disc, one hand on the bottom.
Pick
On defense, an infraction that occurs when a player on the offense obstructs you from staying close to your check (the player you are covering) by running in between you and your check.
Poach
When a defender leaves their check to cover another area of the field, the open check is said to be “poached”.
Pull
Similar to a kick-off in football, this is the long throw down field that starts each point. The pull is thrown by the defensive team down to the offensive team’s end.
Stack
Offensive tactic in which all players line up in an orderly fashion in order to create clear cutting lanes, or areas in which cuts and passes can be made. The most common stacks are horizontal stack, and vertical stack.
Stall count
The count to ten within which a thrower must make his pass.
Travel
An infraction which occurs when the thrower lifts their pivot foot completely off the ground and/or when the receiver takes too many steps to slow down when catching the disc. There is no set number of steps required to stop in the rules, but there must be a clear attempt to stop immediately once the disc is caught.
Vertical offense
An offensive strategy characterized by a stack that runs vertically down the field. See a diagram in the vertical offense section.