Frequently Asked Questions

We get a lot of enquiries at WFDF, and while we would like to answer every email in depth, we don't necessarily have the resources. This page provides general answers to some of the most frequently asked questions:

• Why isn't ultimate in the olympics?
• I have invented a new flying disc sport, can you help sponsor/promote it?
• I'm visiting a certain country/city, can you give me a contact for there?

Click on the question to get the answer.

Why isn't ultimate in the olympics?

The simple answer is: we are not big enough.

The IOC has recently established some guidelines for sports entering the olympics. There is a list of sport evaluation criteria (PDF), and a report on existing olympic sports and potential new sports (PDF) prepared for inclusion in the 2012 games.

Some of the minimum milestones we should aim for before being even considered include:

• 110 member nations
• 50% of member nations organising National Championships
• 50% of member nations participating in qualifying events for World Games/continental championships
• World Championships broadcast in 10 countries (and TV rights paid for in at least 1 country)
• Spectator sales at World Championships in the 10,000s
• 100 media accreditation requests at World Championships
• 100 press articles at World Championships
• 5 major sponsors

Getting into the olympics also involves a lot of politics and money. We are relatively poor as an international sport, and we are new at the sports politics game. Both those things will improve over time.

As well, once we got to the stage of being big enough, we would need to ask ourselves whether being part of the olympics is the right thing for our sport. It would inevitably involve compromises.

At the moment, we are part of the World Games. It is the multisport event for non-olympic sports, and a major stepping stone to the olympics. That does not commit us to a path to the olympics, but allows us to trial being part of an international multisport event. We are learning many lessons.

I have invented a new flying disc sport, can you help sponsor/promote it?

No. You would be suprised at how many ingenious sports are being invented out there involving flying discs. We don't have the resources to promote any of them, and we don't have any way of deciding which sports are worthy of our support (ie popular) unless you can provide us with an existing international support and competition.

The first step should be getting some sort of grass roots support for your new sport. That means getting a bunch of people playing in your local area who are enthusiastic about making it expand.

The next step would be to promote and expand beyond your local area to prove that it has general appeal that is not tied to the sport's inventors, and perhaps allowing you to set up some sort of competition.

Once a local or regional competition was set up, you could approach your National Flying Disc Association for support, or if none exists that is appropriate for your sport, set one up. Look to set up a National Championship. Try to spread the word into neighbouring countries and get some sort of international competition happening.

Once you have reached that stage, where your sport has a demonstrated appeal at a national level and has established national and/or international competitions, then we would definitely be interested in helping you to promote it further amongst our members with a view to setting it up as a sanctioned sport.

I'm visiting a certain country/city, can you give me a contact for there?

All of our current information on country contacts is available in our membership database.

If the country is listed, check out their website first (if they have one) to find out more about the local scene and to search for contacts for the specific city or region you are visiting. If you can't find more specific information, feel free to contact the specific representatives of the national association.

With countries that are just starting up, they would certainly love to hear from you before you visit. You might be able to bring used discs along with you, and help with coaching initiatives or organising events.

If the country is not listed, try the listings on the USA Ultimate site.

If you are visiting for a while, you may want to become the contact for that country and try to get an association up and running. In that case, please contact us and we will try to help as much as possible.

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