Throwing: There are purportedly 17 different ways to throw a disc. However, these are mostly variations on the three basics – the backhand, the forehand and overhead. (See Multimedia.) A good handler can pass on the forehand or backhand up to 60 or 70 metres and hit a target (in favourable weather!), but it is often the very short passes that are the most difficult. It is essential to produce as much spin on the disc at the point of release as possible.

Catching: Catching a disc looks easy. Afterall, everyone can catch a footy, or a netball, or a cricket ball. But a disc is a thin sheet of plastic, spinning away from you, with gusty winds, and the defence is bearing down on it . . .  Not as simple as it sounds.

Running: On both offence and defence, an Ultimate player must be willing to run hard. The style of running is most similar to Interval training; frequent bursts of sprints around 20-50m, quick recovery, and go again. There is also a lot of changing direction to lose your opponent, so agility is crucial. Can you out accelerate your opponent, or out endurance them, or out turn them?

Teamwork: Ultimate is fascinating in that the player in possession of the disc is the least useful person on the field. They are not allowed to run with the disc, and so alone can do absolutely nothing. It is therefore entirely up to the six other team-mates to work together to create options for good passes. Often the offence will identify only one or two key Receiver for any given play, and everyone else must work hard to provide them with the necessary time and space to get free. Knowing what the team as a whole needs to achieve, and what you need to do to assist this is an essential skill in Ultimate.