Assessment Finding: "Credibility/Legitimacy"

Based on input from over 7,000 responses

Ultimate players believe the general public does not think Ultimate is a real sport when they know that it is one. Even with the progress made in the past few years, this dissonance continues to frustrate many in the Ultimate community.

When asked if growing the sport of Ultimate is important, 76.6% of respondents answered “Yes, we should be continually trying to increase participation and opportunities for competition and play.

When asked if increased media exposure for Ultimate was important, 70.9% of respondents answered “yes.” The top reason for those that answered yes was “Increases awareness of sport to general public” (96.3%)

When asked to gauge how the public perceives Ultimate, members indicated 38% would describe ultimate as “fun game for alternative types”, 25% would ask, "Oh, you throw Frisbees to dogs"/"You mean the game with the baskets?”, 16% believe it’s “not a real sport, never will be, and 13% would say “it is a growing grass roots sport”.

When asked to gauge how Ultimate players themselves perceive the game, 46% said “a peer with other second tier sports like lacrosse and rugby, 30% said “it’s so universal it should be in the Olympics”, and 20% said “it is a growing grass roots sport”.

When members were asked if they were happy with the public’s perception of Ultimate, 68% said “No”, 25% said “I don’t care”, and 7% said, “Yes”.

Some Quotes:

“It is amazing how little respect we still get as a sport. I wish I didn’t care but I do.” (Member)

“It sucks that a greater portion of the people that I meet don’t know what Ultimate is and that it is played at different levels. The UPA sucks for not taking it on.” (Member)