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World Flying Disc Federation

International governing body of flying disc sports From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

World Flying Disc Federation
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The World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) is the international governing body for flying disc sports, with responsibility for sanctioning world championship events, establishing uniform rules, setting of standards for and recording of world records. WFDF is a federation of member associations which represent flying disc sports and their athletes in 114 countries. The organization holds recognition from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Paralympic Committee, and is a member of the Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations (ARISF), GAISF, and the International World Games Association (IWGA). WFDF operates as a registered not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation in the state of Colorado, U.S.[1]

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Membership

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WFDF was formed in 1985 as a not-for-profit corporation and has member associations representing flying disc sports in countries across Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, the Caribbean, and South America. The federation has distinguishes three categories of membership: national members, provisional members and associate members.

National members are defined as: flying disc associations that is the governing body for Disc Games solely within a single national boundary.[2]

To be approved as a national member by WFDF, an organization must:

  1. Be organized with bylaws acceptable to WFDF;
  2. Operate under the rules, policies, and programs which are in compliance with all agreements to which WFDF is a party;
  3. Be open to participation without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, politics, sex, or sexual orientation;
  4. Represent a minimum of 50 individual disc players who are members of its organization (“Constituents”) in one or more Disc Sports;
  5. Hold an annual meeting and/or have another representative mechanism for its Constituents to elect a board of directors;
  6. Fairly represent the interests of Constituents for all Disc Games within the country; and
  7. Pay dues to WFDF as established by the Congress, and report annually regarding the number of its Constituents per the requirements as established by the Board of Directors (the “Census”).[2]

Provisional members are those flying disc associations that function as the governing body for all all disc games within a national boundary but are yet to meet the criteria outlined by WFDF to be a National Member.[2]

Associate members are those with ties to disc sports but are not national governing bodies. They may include not-for-profit organizations that provide services to disc sports or which represent particular disc sports organizations.[2]

Members by regions

As of 12 July, 2025

There are currently 122 members (96 national members and 26 provisional members) and two associate members, each belonging to their respective continental associations.[3]

Continental associations are the central organizing bodies recognized by WFDF for disc sport events and promotion within a region continental region. These associations are responsible for coordinating matters of common interest of the members of their continent with WFDF.[4]

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African Flying Disc Federation (AAFDF)

There are 15 WFDF regular members and 4 provisional members in Africa:[5]

Regular members:

Provisional members:

  • Kenya Kenya - Kenya Flying Disc Association
  • Malawi Malawi - Malawi Flying Disc Federation
  • Rwanda Rwanda - Rwanda Ultimate Frisbee Association
  • Tanzania Tanzania - Tanzanian Flying Disc Association

Asia Oceania Flying Disc Federation (AOFDF)

There are 26 WFDF national members and 9 provisional members in Asia and Oceania:[6]

National members:

  • Australia Australia - Australian Flying Disc Association
  • China China - Chinese Flying Disc Administrative Committee
  • Guam Guam - Guam Ultimate For All
  • Hong Kong Hong Kong - Flying Disc Federation of Hong Kong, China
  • India India - Flying Disc Sports Federation India
  • Indonesia Indonesia - Indonesian Ultimate Players Association
  • Iran Iran - Flying Disc Association of the Islamic Republic of Iran
  • Japan Japan - Japan Flying Disc Association
  • South Korea South Korea - Korea Ultimate Players Association
  • Kuwait Kuwait - Kuwait Flying Disc Federation
  • Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan - Frisbee Federation of the Kyrgyz Republic
  • Malaysia Malaysia - Malaysia Flying Disc Association
  • Maldives Maldives - Maldives Flying Disc Federation

Provisional members:

  • Afghanistan Afghanistan - Afghanistan Frisbee Federation
  • Bahrain Bahrain - Bahrain Flying Disc Association
  • Brunei Brunei - Brunei Flying Disc Association
  • Cambodia Cambodia - Cambodia Flying Disc Association
  • Jordan Jordan - Jordan Flying Disc Federation
  • Kazakhstan Kazakhstan - Kazakhstan Flying Disc Federation
  • Lebanon Lebanon - Lebanese Flying Disc Association
  • Qatar Qatar - Qatar Ultimate Frisbee
  • Sri Lanka Sri Lanka - Sri Lankan Flying Disc Association

European Flying Disc Federation (EFDF) and European Ultimate Federation (EUF)

There are 40 WFDF national members, 4 provisional members, and 2 suspended members in Europe:[7]

National members:

  • Albania Albania - Albania Flying Disc Federation
  • Austria Austria - Österreichischer Frisbee-Sport Verband
  • Azerbaijan Azerbaijan - Ultimate Azerbaijan Players Union
  • Belgium Belgium - Belgian Flying Disc Federation
  • Czech Republic Czech Republic - Czech Association for Flying Disc
  • Denmark Denmark - Dansk Frisbee Sport Union
  • Estonia Estonia - Estonian Flying Disc Federation
  • Finland Finland - Finnish Flying Disc Association
  • France France - Fédération Flying Disc France
  • Georgia (country) Georgia (country) - Georgian Flying Disc Federation
  • Germany Germany - Deutscher Frisbeesport-Verband
  • United Kingdom Great Britain - UK Ultimate
  • Greece Greece - Greece Hellas Sport for All
  • Hungary Hungary - Hungarian Flying Disc Federation
  • Iceland Iceland - Frisbee Sport Federation of Iceland
  • Republic of Ireland Ireland - Irish Flying Disc Association
  • Israel Israel - Israeli Flying Discs Association
  • Italy Italy - Federazione Italiana Giochi e Sport Tradizionali
  • Latvia Latvia - Latvian Flying Disc Federation
  • Lithuania Lithuania - Lithuanian Flying Disc Federation
  • Luxembourg Luxembourg - Luxembourg Flying Disc Federation
  • Malta Malta - Malta Sport for All
  • Netherlands Netherlands - Nederlandse Frisbee Bond
  • Norway Norway - Norwegian Frisbee Federation
  • Poland Poland - Polskie Stowarzyszenie Graczy Ultimate
  • Portugal Portugal - Associação Portuguesa de Ultimate e Desportos de Disco
  • Serbia Serbia - Serbian Ultimate Frisbee
  • Slovakia Slovakia - Slovak Association of Frisbee
  • Slovenia Slovenia - Frizbi zveza Slovenije
  • Spain Spain - Federación Española de Disco Volador
  • Sweden Sweden - Swedish Flying Disc Federation
  • Switzerland Switzerland - Swiss Disc Sports
  • Turkey Turkey - Turkish Flying Disc Association
  • Ukraine Ukraine - Ukrainian Flying Disk Federation

Provisional members:

  • Armenia Armenia - Armenian National Frisbee Federation
  • Bulgaria Bulgaria - Bulgarian Flying Disc Federation
  • Croatia Croatia - Croatian Flying Disc Federation
  • Moldova Moldova - Moldovan Flying Disc Federation
  • Romania Romania - Romanian Flying Disc Association

Suspended members:

  • Belarus Belarus - Belarusian Flying Disc Federation
  • Russia Russia - Russian Flying Disc Federation

Pan American Flying Disc Federation (PAFDF)

There are 17 WFDF national members and 7 provisional members in the Americas:[8]

National members:

Provisional members:

  • Bolivia Bolivia - Bolivian Flying Disc Association
  • Cayman Islands Cayman Islands - Cayman Islands Ultimate Association
  • Chile Chile - Asociación Chilena de Ultimate
  • Costa Rica Costa Rica - Costa Rican Ultimate Frisbee Team
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History

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Flying disc sport rose with the invention of plastic and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2007. The early years of international flying disc play were dominated by the influence of the International Frisbee Association (IFA) which was founded by Ed Headrick in 1967 as the promotional arm of the Wham-O Manufacturing Company. Many of the international affiliates began as Wham-O distributorships that sponsored tours of well-known Frisbee athletes. Several groups of individual disc event stars like Ken Westerfield and Jim Kenner touring Canada in 1972.[9][10] The brothers Jens and Erwin Velasquez and the team of Peter Bloeme and Dan "Stork" Roddick made several tours of Scandinavia and the rest of Europe in the mid-1970s; Jo Cahow and Stork went to Australia and Japan in 1976 and Victor Malafronte and Monica Lou toured Japan around the same time. Stork—starting as head of the sports marketing arm of the U.S.-based Wham-O in 1975—played a crucial role in encouraging the establishment of national flying disc associations (FDAs) in Sweden, Japan, Australia, and in many of the countries of Western Europe. The FDAs began with freestyle and accuracy competitions but as Ultimate and disc golf caught on, the associations began to broaden their focus.[11]

The concept of an independent world organization for the development and coordination of all of the disc disciplines began in 1980 at an Atlanta, Georgia, meeting of 40 international disc organizers. A loose federation led by Jim Powers was formed from that meeting but never took off. The following year, the relatively well-established national flying disc associations of Europe formed the European Flying Disc Federation (EFDF). In 1983 Wham-O was sold to Kransco and the IFA was disbanded. Spurred on by the demise of the IFA, Stork called a meeting at the US Open Overall Championships in La Mirada, California. A plan was presented by Charlie Mead of England and a formal decision was made to establish a worldwide disc association in Örebro, Sweden during the 1984 European Overall Championships. This decision was confirmed later that year by other flying disc countries in Lucerne, Switzerland, during the World Ultimate and Guts Championships, and thus the World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) was born.

The first WFDF Congress was held in Helsingborg, Sweden in July 1985, where the first set of statutes was adopted and the first board was elected. The first president was Charlie Mead (England), the first secretary Johan Lindgren (Sweden) and the first treasurer Brendan Nolan (Ireland). Membership was composed of the national flying disc associations and US-oriented organizations such as the Ultimate Players Association, Freestyle Players Associations, and Guts Players Association. Committees were established to oversee international play and rules for each of the disc disciplines. Over the remainder of the 1980s, WFDF took on an increasing role in overseeing and promoting international disc tournaments with Stork as president and Lindgren as secretary-treasurer.

In 1992, Robert L. "Nob" Rauch was elected President of WFDF and Juha Jalovaara become chair of the Ultimate Committee. Over the next two years, WFDF was reorganized to better reflect the increasing growth of Ultimate and the diversity of WFDF's membership. The disc committee structure was simplified into a broad category of team sports (Ultimate and Guts) and individual events (golf and the overall disciplines). The role of the Rules Committee was expanded, headed by Stork, to ensure consistency and an annual rules book was printed. With a variety of representation, the categories of membership were further defined, with national associations able to join as regular, associate, or provisional (non-paying) members depending on level of participation and resources. WFDF's corporate standing was reorganized and incorporated in Colorado, obtaining US tax-exempt status. WFDF, with a fairly nominal budget, found help with the increasing use of e-mail that permitted reasonable communication and coordination. In 1994, the application to join the International World Games Association (IWGA)—championed by Fumio "Moro" Morooka of Japan—was prepared and eventually accepted by the IWGA leading to Ultimate's participation in the 2001 World Games in Akita, Japan, and in each of the subsequent competitions.

In May 2013, under the leadership WFDF President Robert L. "Nob" Rauch, WFDF was granted provisional recognition by the International Olympic Committee and it is now one of 42 sports that are members of the Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations.

Due to the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic, WFDF canceled all its world championship events in both 2020 and 2021. It is planning to recommence world championship events in Ultimate, Beach ultimate, Disc Golf, and Overall in 2022, and to participate in The World Games championships in Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. in July 2022 that had been postponed from 2021.

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Disciplines

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Team Sports

Ultimate

Ultimate is WFDF's largest and most widely played discipline, contested by mixed-gender, open, and women’s teams of seven players on a rectangular field. The sport includes several variants:

  • Outdoor Ultimate - The traditional 7-on-7 format played on grass fields
  • Indoor Ultimate - Modified rules for gymnasium play
  • Beach Ultimate - Played on sand with reduced team sizes and modified field dimensions

Ultimate governance has been part of WFDF since its founding in 1985. The discipline is featured in The World Games and is considered WFDF's flagship sport for potential Olympic inclusion.[citation needed]

Guts

Guts is a fast-paced team sport where opposing teams attempt to throw a disc past their opponents at high velocity. Players must catch or deflect throws to prevent scoring.[citation needed]

Individual Disciplines

Disc Golf

Disc golf involves throwing specialized discs toward elevated metal baskets in the fewest throws possible, similar to traditional golf. It is one of the fastest-growing flying disc sports and features in The World Games.[citation needed]

Freestyle

Freestyle is an artistic discipline where individuals or pairs perform choreographed routines involving creative catches, throws, and manipulations of the disc judged on technical skill, artistic impression, and difficulty.

Field Events

Field events comprise several individual accuracy and distance disciplines:

  • Distance - Maximum throwing distance competition
  • Accuracy - Throwing precision at designated targets
  • Self Caught Flight (SCF) - Combination of distance and catching ability
  • Discathon - Distance running event while throwing and catching a disc These events are contested in the Overall competition format.[citation needed]

Overall

The Overall competition combines multiple individual disciplines to crown the most complete flying disc athlete. Competitors participate in distance, accuracy, freestyle, and other events with rankings determined by cumulative performance.

Double Disc Court

Double Disc Court is a discipline where two teams simultaneously throw two discs at each other across parallel courts, attempting to cause the opposing team to drop or fail to throw a disc.

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International events

Presidents

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Events and Event results

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WFDF organizes and sanctions world championship events across multiple flying disc disciplines, serving as the premier international competitions for each sport. The federation's championship structure includes both national team and club team competitions, with events held on rotating cycles to accommodate the global flying disc community.

Ultimate Championships

WFDF conducts several categories of Ultimate world championships:

World Ultimate and Guts Championships (WUGC)

The World Ultimate and Guts Championships feature national teams competing in Ultimate and Guts disciplines. Held every four years, WUGC represents the highest level of international competition, with teams qualifying through continental championships. The event includes Open (Men's), Women's, Mixed, Masters, and Junior divisions for Ultimate, alongside Open and Women's Guts competitions.[citation needed]

Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S., 23–31 July 2022

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Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S., 14–21 July 2018

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Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, 29 July - 4 August 2018

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Lecco, Italy, 2–9 August 2014

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Prague, Czech Republic, 3–10 July 2010

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Perth, Australia, 11–18 November 2006

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Honolulu, US, 4–10 August 2002

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St. Andrews, Scotland, 12–20 August 1999

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Vancouver Canada, 27 July – 2 August 1997

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Millfield United Kingdom, 22–29 July 1995

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Madison, Wisconsin US, 24–31 July 1993

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Toronto Canada, 22–28 July 1991

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Cologne Germany, 26–30 July 1989

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International World Games Ultimate Championship

Kaohsiung Taiwan, 19–21 July 2009

1st place, gold medalist(s) United States

2nd place, silver medalist(s) Japan

3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Australia

WFDF 2009 World Overall Flying Disc championships

Jacksonville, Florida, 9–12 July 2009

Open Division

1st place, gold medalist(s) Conrad Damon – United States

2nd place, silver medalist(s) Jack Cooksey – United States

3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Harvey Brandt – United States

Women's Division

1st place, gold medalist(s) Mary Lowry – United States

2nd place, silver medalist(s) Stina Persson – SWE

3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Marygrace Sorrentino – United States

WFDF World Ultimate and Guts Championship (WUGC)

Gold Coast, Australia, 31 August – 7 September 2024 [12]

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London, Great Britain, 18–25 June 2016

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Sakai, Japan, 7–14 July 2012

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Vancouver, Canada, 2–9 August 2008

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Turku, Finland, 1–7 August 2004

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Heilbronn, Germany, 12–20 August 2000

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Blaine, Minnesota, US, 15–22 August 1998

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Jönköping, Sweden, 10–17 August 1996

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Colchester, United Kingdom, 21–28 August 1994

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Utsunomiya, Japan, 17–23 August 1992

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Oslo, Norway, 8–14 July 1990

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Leuven, Belgium, 29 August – 3 September 1988

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Colchester, United Kingdom, 25–31 August 1986

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Lucerne, Switzerland, 2–9 September 1984

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Gothenburg, Sweden, 29 August – 3 September 1983

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