Ultimate in Japan

Ultimate, often called ultimate frisbee, is a non-contact team field sport played with a flying disc. The sport was invented by Jared Kass and Joel Silver, who was a student at Columbia High School, New Jersey, USA. He organized the first Ultimate games between the student council and the student newspaper in 1967-8.

History

The frisbee was introduced to Japan in 1969. Japan Flying Disk Athletic (JFA) was established in 1975 in Nagoya, and started meeting in 1976. In 1984, JFA changed its name to JFDA and affiliated with the World Flying Disk Federation (WFDF), which took part in the World Ultimate Meet. Today, over 3,000 play Ultimate in Japan.

In 1992, the 6th world Ultimate championship tournament was held in Utsunomiya and the final match was broadcast by NHK-BS in real time.

In 1995, GAIS accepted WFDF as an official member. In addition, Ultimate was adopted by a sports class that the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and other groups held. NHK broadcast Ultimate in the program, "television-sports class". As a result, many people recognized Ultimate.

More than 150 educational facilities adopted Ultimate as physical education. In 1996, at the Japan Flying Disk Athletic meet, players were able to get the cup of the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. JFDA dispatched players to the world meet and also held meets in cooperation with the US and Taiwan. In August 2001, the "World games", which were held in Akita Prefecture, adopted Ultimate as the official event. In this meet, the Japanese team clinched 3rd place.

In 2012, the world Ultimate meet was held in Sakai city for the first time in 20 years and 1,392 players took part. In 2013, IOC dubbed WFDF as a semi-official association and took a step toward becoming an Olympic event. Japanese player Tanaka, who is a member of Japanese Ultimate team Buzz Bullets, went to Taiwan and taught Ultimate to many athletes. As of 2014 July 20, the number of member nations and areas of WDFD is 57. But this is insufficient to become an Olympic event.

National Championships

Although in 2013, four official national Ultimate championships took place, in 2014, two new ones were added.

• Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Cup All Japan Ultimate Championships. This is the largest national championship in Japan. The winner of this championship is the best of Japan. Divisions: open and women. The 2014 event is the 39th. In 2013, 89 teams and 1,672 athletes participated.
• All Japan University Student Ultimate Championship Series. This determines the best university student teams in Japan. Divisions: open and women. 2014 is the 25th event. In 2013, 111 teams and 1969 students joined it.
• All Japan University Freshmen’s Ultimate Championship Series. Only freshmen and sophomores can join this championship. Divisions: open and women. The 2014 event is the 24th. In 2013, 98 teams, 1214 students joined it.
• All Japan Mix & Masters Ultimate Champions Series. In Japan, only this championship has the mix division and the division for masters. Divisions: mixed, open, women's masters. The 2014 event is the 2nd. In 2013, 13 teams and 290 people participated.
• Ultimate Club Team Champions League. The 2014 event is the first. Teams are divided into leagues according to levels. Divisions: open and women.

Japanese National Team

The Japanese National team has a long history, placing 1st at the world championships many times. As of January 18, 2015 the World Flying Disc Association ranked the Japanese team 5th in Men's Ultimate, 1st in Women's and 3rd in Mixed.