The World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF) is the international governing body for

flying disc A frisbee (pronounced ), also called a flying disc or simply a disc, is a gliding toy or sporting item that is generally made of injection-molded plastic and roughly in diameter with a pronounced lip. It is used recreationally and competitiv ...

(Frisbee) 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 100 countries. WFDF is an international federation recognized by the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

(IOC), a member of the Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations (ARISF),

GAISF Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) is the umbrella organisation for all (Olympic and non-Olympic) international sports federations as well as organisers of multi-sports games and sport-related international association ...

, and the

International World Games Association The International World Games Association, abbreviated as IWGA, is an international association, recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), that organises every four years, beginning in 1981, the multi-sport event called The World Ga ...

(IWGA), and it is a registered not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation in the state of Colorado, U.S.

Membership

WFDF has member associations in 118 countries (90+28) (in March 2022), from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, The Caribbean and South America (regular members and provisional members). WFDF is a not-for-profit corporation, incorporated in Colorado, US, and it was formed in 1985. WFDF is a member of

Global Association of International Sports Federations Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) is the umbrella organisation for all (Olympic and non-Olympic) international sports federations as well as organisers of multi-sports games and sport-related international association ...

(formerly known as SportAccord), The

(IWGA), and the International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE). In May 2013, under the leadership of WFDF President Robert L. "Nob" Rauch, WFDF was granted provisional recognition by the

and gained full IOC recognition on 2 August 2015. It is now one of 42 sports that are members of the Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations.

Members by regions

118 members (90 regular members and 28 provisional members):

Asia Oceania Flying Disc Federation (AOFDF)

Asia Oceania Flying Disc Federation (AOFDF) - (governing body of Asian and Oceanic Flying Disc) (one of the continental association of the World Flying Disc Federation). *AFDF: 2011-2019 - Asian Flying Disc Federation *AOFDF: 2019-now - Asia Oceania Flying Disc Federation On 3 December 2011, was founded in Kaohsiung, Chinese Taipei (2011 WFDF Asia Oceanic Ultimate Championship (AOUC)). Foundation meeting: Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, India, Japan, and Singapore. Events: *2011: Asia Oceanic Ultimate Championships, Kaohsiung, Chinese Taipei *2013: Asia Oceanic Ultimate Club Championships, Singapore *2015: Asia Oceanic Ultimate Championships, Hong Kong, China *2017: Asia Oceanic Ultimate and Guts Club Championships, Manila, Philippines *2019: Asia Oceanic Beach Ultimate Championships, Shirahama, Japan *2019: Asia Oceanic Ultimate and Guts Championships, Shanghai, China *2019: AOFDF Juniors and Masters Ultimate Championships, Manila, Philippines Members (25+3): Asia: # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # Oceania: # # # Other: #

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

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

List

Federations

# Int. , Freestyle Players Association (FPA) # Int. , Guts Players Association (USGPA)

Nations

=Regular members

= # , Albania , Albania Flying Disc Federation (AFDF) # , Argentina , Asociación de Deportes del Disco Volador de la Republica Argentina (ADDVRA) # , Australia , Australian Flying Disc Association Inc. (AFDA) # , Austria , Österreichischer Frisbee-Sport Verband (ÖFSV) # , Azerbaijan , Azerbaijan Ultimate (AU) # , Barbados , Barbados Hat (BH) # , Belgium , Belgian Flying Disc Federation (BFDF) # , Bermuda , Bermuda Ultimate Frisbee Federation (BUFF) # , Botswana , Gaborone Ultimate Community (BWA) # , Brazil , Federacio Paulista de Disco (FPD) # , Canada , Ultimate Canada (UC) # , People's Republic of China , Chinese Flying Disc Administrative Committee (CFDAC) # , Côte d'Ivoire, Fédération Ivoirienne De Frisbee (FIDF) # , Democratic Republic of Congo , Federation Congolaise de Disque Volant (FCDV) # , Colombia , Federación Colombiana de Disco Volador (FECODV) # , Cuba , Cuba Ultimate Frisbee (CUF) # , Czech Republic , Czech Flying Disc Association (CALD) # , Denmark , Dansk Frisbee Sport Union (DFSU) # , Dominican Republic , Asociacion Dominicana de Jugadores de Ultimate (ADJU) # , Ecuador , Ecuador Ultimate (EU) # , Egypt , Egyptian Ultimate Players Association (EUPA) # , El Salvador , San Salvador Ultimate Frisbee (SSUF) # , Spain , Federación Española de Disco Volador (FEDV) # , Estonia , Estonian Flying Disc Federation (EFDF) # , Ethiopia , Ethiopia Ultimate (ETH) # , Fiji , Frisbee Fiji (FF) # , Finland , Finnish Flying Disc Association (FFDA) # , France , Federation Française de Flying Disc (FFFD) # , Great Britain , UK Ultimate Ltd (UKU) / , United Kingdom , British Disc Golf Association (BDGA) # , Georgia , Georgian Flying Disc Federation (GFDF) # , Germany , Deutscher Frisbeesport-Verband e.V. (DFV) # , Greece , Greece Hellas Sport for All (HSA) # , Guatemala , Guatemala City Ultimate Frisbee (GCUF) # , Guam , Guam Ultimate for All Association (GUFA) # , Haiti , Haiti Flying Disc (FD) # , Hong Kong, China , Hong Kong Ultimate Players Association (HKUPA) # , Hungary , Hungarian Flying Disc Federation (HFDF) # , India , Ultimate Players Association of India (UPAI) # , Ireland , Irish Flying Disc Association (IFDA) # , Iceland , Frisbee Sport Federation of Iceland (ICELAND) # , Israel , The Israeli Flying Discs Association (IFDA) # , Italy , Federazione Italiana Flying Disc (FIFD) # , Jamaica , Jamaica Ultimate (JU) # , Japan , Japan Flying Disc Association (JFDA) # , Republic of Korea , Korea Ultimate Players Association (KUPA) # , Saudi Arabia , Ultimate Frisbee Saudi Arabia Amateurmannschaft (UFSA) # , Kuwait , Kuwait Raptors (KR) # , Latvia , Latvian Flying Disc Federation (LFDF) # , Lithuania , Lithuania Flying Disc Federation (LFDF) # , Luxembourg , Luxembourg Flying Disc Federation (LU) # , Macau, China , Macau Ultimate (MU) # , Madagascar , Malagasy Ultimate Disc League (MUDL) # , Morocco , The Moroccan Flying Disc Association (UFMT) # , Malaysia , Malaysian Flying Disc Association (MYFDA) # , Mexico , Ultimate México (MEX) # , Mali , Association Malienne de Flying Disc (AMFD) # , Malta , Malta Sport for All (MSF) # , Mauritius , Mauritius Ultimate Frisbee (UFM) # , Mozambique , Mozambique Ultimate (MOZ) # , Netherlands , Dutch Flying Disc Federation (NFB) # , Nigeria , Abuja Ultimate Frisbee Group (NIG) # , Norway , Norges Amerikanske Idretters Forbund # , New Zealand , New Zealand Ultimate Inc. (NZU) # , Panama , Asociacion de Ultimate – Frisbee de Panamá (PU) # , Peru , Peru Ultimate (PU) # , Philippines , Philippine Ultimate Association (PUA) # , Palestine , Palestine Flying Disc Association (PFDA) # , Poland , Polskie Stowarzyszenie Graczy Ultimate (PUPA) # , Portugal , Federação Portuguesa de Ultimate e Desportos de Disco (APUDD) # , Puerto Rico , Extreme Flydisk Ultimate Association (PR) # , South Africa , South African Flying Disc Association (SAFDA) # , Russian Federation , Russian Flying Disc Federation (RFDF) # , Senegal , Senegal Ultimate (SEN) # , Singapore , Singapore Ultimate Players Association (UPAS) # , Slovenia , Frizbi zveza Slovenije (FZS) # , Serbia , Serbian Ultimate Frisbee (RS) # , Switzerland , Swiss Disc Sports (SDS) / , Switzerland , Swiss Discgolf Association # , Slovakia , Slovak Association of Frisbee (SAF) # , Sweden , Swedish Frisbeesport Federation (SFF) # , Thailand , Flying Disc Association of Thailand (FDAT) # , Turkmenistan , Turkmenistan Flying Disc Federation (TFDF) # , Chinese Taipei , Chinese Taipei Flying Disc Association (CTFDA) # , Turkey , Turkish Flying Disc Association (TFDA) # , United Arab Emirates , United Arabian Ultimate (UAU) # , Uganda , Uganda Ultimate Frisbee Association (UUFA) # , Ukraine , Ukrainian Flying Disk Federation(UFDF) # , United States of America , USA Ultimate (USAU) # , Venezuela , Venezuelan Ultimate Association (AVU) # , Vietnam , Hanoi Ultimate Club (HUC) # , Zimbabwe , HIS group (HIS)

=Provisional members

= # , Afghanistan , Afghanistan Frisbee Federation (AFF) # , Armenia , Armenian National Frisbee Federation (ANFF) # , Belarus , Belarusian Flying Disc Federation (BFDF) # , Bolivia , Bolivian Flying Disc Association (BFDA) # , Bahrain , Bahrain Flying Disc Association (BFDA) # , Brunei , Brunei Flying Disc Association (BFDA) # , Bulgaria , Bulgarian Flying Disc Informal Federation (BFDA) # , Cambodia , Cambodia Flying Disc Association (CFDA) # , Cayman Islands , Cayman Islands Ultimate Association (CIUA) # , Chile , Asociación Chilena de Ultimate (AChU) # , Costa Rica , Costa Rican Ultimate Frisbee Team (Tocadiscos) # , Croatia , Croatian Flying Disc Federation (CFDF) # , Indonesia , Indonesian Ultimate Discindo (IFDA) # , Islamic Republic of Iran , Iranian Flying Disc Association (IRFDA) # , Jordan , Jordan Flying Disc Federation (JFDF) # , Kazakhstan , Kazakhstan Flying Disc Association (FFDRK) # , Kenya , Kenya Flying Disc Association (KFDA) # , Lebanon , Lebanon Flying Disc Association (LBN) # , Malawi , Malawi Flying Disc Federation (MFDF) # , Republic of Moldova , Moldovan Flying Disc Federation (MFDF) # , Nicaragua , Federación de Disco Volador de Nicaragua (FEDIVONIC) # , Qatar , Ultimate Players Association of Qatar (UPAQ) # , Romania , Romania Flying Disc Association (RFDA) # , Rwanda , Rwanda Ultimate Frisbee Association (RUFA) # , Sri Lanka , Sri Lankan Flying Disc Association (SLFDA) # , Tanzania , Tanzanian Flying Disc Association (TFDA) # , Uruguay , Ultimate Frisbee Uruguay (UU) # , Virgin Islands , US Virgin Islands Ultimate (USVIU)

History

Flying disc sport rose with the invention of plastic and celebrated it
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 Wham-O Inc. is an American toy company based in Carson, California, United States. It is known for creating and marketing many popular toys for nearly 70 years, including the Hula hoop, Frisbee, Slip 'N Slide, Super Ball, Trac-Ball, Silly S ...

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 Kenneth Ray Westerfield is a pioneering Frisbee disc player. He is a Hall of Fame inductee in freestyle, ultimate and disc golf, and was also voted top men's player in the 1970-75 Decade Awards. Westerfield produced numerous tournaments, wor ...

and Jim Kenner touring Canada in 1972. 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. 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 The gastrointestinal tract (GI tract, digestive tract, alimentary canal) is the tract or passageway of the digestive system that leads from the mouth to the anus. The GI tract contains all the major organs of the digestive system, in humans and ...

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

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 The World Games are an international multi-sport event comprising sports and sporting disciplines that are not contested in the Olympic Games. They are usually held every four years, one year after a Summer Olympic Games, over the course of 11 d ...

championships in Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. in July 2022 that had been postponed from 2021.

Disciplines

Disciplines: #Ultimate #Disc Golf #Freestyle #Guts #Overall #Beach Ultimate Disc sports represented include: Ultimate (outdoor, indoor, beach), disc golf, field events (distance, accuracy, self caught flight, discathon), guts frisbee,

double disc court Flying disc sports are sports or games played with discs, often called by the trademarked name Frisbees. Ultimate and disc golf are sports with substantial international followings. History The flying disc was developed in 1948 by Walter M ...

, and freestyle.

Presidents

Event results

Regional events

WFDF World Ultimate Club Championship

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...

, U.S., 23–31 July 2022

, U.S., 14–21 July 2018

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, Canada, 29 July - 4 August 2018

Lecco Lecco (, , ; lmo, label= Lecchese, Lècch ) is a city of 48,131 inhabitants in Lombardy, northern Italy, north of Milan. It lies at the end of the south-eastern branch of Lake Como (the branch is named ''Branch of Lecco'' / ''Ramo di Lecco''). ...

, Italy, 2–9 August 2014

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

, Czech Republic, 3–10 July 2010

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

, Australia, 11–18 November 2006

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

, US, 4–10 August 2002 St. Andrews, Scotland, 12–20 August 1999

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

Canada, 27 July – 2 August 1997 Millfield United Kingdom, 22–29 July 1995

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

US, 24–31 July 1993

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Canada, 22–28 July 1991

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

Germany, 26–30 July 1989

International World Games Ultimate Championship

Kaohsiung Taiwan, 19–21 July 2009 #US #Japan #Australia

WFDF 2009 World Overall Flying Disc championships

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

, 9–12 July 2009 Open Division #Conrad Damon – US #Jack Cooksey – US #Harvey Brandt – US Women's Division #Mary Lowry – US #Stina Persson – SWE #Marygrace Sorrentino – US

WFDF World Ultimate and Guts Championship (WUGC)

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, Great Britain, 18–25 June 2016

Sakai is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It has been one of the largest and most important seaports of Japan since the medieval era. Sakai is known for its keyhole-shaped burial mounds, or kofun, which date from the fifth century and inclu ...

, Japan, 7–14 July 2012

, Canada, 2–9 August 2008

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

, Finland, 1–7 August 2004 Heilbronn, Germany, 12–20 August 2000

Blaine, Minnesota Blaine is a suburban city in Anoka and Ramsey counties in the State of Minnesota, United States. Once a rural town, Blaine's population has increased significantly in the last 60 years. For several years, Blaine led the Twin Cities metro region ...

, US, 15–22 August 1998

Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland. The city is the seat of Jönköping Municipa ...

, Sweden, 10–17 August 1996

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

, United Kingdom, 21–28 August 1994

Utsunomiya is the prefectural capital city of Tochigi Prefecture in the northern Kantō region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 519,223, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Utsunomiya is famous for its '' gyoza' ...

, Japan, 17–23 August 1992

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

, Norway, 8–14 July 1990 Leuven, Belgium, 29 August – 3 September 1988

, United Kingdom, 25–31 August 1986 Lucerne, Switzerland, 2–9 September 1984 Gothenburg, Sweden, 29 August – 3 September 1983

Sources

WFDF Rankings PageWFDF Disc Ultimate World RankingsWUCC 2010

References

External links

World Flying Disc FederationSportAccordInternational World Games AssociationUSA UltimateProfessional Disc Golf AssociationFreestyle Players AssociationEuropean Flying Disc FederationUltimate Canada
* European Ultimate Federation {{International Sports Federations IOC-recognised international federations Ultimate (sport) governing bodies Sports governing bodies in the United States

Flying Disc A frisbee (pronounced ), also called a flying disc or simply a disc, is a gliding toy or sporting item that is generally made of injection-molded plastic and roughly in diameter with a pronounced lip. It is used recreationally and competitiv ...