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 generally made of injection-molded plastic and roughly in diameter with a pronounced lip. It is used recreationally and competitively for ...

(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; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

(IOC), a member of the

Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations The Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations (ARISF) is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation constituted through and recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The ARISF's members are international spor ...

(ARISF), GAISF, 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 ...

(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) was the umbrella organisation for all (Olympic and non-Olympic) international sports federations as well as organisers of multi-sports games and sport-related international associatio ...

(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

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 Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.73 million p ...

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One China principle stipulated by the ...

(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) # , 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 Giochi e Sport Tradizionali (FIGeST) # , 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 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. 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 Ultimate or Ultimates may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums *Ultimate (Bryan Adams album), ''Ultimate'' (Bryan Adams album) *Ultimate (Jolin Tsai album), ''Ultimate'' (Jolin Tsai album) *Ultimate (Pet Shop Boys album), ''Ult ...

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

and it is now one of 42 sports that are members of the

. 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.

Disciplines

Disciplines: #Ultimate #Disc Golf #Freestyle #Guts #Overall #Beach Ultimate Disc sports represented include:

(outdoor, indoor, beach), disc golf, field events (distance, accuracy, self caught flight, discathon), guts frisbee, double disc court, and freestyle.

Presidents

Event results

Regional events

WFDF World Ultimate Club Championship

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, U.S., 23–31 July 2022

, U.S., 14–21 July 2018

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, Canada, 29 July - 4 August 2018

Lecco Lecco (, , ; ) is a city of approximately 47,000 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''). The Bergamasqu ...

, Italy, 2–9 August 2014

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, Czech Republic, 3–10 July 2010

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Australia, 11–18 November 2006

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

, 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 cit ...

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

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

US, 24–31 July 1993

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Canada, 22–28 July 1991

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

Germany, 26–30 July 1989

International World Games Ultimate Championship

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

WFDF 2009 World Overall Flying Disc championships

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

, 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)

Gold Coast, Australia, 31 August – 7 September 2024

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, 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 '' kofun'', keyhole-shaped burial mounds dating from the fifth century. The ''kofun ...

, Japan, 7–14 July 2012

, Canada, 2–9 August 2008

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

, Finland, 1–7 August 2004

Heilbronn Heilbronn () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, surrounded by Heilbronn (district), Heilbronn District. From the late Middle Ages on, it developed into an important trading centre. At the begi ...

, Germany, 12–20 August 2000 Blaine, Minnesota, US, 15–22 August 1998

Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, 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 o ...

, Sweden, 10–17 August 1996

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

, United Kingdom, 21–28 August 1994

Utsunomiya is the capital and largest city of Tochigi Prefecture in the northern Kantō region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 513,584, 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 ; ) 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 of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

, Norway, 8–14 July 1990

Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...

, Belgium, 29 August – 3 September 1988

, United Kingdom, 25–31 August 1986

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

, Switzerland, 2–9 September 1984

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, Sweden, 29 August – 3 September 1983

Sources

WFDF Rankings PageWFDF Disc Ultimate World RankingsWUCC 2010

References

External links

Official websiteSportAccordInternational World Games AssociationUSA UltimateProfessional Disc Golf AssociationFreestyle Players AssociationEuropean Flying Disc FederationUltimate Canada
* European Ultimate Federation {{International Sports 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 generally made of injection-molded plastic and roughly in diameter with a pronounced lip. It is used recreationally and competitively for ...

Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations