Official Rules of Ultimate · 2026-2027

20. Fouls

20.A.

It is the responsibility of all players to avoid initiating contact in every way possible.

20.B.

The rules encourage and anticipate highly competitive play. This type of play inherently involves potential danger and risk of injury, even when players act responsibly within the rules. The standard rules provide resolutions for such events. The Dangerous Play Rule addresses behavior that lies outside this inherent level of danger and risk — behavior that cannot be accepted as part of the game. As such, the rule addresses the behavior itself, not the effect of the behavior on the outcome of a play, unlike the standard rules. The Dangerous Play Rule is not intended to address every situation involving potential danger or risk of injury, nor is it designed to guarantee safety.

Dangerous Play. Actions demonstrating reckless disregard for the safety of or posing a significant risk of injury to fellow players, or other dangerously aggressive behavior are considered “dangerous play” and are treated as a foul. The proper call in such circumstances is “dangerous play” and play stops. This rule is not superseded by any other rule.

Official annotation

The following are non-exhaustive examples of behaviors that can result in a dangerous play and therefore should be avoided: significantly colliding with a mostly stationary opponent, jumping into a group of mostly stationary players, diving around or through a player that results in contact with a player’s back or legs, running without looking, when there is a likelihood of other players occupying the space into which the player is traveling, jumping or otherwise leaving the ground where it is likely that a significant collision will result, wild or uncontrolled throwing motions, initiating contact with a player’s head, initiating contact with an airborne player’s lower body that prevents them from landing on their feet, and jumping right in front of a sprinting player in a manner where contact is unavoidable

20.B.1.

Dangerous play is considered a foul regardless of whether or when the disc arrives or contact occurs.

20.B.1.a.

In general, a dangerous play call may only be made if at least some amount of contact between the involved players occurred, and the vast majority of dangerous play will involve contact between players. However, when the other criteria of Rule 20.B are met, contact is not required for a player to invoke this rule where there is near certainty that significant contact would have occurred had the player not taken last moment steps to avoid contact.

Official annotation

For example, a “no-contact dangerous play” may be called by a player who is standing under a floating disc and sees an opponent recklessly barreling towards them, and moves out of that space at the last moment, when it is clear that otherwise a collision will almost certainly occur. Even if no contact occurs (as a result of the successful dodge), the dangerous play call is permitted in this type of exceptional circumstance. In contrast, if a player is vying for unoccupied space, but decides not to enter the space for fear of possible or likely contact with an opponent also moving into that space, the player may not call a dangerous play if no contact actually occurred. In most cases, if an opponent moves through a space that a player never occupied and no contact occurs, a dangerous play cannot be called. However, even the slightest contact satisfies the contact requirement of this rule.

20.B.2.

Resolution. If uncontested, a call of “dangerous play” is resolved as an analogous foul (e.g., if the call occurred while or immediately after the calling player was making a play on a disc in the air, it is treated as a Receiving Foul (20.E.2)). A player called for dangerous play may contest the call if they believe the call was incorrect (17.B).

20.B.2.a.

Dangerous play between a thrower and marker is treated as a throwing foul that affected the play, regardless of whether or when the disc is released or when contact occurs, unless the calling player determines otherwise.

20.B.2.b.

Dangerous play occurring when or immediately after the disc is in the air is treated as a receiving foul if either player involved is attempting a play on the disc. However, the calling player may elect to treat the dangerous play as a general foul, if the player determines that the dangerous play was unrelated to the overall play that decided the outcome of the action.

Official annotation

For example, if a third player appears and grabs the disc far before it reaches the two involved players, or if the disc is thrown to the opposite side of the field, the involved players will not be attempting a play on the disc. However, if multiple players accumulate under a floating disc, one player’s dangerous play will be treated as a receiving foul, even if a third player happens to make a successful play on the disc, as the players under the disc were attempting a play on the disc. The calling player would have discretion to deem the third player’s play so independent and removed from the involved players that the calling player wishes to treat the dangerous play as a general foul rather than a receiving foul. In general, a calling player’s decision that a dangerous play was unrelated to the overall play will be based on the dangerous play being removed in significant distance or time from the overall play. By way of further example, even a dangerous play committed against a player unaware of the approaching disc will be treated as a receiving foul, where the offending player was attempting to make a play on the disc, giving the benefit of the doubt that the calling player could potentially have become aware of the approaching disc, had the offending player made a safe play. In this instance, the calling player could determine that it would not have been possible to become aware of the disc such that the outcome of the play would have changed and therefore elect to treat the dangerous play as a general foul.

20.B.2.c.

Dangerous play is treated as a general foul only if it occurs when the disc is not in the air, occurs far away from the disc, when the disc is obviously uncatchable, or when the calling player has elected such treatment under 20.B.2.b. In this situation, the calling player determines whether the play was affected, under the standard enunciated in this rule and its annotations.

20.C.

A foul can be called only by the fouled player and must be announced by loudly calling “foul” immediately after it occurs.

20.D.

Non-incidental contact resulting from adjacent opposing players vying for the same unoccupied position may be treated as offsetting fouls.

20.E.

Some fouls carry some extra provisions, as listed below.

20.E.1.

Throwing Fouls:

20.E.1.a.

A throwing foul may be called when there is non-incidental contact between the thrower and marker. The disc in a thrower’s possession is considered part of the thrower.

20.E.1.b.

In general, any contact between the thrower and the extended (i.e., away from the midline of the body) arms or legs of a marker is a foul on the marker, unless the contacted area of the marker is completely stationary and in a legal position.

20.E.1.c.

Any contact that occurs due to the marker setting up in an illegal position (16.H) is a foul on the marker. This contact must be part of an ultimate-related maneuver (throwing, pivoting, etc.) and must occur with a part of the marker that is illegally positioned. Once the marker has set up in a legal marking position, it is the responsibility of both players to respect this legal position. However, contact resulting from the thrower and the marker both vying for the same unoccupied position is a foul on the marker.

20.E.1.d.

Any contact initiated by a thrower with the body (excluding arms and legs extended from the midline of the body) of a legally positioned (16.H) marker is a foul on the thrower.

20.E.1.e.

Although it should be avoided whenever possible, incidental contact occurring during the follow-through (after the disc is released) is not a foul.

20.E.1.f.

If non-incidental contact occurs between the thrower and marker such that the thrower could call a throwing foul on the marker, the thrower may instead choose to call “contact.” Play does not stop and the marker resumes the stall count at “one.” Other than resetting the stall count, the “contact” call is resolved in the same manner as a marking violation (16). The marker may contest the “contact” call by calling “violation,” which is treated as the call of an offensive violation. If the thrower calls “contact” after beginning the throwing motion and subsequently releases the disc, it is treated as if the thrower called “foul.”

20.E.1.g.

Any references above to a marker also apply to any defensive player within ten feet of the thrower’s pivot.

20.E.1.h.

Before a thrower has established a pivot, application of throwing foul protections are limited to contact during the throwing motion and related windups. Instead, the general foul rules and responsibility to avoid contact will apply, and the player initiating non-incidental contact will generally have committed the foul, with the exception of blocking fouls (20.E.3).

20.E.2.

Receiving Fouls:

20.E.2.a.

If a player contacts an opponent while the disc is in the air and thereby interferes with that opponent’s attempt to make a play on the disc, that player has committed a receiving foul. Some amount of incidental contact before, during, or immediately after the attempt often is unavoidable and is not a foul.

20.E.2.b.

If 17.C.3.b.1 or 17.C.4.a.1 of the Continuation Rule applies: if the call is uncontested, the fouled player gains possession at the spot on the playing field closest to the spot of the infraction. If the foul is contested, the disc reverts to the thrower.

20.E.2.c.

The Principle of Verticality: All players have the right to enter the air space immediately above their torso to make a play on a thrown disc. If non-incidental contact occurs in the airspace immediately above a player before the outcome of the play is determined (e.g., before possession is gained or an incomplete pass is effected), it is a foul on the player entering the vertical space of the other player.

20.E.2.d.

Force-out Foul: If an airborne player catches the disc and is contacted by an opposing player before landing, and that contact causes the player to land out-of-bounds instead of in-bounds, or out of the end zone instead of in the end zone, it is a foul on the opposing player and the fouled player retains possession at the spot of the foul. If an uncontested force-out foul results in an in-bounds player landing outside the end zone being attacked when they would have landed in the end zone without the foul, a goal is awarded.

20.E.3.

Blocking Fouls:

20.E.3.a.

When the disc is in the air a player may not move in a manner solely to prevent an opponent from taking an unoccupied path to the disc and any resulting non-incidental contact is a foul on the blocking player which is treated like a receiving foul (20.E.2).

20.E.3.b.

A player may not take a position that is unavoidable by a moving opponent when time, distance, and line of sight are considered. Non-incidental contact resulting from taking such a position is a foul on the blocking player.

20.E.4.

Strip: If a foul causes a player to lose possession of the disc, it is a strip. A strip is a subset of fouls and is treated the same way.