About the Sport

Starting with simple moves like a behind-the-back catch, Freestyle has evolved into a crowd-pleasing spectacle with moves such as air brushes, nail delays, and triple-spinning catches. Routines are three to five minutes long, evaluated by judges across difficulty (10 points), artistic impression (10 points) and execution (10 points). A perfect score is 30.

Freestyle is also about what happens in a city park between novices — catching a disc under the leg, tipping a high throw and then catching it. Often you'll find competitive players freestyling just for fun, improvising with each other in large groups with no judges. This is called jamming, and to most players it's the most important part of the sport.

Pulling off co-operative moves ("co-oping") is jamming at its best — whether planned during a routine or spontaneous. A jammer may kick the disc to a second player who chest-rolls it to a third player who finishes with a leaping flamingitis catch.

Basic Techniques

Throwing and catching are the foundations of every routine. You can use a backhand or sidearm throw — by changing the angle of the disc it curves left or right. The easiest catch is the pancake catch (with both hands). Advanced moves include the under-the-leg, behind-the-head, flamingo, flamingitis, triple fake, scarecrow, and the bad attitude.

The nail delay involves spinning the disc on your fingernail — once you have good spin you can pass it under your leg, behind your back, and more. Most players use fake fingernails and a silicone spray to reduce friction and extend combinations.

Other techniques include tipping (hitting the centre of a floating disc to keep it spinning), air brushing (repeatedly hitting the outside rim to keep the disc aloft), and the body roll (letting the disc roll across your arms and chest). For more, visit the Freestyle Players Association at freestyledisc.org.

Judging

Nine judges evaluate routines across three categories, each worth a maximum of ten points:

Artistic Impression — Teamwork, music choreography, flow and form, variety, and general impression. Routines that blend co-operation, style, and diversity of disc skills score well.

Difficulty — Scores reflect the risk and complexity of moves attempted. Consecutive sequences and timing increase difficulty scores.

Execution — A dropped disc is a 0.3 point deduction, a minor bobble is 0.1, and a wild throw-away is 0.5. It's difficult to win a major tournament with an execution score below 9.0.

For the latest judging information visit freestyledisc.org.