Teams will race competitively across the sand, tossing the flying disc to teammates in an attempt to score a goal in the opponent’s end zone.
The game is called the Wildwood Ultimate and on July 24 and 25, between Mariner’s Landing and Surfside piers, about 400 teams will showcase their skills in a sport that is steadily gaining popularity on the Wildwood beaches. Players are expected to arrive from all over the country and even from a few other countries.
Tournament coordinators Mike Adlis and Len Dagit can remember the beginning of the grass roots event.
What started with a few teams playing an informal game on the beach has evolved into what they said is the largest beach ultimate tournament in the world.
Adlis said they started with 12 teams the first year, last year the count reached 400.
Ultimate is a variation on the game of Ultimate Frisbee. The game mixes elements of soccer, basketball, and football into a non-contact fast-paced team sport. Teams of four play on a rectangular field.
The offense attempts to work the disc up the field toward the end zone. Players can’t run with the disc, they must throw it to another player. The defending team tries to stop the team with the disc from making it up the field by guarding them and making an interception.
The tournament is co-ed with no referees.
“The players handle all the discrepancies themselves. If there is a foul during play, the players work it out amongst themselves. It is all done fairly quickly because they want to get back to the game,” said Adlis.
Dagit said that Wildwood was an ideal location because of the size of the beach and the attitude of the town.
He credited former Mayor Fred Wager with first recruiting the tournament to come to Wildwood. Things weren’t easy at the start, he said, but “it was a learning experience” and the tournament has become more successful each year.
This year the 18th Ultimate Beach Frisbee Tournament donated funds from the event to the city. In turn the city donated the funds to Wildwood High School and Wildwood Catholic High School.
Dagit presented two checks for approximately $1,500 each, calling it “a beginning.”
He also presented Wildwood with an official Frisbee.
