World Flying Disc Federation
The World Flying Disc Federation is the international governing body for flying disc 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 85 countries. WFDF is an international federation recognized by the International Olympic Committee, a member of ARISF, GAISF, and the International World Games Association, and it is a registered not-for-profit 501 corporation in the state of Colorado, USA.
Membership
WFDF has member associations in 85 countries, from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, The Caribbean and South America. WFDF is a not-for-profit corporation, incorporated in Colorado, US, and it was formed in 1985. Disc sports represented include: Ultimate, disc golf, field events, guts frisbee, double disc court, and freestyle. WFDF is a member of Global Association of International Sports Federations, The International World Games Association, and the International Council of Sport Science and Physical Education. In May 2013, under the leadership of WFDF President Robert L. "Nob" Rauch, WFDF was granted provisional recognition by the International Olympic Committee 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.History
Flying disc sport rose with the invention of plastic and celebrated its in 2007. The early years of international flying disc play were dominated by the influence of the International Frisbee Association 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 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. 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 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, the first secretary Johan Lindgren and the first treasurer Brendan Nolan. Membership was composed of the national flying disc associations and US-oriented organizations such as the Ultimate 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 and individual events. 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 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 —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 International Olympic Committee and it is now one of 42 sports that are members of the Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations.
Presidents
Event results
WFDF World Ultimate Club Championship
, USA, 14–21 July 2018| Year 2018 | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| Open | SF Revolver  | Sydney Colony  | Toronto GOAT  | Austin Doublewide |
| Women's | Seattle Riot | Medellín Revolution  | Boston Brute Squad | Denver Molly Brown |
| Mixed | Seattle BFG | Boston Slow White | Philadelphia AMP | Boston Wild Card |
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, 29 July - 4 August 2018
| Year 2018 | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Masters Men | Boneyard | All Bashed Out | Johnny Encore |
| Masters Women | iRot | Mu-Syozoku  | Ripe |
| Masters Mixed | Molasses Disaster | 512 | SF Bridge Club |
| Grandmasters Men | Johnny Walker | Surly | Tombstone |
Lecco, Italy, 2–9 August 2014
| Year 2014 | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Open | Revolver | Sockeye | Johnny Bravo |
| Women's | Seattle Riot | Fury | Scandal |
| Mixed | Drag'n Thrust | Polar Bears | The Ghosts |
| Masters | Boneyard | FIGJAM | Johnny Encore |
| Women's Masters | Vintage | Godiva | Golden Girls  |
Prague, Czech Republic, 3–10 July 2010
| Year 2010 | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Open | Revolver | Sockeye | Buzz Bullets |
| Women's | Fury | UNO | Riot |
| Mixed | Chad Larson Experience | ONYX | Mental Toss Flycoons |
| Masters | Troubled Past | Surly | Eastern Greys |
Perth, Australia, 11–18 November 2006
| Year 2006 | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Open | Buzz Bullets | Thong | Chilly |
| Women's | MUD | UNO | Huck |
| Mixed | Team Fisher Price | Brass Monkey | Slow White and the Seven Dwarfs |
| Masters | Vigi | One Last Ditch Shot at Glory | Eastern Greys |
Honolulu, US, 4–10 August 2002
| Year 2002 | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Open | Condors | Death Or Glory | Sockeye |
| Women's | Riot | Ozone | Lady Godiva |
| Mixed | Donner Party | Hang Time | Trigger Hippy |
| Masters | KWA | Skeleton Crew | Old And in the Way |
St. Andrews, Scotland, 12–20 August 1999
| Year 1999 | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Open | DoG | Liquidisc  | Condors |
| Women's | Women on the Verge | Schwa | Spirals |
| Mixed | Red Fish Blue Fish | Osaka Nato | RippIT |
| Masters | Cigar | Return of the Red Eye | Tempus Fugit |
Vancouver Canada, 27 July – 2 August 1997
| Year 1997 | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Open | Sockeye | Double Happiness | Furious George |
| Women's | Women on the Verge | Schwa | Lady Godiva |
| Masters | Beyonders | Tempus Fugit | Gamecock |
Millfield United Kingdom, 22–29 July 1995
| Year 1995 | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Open | Double Happines | DoG | NYC |
| Women's | Women on the Verge | Ozone | Red Lights  |
| Masters | Seven Sages | Gummibears | Princeton Alumni |
Madison, Wisconsin US, 24–31 July 1993
| Year 1993 | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Open | New York Ultimate | Double Happiness | Rhino Slam! |
| Women's | Maine-iacs | Lady Godiva | Women on the Verge |
| Masters | Seven Sages | Hapa Haolies | Rude Boys |
Toronto Canada, 22–28 July 1991
| Year 1991 | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Open | New York | First Time Gary | Windy City |
| Women's | Maine-iacs | Lady Godiva | Lady Condors |
| Masters | Three Stages | Third Coast Ultimate | Mo' Better Masters |
Cologne Germany, 26–30 July 1989
| Year 1989 | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Open | Philmore | Elvis | Looney Tunes |
| Women's | Lady Condors | Smithereens | Stenungsunds FC  |
International World Games Ultimate Championship
Taiwan, 19–21 July 2009- US
- Japan
- Australia
WFDF 2009 World Overall Flying Disc championships
Open Division
- Conrad Damon – US
- Jack Cooksey – US
- Harvey Brandt – US
- Mary Lowry – US
- Stina Persson – SWE
- Marygrace Sorrentino – US
WFDF World Ultimate and Guts Championship (WUGC)
| 2016 | Spirit | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Men's | ||||
| Women's | ||||
| Mixed | ||||
| Masters Men | ||||
| Masters Women's | ||||
| Guts |
Sakai, Japan, 7–14 July 2012
| 2012 | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Open | |||
| Women's | |||
| Mixed | |||
| Open Masters | |||
| Women's Masters | |||
| Guts |
Vancouver, Canada, 2–9 August 2008
| 2008 | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Open | |||
| Women's | |||
| Mixed | |||
| Masters | |||
| Junior Open | |||
| Junior Girls | |||
| Guts |
Turku, Finland, 1–7 August 2004
| 2004 | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Open | |||
| Women's | |||
| Mixed | |||
| Masters | |||
| Junior Open | |||
| Junior Girls |
Heilbronn, Germany, 12–20 August 2000
| 2000 | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Open | |||
| Women's | |||
| Mixed | |||
| Masters | |||
| Junior Open | |||
| Junior Girls |
Blaine, Minnesota, US, 15–22 August 1998
| 1998 | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Open | |||
| Women's | |||
| Mixed | |||
| Masters | |||
| Junior |
Jönköping, Sweden, 10–17 August 1996
| 1996 | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Open | |||
| Women's | |||
| Masters | |||
| Junior |
Colchester, United Kingdom, 21–28 August 1994
| 1994 | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Open | |||
| Women's | |||
| Masters | |||
| Junior |
Utsunomiya, Japan, 17–23 August 1992
| 1992 | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Open | |||
| Women's | |||
| Masters | |||
| Junior | - |
Oslo, Norway, 8–14 July 1990
| 1990 | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Open | |||
| Women's | |||
| Masters | |||
| Junior |
Leuven, Belgium, 29 August – 3 September 1988
| 1988 | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Open | |||
| Women's | |||
| Junior |
Colchester, United Kingdom, 25–31 August 1986
| 1986 | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Open | |||
| Women's | |||
| Junior |
Lucerne, Switzerland, 2–9 September 1984
| 1984 | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Open | |||
| Women's | |||
| Junior | - |
Gothenburg, Sweden, 29 August – 3 September 1983
| 1983 | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Open | |||
| Women's | |||
| Junior |