How to run a Cup Zone Defense in Ultimate Frisbee

Unlike most sports, in Ultimate Frisbee stopping the opposing team from scoring is as important as scoring yourself. A zone defense attempts to reduce the number of ground-gaining passing lanes, forcing the opposition to throw more passes. This improves the odds on sloppy passes being thrown. The purpose of the Cup is to prevent passing up field and force the disc back down the field or to be thrown away.

Things You'll Need

  • A disc
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Instructions

    • 1

      Choose the three team members that will create the Cup. They're typically the three fastest players since they follow the disc around the field, trying to impede the thrower's options.

    • 2

      Form the Cup. The three players, called "fronts" or "chasers," fashion a semicircle- one player in the middle (in front of the thrower), one on the left side and the other on the right. These positions are middle front, left front and right front, respectively.

    • 3

      Decide if you're running a 3.2.2 zone or a 3.3.1 zone. The 3.2.2 zone consists of 3 players for the Cup, 2 team mates as "wings" (who prevent the disk from moving up the sidelines and stop "poppers" from getting the disc into the middle) and the remaining two as "deeps," who're usually divided into "short deep" and "deep deep" positions. The short deep acts as a go-between the wings and the deep deep, while the deep deep handles long throws. The 3.3.1 zone moves the short deep position in-between the wings and is known as the 'middle middle'. The middle middle handles poppers.