CHINA will launch its first flying disc league in August, the country’s General Administration of Sport’s social sport guidance center announced last week.

According to the center’s notice, the 2022-2023 China Flying Disc League will be held from August 2022 to May 2023 in various cities including Hangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Wuhan. Communities, enterprises, institutions, social groups and schools can form teams to take part in the competition.

The league will be operated by Hangzhou Disc Culture Co. Ltd., which has longtime cooperation with the World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF). Hangzhou Disc Culture also successfully held the Asia Oceanic Ultimate and Guts Championships in 2019 in Shanghai.

Flying disc is a non-contact, self-refereed team sport played with a flying disc, or Frisbee. A standard flying disc field measures 100 x 37 meters and the China Flying Disc League will use 11-a-side soccer fields (105 x 68 meters); the scoring area is 18 meters long and 30 meters wide.

“Flying disc is an outdoor team event that is friendly to all. Since it is played on soccer fields, I suggest we should give consideration to various sports when planning sports venue constructions around the country because we couldn’t develop Frisbee while neglecting soccer,” said Liu Zhongming, a sports host on iQIYI.

In preparation for the league, the General Administration of Sport’s social sport guidance center released two documents in November last year: “National Flying Disc Competition Rules (Trial)” and “National Flying Disc Fair Play Rules (Trial).” In them, detailed specifications are made on venues, competition rules and fair play rules since there is no official referee and it is up to the players to ensure the games are played fairly according to the official rules of the WFDF.

The once niche sport seems to have exploded overnight in China, becoming a hot lifestyle topic on social media. Since Frisbee is usually played with mixed teams, it offers young people a new way to socialize. Online influencers are also helping spread the word on social media platforms, such as Xiaohongshu and Douyin.

“Flying disc is quickly gaining steam in China and has become an important part of the country’s national fitness campaign,” said the social sport guidance center in the notice. In April, China’s Ministry of Education also listed flying disc as a compulsory education curriculum. In June, an online national flying disc contest was held by the center.

A recent report by CGTN said Frisbee has been around in China since the late 1970s, with seasonal tournaments in a number of cities, mainly Shanghai and Beijing.

In 2019, more than 500 flying disk athletes in 40 teams from Asia and Oceania gathered in Shanghai to compete in the Asia Oceanic Ultimate and Guts Championships, and China placed fourth in the mixed category. In 2025, Chinese sports fans will have opportunities to watch exciting Frisbee games at the World Games in Chengdu.

Flying disc has a good fighting chance of being recognized by the International Olympic Committee. The WFDF applied to get it into the 2020 and 2024 Olympics but failed and is now eyeing inclusion in the 2028 Summer Olympics which will be hosted by Los Angeles, a famous hotbed of the sport.

The fact that the game is being considered as an Olympic sport itself is encouraging enough for Frisbee lovers all over the world and the sport’s future as a predominantly recreational one in China is also promising.(Cao Zhen)