From New Jersey's open fields in 1968 to Singapore's sun-drenched beaches in 2009, Nina-Noelle Hall dives into the global appeal of Ultimate Frisbee

Hurtling through the air, the red plastic disc escapes the desperate grasps of clasping hands and instead plunges, untouched, into the warm sands of Siloso Beach. Mere inches away lie the defeated: two panting players, now face-planted, who both missed the whizzing disc. 'Hey guys, how 'bout catching it?!' jokes a shirtless and sinewy defenceman toward his two sprawled teammates. A middle finger and a smirking face caked with sand is all he gets back. Trash talking is just part of the game in this popular twist on Ultimate Frisbee where, like volleyball, the adrenalin-pumping game has found its way to Sentosa's sands. This is Beach Ultimate.

A five-on-five team sport, Beach Ultimate merges football's running power with American football's end zones and aerial nature. The goal is to keep the disc airborne via passes like the 'flick' or the 'hammer' and get said disc into the opponent's end zone for a point. Like American football, this often warrants celebrations with touchdown flair (think 'The Bird' dance). In fact, thanks to the sport's cultivated social nature through weekly open games, most aspects of Beach Ultimate embrace some sort of flair - when the defence turns, players endure the 'walk of shame' back to the start line; witty taunts are often heard, even encouraged, from the sidelines; and it's not uncommon for games to pause for beer breaks. 'It's quite free spirited,' says Kee Khoon Neo, a Beach Ultimate hard body himself, as well as the president of Singapore's Ultimate Players' Association(www.singaporeultimate.com). 'Ultimate culture promotes a lot of socialising, whether the game is played on grass or beach.'