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How long has your country had Ultimate?

13 years; since 1995.

Does your country currently have:

Leagues? How many? How many people play in them?
Yep, one national league, 5 teams in total. One team is from the North (Oporto), 2 from Lisbon, 1 from Palmela and one from Algarve. Since it's a beach league, its 5 on 5 on the field...each team has approximately 13 players on the roster.

Club Teams? How many? Are there dominant club teams?
No club teams, unless you consider the 4 teams from each region where there is Ultimate that "fight" for the national cup each year.

University or College teams? How many?
No University or College teams.

Youth (under 18-years-old) teams? How many?
No youth teams...but definitely young ones playing. The youngest player in the league is 15 years old (and our oldest is 45).

A National administration for Ultimate?
Loose, small, and sort of improvised. But yes, there is some kind of organization with representatives for each region where there are Ultimate players.

Where or how do most people learn about the game?

Through friends. Although we've been in newspapers, magazines and TV, most of the players started playing by coming to pick-ups with friends.

Where do most people play?

On the beach. Besides league games (which are all over the country), there are 2 pickups in Lisbon per week as well as in some other locations. There is also an Everyone Can Play days every 6 weeks, in which all who show up are divided into teams (hat-tourney style) and play round-robin. These days are loads of fun! Finally, Portugal hosts the magical Bar Do Peixe tournament each summer solstice (www.bug-p.org/tourney.html).

Do people in your country play in or against other countries?

Yes, at tournaments. We went with a Portuguese team to the World Championships Beach Ultimate last December in Brazil, and to the European Championships Beach Ultimate in France last May. We also go to some tournaments in Europe and have a couple of Portuguese players studying outside the country and playing grass league in the UK, Madrid, and Belgium.

Have there been individuals that have been major contributors to the growth of Ultimate in your country? Who are they? What did they do that helped the game grow so well?

Patrick (my man, and the current President of the Beach Ultimate Lovers Association) and I started getting people to play when we moved here in 1995, and are still playing and helping to train players. Zé Luis Falcão and Michele Mengucci have both been an essential part of the Ultimate scene from its beginning. Since league started 4 years ago, there are Captains for each team. Their names are Carlos Oliveira, André Carvalho (Puto), André Pereira, and Pedro Vargas, and they are very important for the growth of Ultimate in Portugal. But in general, we are so small that everyone is super special...and important.

What does your country need to continue to develop? If the UPA were to donate $3,000 to you to help develop Ultimate in your country, what would you do with it?

Mostly we need to travel to more tournaments. I would take a team to a tourney with $3000 and help pay for flights, stay, and food.

Every country has a different 'style' of play...what is yours? (This question is particularly interesting to North American readers!)

We play beach almost exclusively in Portugal, which means 5 players in the field. In general, most players are comfortable with a vertical stack of 3 and 2 handlers. Other than that, its very free flowing, without many limitations of who should or should not pick up the disc or cut. There is a huge emphasis on fair play (SOTG), which is probably a good thing considering the Latino blood). Since there are not that many players in the country (about 130), we are all friends.

What is next for the game in your country? What is one upcoming development, or what is a hurdle that Ultimate will have to overcome to continue to spread?

Funny you should ask that: I am actually all excited about "what is next" for us. After a couple of really good tournaments outside of Portugal, we decided that we need to practice for a National team and start travelling more. With the initiative (and athletic know-how) of one of our players, Pedro Vargas, we are starting regular training sessions for folk who want to travel and play competitively. It's been great to see that 1/3 of the people interested are women, and we have four tourneys we'd like to go to throughout the next year. So, we'll see.

For more information about Ultimate in Portugal, check out our website at www.bug-p.org.