Also: What is Stalling? What is a Stall? While much of ultimate is free-form, offensive play is subject to rigorous time restrictions: not on points as a whole, but rather on the flow of the disc on the field. Each offensive player is limited in the amount of time that they can hold onto the disc without throwing it, but this depends upon the defensive application of the "stall." When an offensive player gets the disc, the defensive player marking them has the right to initiate and execute a "stall count." The "stall count" consists of the defensive player audibly (to the offensive person with the disc at least) counting from 1 to 10. As soon as the offensive player establishes a pivot, and given that event occurring, as soon as the defensive player is within 3 meters, the stall count can be initiated. This is done by the the defensive player uttering the words "Stalling" and "One." According to the rules, there should be one second between the beginning of stalling and the beginning of one (as written, the offensive player is intended to have 10 seconds from the begining of the stall). The defensive player then counts up to ten with each new number coming on a one second interval from the beginning of utterence of the last. If the defensive player starts the sound of the "T" in the word "ten," and the offensive player is still in contact with the disc, a "stall" has occurred. The result of a stall is a turnover. In other words, from the beginning of the "stall count," the offensive player has a limited amount of time within which they need to release (throw) the disc. If they don't throw soon enough, their team loses posession of the disc. The defensive player (white shirt) in the picture above looks like they are talking to the offensive player because he is in the middle of a stall count. When does the stall count start? As written in the the 10th edition, this is a bit unclear. "Only a marker within three meters of the thrower's point of ground contact may initiate or continue a stall count" could be interpreted to mean that the phrase "point of ground contact" requires that the thrower has established a pivot, although this is a bit ambiguous. The rule is introduced with this statement, "Generally, the thrower is allowed ten seconds of _posession_ in order to release the throw." Movement with the disc that results from momentum is technically possession time, although in the case of out of bounds movement, this is not necessarily always equivalent to throwable possession time (and therefore, the only-once-pivot interpretation). Because offensive players can throw without establishing a pivot, however, (thanks to the release before three steps non-travelling rule), there's a bit of a contradiction between throwable possession and waiting for an established pivot foot possession. In any case, per the Standing Rules Committee, the stall count can be initiated as soon as the disc is possessed. This includes out of bounds time. If a player has fallen down, some defensive players initiate the stall count immediately, and some wait for the offensive player to stand and set a pivot. Here's a picture to illustrate the problem: http://www.pbase.com/image/19221139 The offensive player clearly has possession of the disc. They could throw the disc before they land. Once they land, they will probably take a few steps to slow their momentum. Does the defensive player initiate the stall count now? Do they wait until the offensive player has landed? Do they wait until a pivot is established? Where does the defensive player have to be to stall? As noted above, the defender must be within 3 meters of the pivot of the thrower before they can start the stall count. They do not have to be directly marking. If they leave the three meter radius around the pivot, the stall count stops, and if they return to the three meter area, they need to start a new stall count. As played, defenders will sometimes initiate their stall counts before being within three meters (especially when playing zone), and will occassionally wander outside of the three meter radius without restarting their stall (again usually in zone). What happens when the 'T' in "Ten" is reached? The defensive player calls a stall and the disc is returned (if thrown after the 't'). The defensive team can than put the disc into play from that spot. What usually happens when the 'T' in "Ten" is reached, as actually played? http://www.pbase.com/image/18918294 The stall is contested (if a throw goes up and is caught by the offensive team or if the offensive player does not have enough time to say "fast count" prior to the "ten" of the count). An argument ensues. The contested stall means that the offensive player will again have the disc and the stall count will initiate with the words "Stalling" and "nine" with a one second interval between the beginning of each. How fast are stall counts as they actually are played? While the stall count is intended to be 10 seconds, as played, it's actually closer to 7 or 8. Almost every player counts too fast. The most common shortcuts are less than a second between the initiation of the stall (the beginnings of the words "stalling" and "one") and the last few seconds of the count. Once 7 or 8 in the count has been reached, 9 and 10 are usually uttered with (often significantly) reduced intervals. A very fast stall count could go by in as few as six seconds, as played. The marker is excited about the possibility of a stall, so they (usually not intentionally) lose control of their ability to count in one second intervals. What should (does) the thrower do when fast-counted? The thrower should call a "fast count." What is a fast count? If the defender counts in less than one second intervals, if they skip numbers, or if they initiate the stall count with something other than the word "stalling," the thrower can call a fast count which forces the defender to add to seconds to the amount of time the thrower has to throw. This means that they drop back in their count two seconds. If they just said "seven," they'd go back to "six" (as their next count would have been "eight"). How does this actually pan out as played? Well, most throwers do not call fast counts when counts are too fast. The fastest part of counts are usually at the end (8-10), which is also when the thrower has the most pressure to throw the disc. This means that they may be in the early stages of panic, or they may be hurried, and that as a result they won't remember to call a fast count before "ten" is reached. They therefore are left with throwing a hurried throw and contesting the stall should that throw complete. If they successfully call a fast count, the marker (if they haven't practiced adapting their count, or if they aren't a solidly experienced player) may stumble in their attemp to drop back two second (maybe going back to "five" from "seven"). If a second fast count is called prior to the throw or a stall being called, play stops and the marker starts the count over from beginning. What happens when play is stopped because of a violation or a time out? This depends upon the violation called. Please reference the 10th edition http://www.upa.org/ultimate/rules/10thFinl.pdf for the number that starts the stall count again. Most often, if the violation is against the offense and the count is below six, the stall comes in one higher than the last count uttered. If the stall count is higher than five, the count comes in on six. This is sometimes beneficial to the offense. For time outs, the stall comes in where it left off. Why are there so many arguments about stalls? On the one hand, it may be difficult for the marker to see the release of the disc. On the other, both the thrower and the marker are very excited near the end of the stall count. As noted, stall counts are almost always too fast as they conclude, so the offensive player probably rightly believes that they had enough time to get their throw off, and may not be matching the sounds actually uttered by the marker to the release of the disc. The marker, meanwhile, very much wants to successfully stall the thrower, and as their hurry to the end of the count indicates, has lost some of their ability to discern both time correctly, and events. This could, of course, easily be solved by replays (with sound). Unfortunately, at this time we have only our minds to replay the events with, and the matching of the sound to the image in that replay may not be something that all people can do with accuracy. What happens if the defender says "stall" instead of "ten" at the end of the stall count? There is no stall, and there is no turnover, even if the disc is released after the word "stall" is said. This is as played, and is a technicality. I do not think that this was _generally_ intended, but the clarity of the first "T" on "Ten" may be worth not following the spirit of the rule. What effect does the stall count have on the general flow of the game? Much like in professional and college basketball, where the stall count speeds up and forces the offensive aspect of the game to be aggressive, the stall count results in both more excitement and more immediately required motion on the field. Ten seconds may be enough for three cuts to be considered on the field, and both the offense and the defense are aware of the limitation. This is a disadvantage for the offense, as they need to make their offense work well enough to offer up a usable option every five or six seconds. The defense gains an advantage, as they know that throw from a particular spot in the field needs to occur within a limited time frame, and as such, their defense against that throw need only require that time frame's worth of effort. The stall count keeps the game moving, as throws must occur at a regular pace, and the possibilities that each 10 second interval offers is one of the most exciting things about ultimate. As a player, these forced intervals result in more opportunites for rewards and successes, and over the course of a game, the need to move the disc around the field regularly may contribute to greater participation by all members of the team. Without the stall count, for example, the two best players on a team would have enough time to just throw to each other (including rest periods, enough cuts to get open, etc.).