Any sport that combines skills from basketball, football, soccer and hockey with a flying disc deserves the title of ultimate.

Ultimate Frisbee takes skills from each of these areas, but knowing how to throw a flying disc isn't the most important.

"It's more about running," said Larry Imperiale at the second Evergreen Ultimate Hat Tournament, which attracted about 200 players to three sites in Evergreen on Aug. 28.

Imperiale is a long-time Ultimate player and 12-time World Freestyle Frisbee Champion, according to his Web site.

"It turns out I was sort of an average Ultimate player, but an above average freestyler," he said.

Ultimate Frisbee games start much like a football game, with seven players from each team at the ends of an open field, according to the Boulder-based Ultimate Players Association (UPA) Web site, www.upa.org. One team "pulls," (ultimate lingo for a kickoff) to the other team.

Players are not allowed to take more than a few steps with the disc, but can pass to teammates in any direction. The object is to get the disc to a player in the end zone to score a point.

The player with the disc (thrower) has 10 seconds to pass the disc, which the defender (marker) counts out loud, according to the UPA Web site. A dropped disc, interception or blocked disc leads to a change of possession.

By UPA rules, the sport is non-contact and players call their own fouls and line calls.

"This is not a super-competitive tournament," Imperiale said, but "we do have a lot of experienced players."

Many of the larger cities along the Front Range -- Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins and Colorado Springs, for example -- have leagues set up through local recreation centers.

"That's the whole point of this," Imperiale said. "Ultimate's happening everywhere in Colorado. We don't have a league here in Evergreen yet, but we're working on it."

"It's a great opportunity to introduce people to the sport," Jon VanSpriell, of Boulder, said about the tournament. "I see some faces that I don't remember from last year." VanSpriell said he has played Ultimate for about 10 years.

"I'm still a newbie," said Jennifer Adams, of Littleton. Adams has played the past two seasons in a Denver recreational league. She discovered Ultimate when some friends organized a tournament at the Littleton Polo Grounds. "We went over, watched them, and were hooked," Adams said.

"It's competitive, but at the same time, everybody's out to have a good time," she said about the Evergreen tournament.

The tournament was coed, with a wide range of ages on the field. It was also a "hat" tournament, meaning teams were picked randomly out of a hat. That helps mix ages, genders and skill levels more evenly.

In addition to the Ultimate games, there was a freestyle demonstration, where participants spun discs on their fingers, caught them between their legs and rolled them off their chests; a demonstration by several disc-catching dogs; and beer and food.

Imperiale plans on holding the tournament next year, and said he encourages beginners to enter. Just don't fill up on beer before a game.

For more information about Ultimate visit, www.upa.org. For more information about freestyle, visit www.freestyledisc.org.