SOTG scoring explained

Spirit of the Game (SOTG) is a core part of Ultimate. Every team scores every opponent after every game. At Good Times events, we use the official USA Ultimate 2025 three-category sheet.

The three categories

Each category is scored 0-4:

1. Rules Knowledge and Use — they followed the rules; when they didn't know a rule, they made an effort to learn and apply it.
2. Fouls and Body Contact — they avoided dangerous plays and fouls, and minimized incidental contact. They played safely.
3. Communication and Conduct — they engaged in respectful conversations, were considerate of time, and played fairly.

The categories sum to a /12 score. A 6 is a good game and a standard score, and most games land between 4 and 8.

The reference rubric

Score	Meaning
0	Bad
1	Not good
2	Good
3	Very good
4	Excellent

A 2 is the average for a category. Don't give half points, and when in doubt, trust the other team.

Comments are required if you give a 0 or a 4 in any category — the form won't submit without one, and a texted reply gets asked again. It's better to raise a problem early than to mark a team down at the end: your opponent should not be surprised by the score you give.

Spirit is a group effort — discuss it as a team rather than leaving it to one person's impression.

How to submit

After you submit the game score, the keypad auto-advances to the SOTG form. Tap your rating in each category, add a comment if you want, and hit Submit. One person on your team submits on behalf of the team — designate who before game starts.

The form is one-way: you score the other team, they score you. Neither team sees the other's spirit score until after the event.

Self-assessment (optional)

Some events enable self-scoring. If your organizer turned it on, you'll see a second panel with the same three categories, but this time rating your own team. Per the USAU sheet this does not factor into the final spirit rankings — it's used to calibrate the scores you give, and large deltas flag for review.

Spirit standings

Spirit is a live standing (just like wins) and it can be a tiebreaker in the main bracket. Some divisions use spirit as the #1 tiebreaker (Fun divisions), others use it as the #3 tiebreaker behind wins and point differential (Try-Hard divisions). Check the event's standings config if you're curious.

Spirit awards

Most Good Times events give a Spirit Award to the highest-scoring team in each division. At the closing ceremony, the organizer announces it alongside the champions.