Thirty "Ultimate" students in the Hampton Township School District are flying high after learning their team has qualified for national competition.

The Hampton Ultimate, or what parents might think of as the Frisbee team, will compete against 15 other teams in the Eastern Championships, a tournament of the best teams in the eastern United States and Canada.

"This is the highest level of competition" for high school Ultimate teams, coach Grant McKinney said Friday.

Two years ago, the national championship was divided into eastern and western tournaments. The winner of the "Easterns" carries the title Beast of the East.

The Hampton Ultimate is one of three teams from Pennsylvania to qualify; the other two are from the Philadelphia area. This year's tournament will be held at Turner Valley Soccer Complex in North Huntingdon the weekend of May 13-14.

"We're really excited. We set two objectives at the beginning of the season. One was to win PHULs, the Pittsburgh High School Ultimate League, and one was to do well in Easterns," said Jack Miller, 18, one of the team's three co-captains.

Players contend the game is like no other. "It's like a combination of soccer and basketball," said Christie Lawry, 17, a co-captain.

Unlike football, it's not a contact sport. At the high school level, teams are coed, and that's a big part of the fun. "Half the PHUL teams have girls," Christie said. Any inappropriate physical contact, such as pushing or tripping, is a foul.

Fouls, yes. Referees, no. The game is self-officiated. "It puts the pace of the game on the players. You get to be a leader on the field. It's very student based," said junior Lukas Truckenbrod, 16, another co-captain.

There is no game clock. The first team to score 15 points is the winner -- except that a team must win by at least a two-point margin. "I've played in games as short as 45 minutes, or as long as three hours," Jack said.

Players cannot move when they have possession of the disc. "You have to pass. You can pivot on one foot, but you can't travel," said Lukas.

Offensive players are handlers or cutters. Handlers originate the plays, and cutters are good at short, fast sprints to jump and catch.

The "stack" is the most common offensive play, a line formation designed to move the disc down the field quickly. A "huck" is an especially long throw. A "sweet layout" is a risky, diving catch.

"In practice, we work on stacking and cutting. We have techniques for throwing into wind or rain," Lukas said. "We practice both man-to-man defense and zone defense."

Each team fields seven players, passing the white, regulation-weight disc down the field, catching it in the end zone to score. The field is 120 yards long -- 70 yards plus 25 yards in each end zone.

Jack said in addition to being fun and a lot of exercise, Ultimate is affordable. Players need jerseys and cleats. He estimated a season's cost per player of a couple hundred dollars, including tournament fees.

Hampton's team was formed two years ago after Mr. McKinney took up his post as a high school math teacher. He, himself, played Ultimate at Grove City College.

"A couple of the kids approached me. We went to the [school] board and got approval as a club sport," Mr. McKinney said. Now, the Hampton Ultimate has 30 members and is divided into varsity and junior-varsity squads.

"The neatest thing is it's a great group of kids. They're easygoing, but they give 100 percent," Mr. McKinney said. "I have people tell me all the time what a nice group of kids our team is."

He said Ultimate does pull kids away from other sports. "We have good athletes. We have team members who used to be on crew. One kid gave up club baseball to play with us."

All agreed it's the fastest growing sport in the Pittsburgh area and possibly the nation. The Pittsburgh high school league has been around six years. Last year, there were 18 member teams. This year there are 26. Fox Chapel Area, Mars Area, North Allegheny, North Hills, Pine-Richland and Seneca Valley are among districts with Frisbee teams, according to Mr. McKinney.

Jack and Christie said they plan to attend the University of Pittsburgh next year where there are strong men's and women's teams that compete nationally.

Jack said a campus team can be a consideration when choosing a college.

"I wouldn't make it a top factor, but some kids do consider it," he said.

For more information, visit www.pittsburgh-ultimate.org.