Give Line is an ongoing photographic exploration of Ultimate Frisbee as a site of ritual, intimacy, and intentional community, with a focus on its unlikely presence in the American South. Unlike most sports, Ultimate is self-officiated, non-contact, and guided by Spirit of the Game—an ethos built on trust, respect, and mutual care. Mixed-gender play is the norm. Conflict is worked out in real time. The goal is joy as much as victory.

Born from the counterculture movement of the 1960s, Ultimate has quietly carved out space in the South as something of a sanctuary. In a region where athletic traditions are often rigid and gendered, Ultimate offers an alternative: a place where softness and silliness thrive alongside competition, where queerness and tenderness aren’t just welcomed but celebrated, where people of all ages and backgrounds find solace in chasing a silly little flying piece of plastic.

This project lingers on the sidelines—where the soul of the sport reveals itself. Temporary tattoos applied by tongues, homemade costumes and ridiculously dirty cheers, liquor-filled water guns at 10am and glitter everywhere, the passing of pickle jars, sips of beer, sunscreen. Bodies collapsing into each other between points, exhausted, happy, seen.

As someone who grew up in church and on sports teams, I recognize this kind of devotion. Ultimate is, in its own way, a form of spirituality—a gathering of people who come back, week after week, to care for one another, and make something joyful together.