How Rituals and Rewards Build Team Spirit in Ultimate Frisbee Clubs

Ultimate Frisbee has become a popular lifestyle sport in many cities. It offers a space where people can meet, play, and feel less isolated in the hustle of urban life. Yet the clubs that organize these games are run by volunteers and do not rely on formal contracts. This makes it hard to keep members engaged over time.

Researchers set out to uncover why some players develop a strong sense of belonging while others drift away. They combined two theories: one looks at the emotional boost that comes from shared rituals, the other at the practical rewards members receive from the group. The goal was to see if emotional energy and relational benefits act as separate routes that link rituals to group identity.

To build their ideas, the team first conducted open-ended interviews with 22 Ultimate Frisbee players from several Chinese cities. Using a grounded‑theory approach they identified key steps and sketched a model. Next they launched a survey with 332 club members and applied structural equation modeling to test whether the proposed paths held up statistically.

The analysis revealed two parallel routes. In the first, regular rituals generate emotional energy, which then strengthens feeling of belonging. In the second, the same rituals lead to perceived benefits such as trust and social acceptance, which in turn boost group identity. Both routes were significant, but the benefit route accounted for roughly 34 percent of the total effect, while the emotion route contributed about 15 percent. This shows that both feelings and practical considerations help players see themselves as part of the team.