Flying saucers will be seen over Romsey this weekend as the drama of the national Ultimate Frisbee tournament is played out.

Southampton's Ultimate Frisbee Club is hosting the first event of the 2005 Ultimate Frisbee season, on Saturday and Sunday at Mountbatten School.

Twenty-four teams from all over the country will be competing in this, the first of four events that make up this summer's mixed league. Ultimate Frisbee is a fast-moving team sport.

The idea is to catch the frisbee in an area at the end of the pitch, known as the endzone. Players are not allowed to run with the disc and only have 10 seconds to throw it.

The game is played on a pitch measuring 100m by 40 metre by two teams of seven-a-side. Interestingly, there is no referee.

"We rely on sportsmanship and the spirit of the game," said club president and tournament organiser Andy Kayley.

Andy is now a veteran of the sport as he has been playing for 10 years. He took up the game while studying at Southampton University.

The sport began in universities but is now played by thousands worldwide at junior and senior level by men and women. The current world champions in both the men's and women's event are Canada. Their closest rivals are the USA and Sweden.

In Britain, the game is beginning to attract the attention of schools and Andy has recently conducted coaching sessions at Mountbatten.

Southampton is one of two British clubs qualified for the mixed event at the European Championships to be held in Germany in July.

"It's important for us that we do well domestically in the build-up to Germany. Of course, we'll also be able to show off Romsey to teams from as far away as Cardiff, Brighton and Leeds!" said Andy.

The public are welcome to go along to watch the action this weekend. Refreshments will be available on-site. Matches run from at 9am to 5.30pm on Saturday. Andy recommends a visit to the final (starting at 3pm on Sunday) to see the sport at its best.

The club is also running a prize draw to help raise funds for the trip. Tickets will be on sale this weekend. Prizes include an iPod, a DVD player, shopping vouchers, cinema tickets and, of course, frisbees.