While throwing a frisbee around is normally associated with games played in a park or on a beach, for some it has become a serious pursuit.

Ultimate frisbee has about 6,000 regular competitors nation-wide, with Canberra playing host to just under 1,000.

This weekend, more than 300 players from over 20 teams in New South Wales and the ACT descended on the capital, to battle it out for their spot in the national championships.

Michael Hatfield from Fyshwick United jumps for a catch in the regional championships. ( ABC News: Elise Pianegonda )

ACT Ultimate Association president Jason de Rooy said ultimate frisbee originated in the United States in the 1960s.

"People here have told me they began playing ultimate in Canberra in the early 1980s," he said.

"But it started to really take root here in the 1990s at the ANU [Australian National University].

"And in the last three or four years it's really gone through the roof."

Canberra's premier women's team Factory stand in a circle at half-time. ( ABC News: Elise Pianegonda )

Canberra's premier women's team Factory won their match against Newcastle's Sugar Magnolias, securing their place at the national championships in Ballarat.

Captain Liz de Hoog said the game was "the perfect combination of athleticism, skill and strategy".

"It is a relatively new sport... and it's really high-paced," she said.

"There's also a strong team element and I think that's what keeps people coming back.

"Women's ultimate is also really growing, and we're really pleased to have two teams in Canberra."

Michael Hatfield from Fyshwick United jumping for a frisbee in Canberra. ( ABC News: Elise Pianegonda )

At the end of each game, both teams come together in a huddle for a "spirit circle".

"We talk about the game, we talk about what we like about the other team," de Hoog said.

"Sometimes we give the most valuable player a prize as well."

The game also does not have a referee or umpire, and works mostly on an honesty system.

Canberra and Wollongong men's teams in a "sprit circle" after the game. ( ABC News: Elise Pianegonda )

Canberra men's team Fyshwick United player Michael Hatfield said players made their own calls and if it was disputed, play went back to before it was contested.

"You don't get anywhere near as much of the hatred between teams," he said.

"You make good plays and there's rivalry, but you enjoy hanging out as well.

"Because there's such a tight culture and you all know each other, you don't want to be known as a cheater... so that helps regulate the game."

Hatfield has represented Australia in the unique sport, playing overseas in Italy.

"The common comparison is that it's like Gridiron - in that you score in an end-zone, crossed with Netball - because you can't run with the frisbee, with the free-flow running of AFL," he said.

"But the way the frisbee moves is entirely different to any other sport, the way it flows and the way the wind affects the game is different to any other ball sport."

Two Sydney teams - Colony Pillage and Rogue Resistance - took out the top spots in the regional championships, with Canberra's women's team Factory taking out third place and men's team Fyshwick United coming seventh.