Self Caught Flights...
is probably the event that requires the most of the player when it comes to factors as judging the wind conditions and the flight of a flying disc.

The main idea with SCF is to throw the disc in a curve up towards the wind so the disc will turn and come back at the same time as it starts to glide more or less parallell to the ground towards the spot where you will catch your own throw. There are two main styles to throw SCF; "Back door" or "Regular".

The disc design is from 1975, but the Wham-O Fastback is still one of the most popular discs for the Self Caught Flight events...
 

The disc flight in a "backdoor-throw" (for a RHBH -right handed backhand)...

When throwing back door you throw to the left of the wind, letting the disc curve to do the final glide almost perpendicular to the wind. See picture above.

When throwing regular you throw to the right of the wind and let the disc curve to glide more or less with the wind. This is especially common when throwing Fastbacks, or/and when there's not much wind.

Disc flight when throwing to the right of the wind... (RHBH thrower)

Both varietys has its pros and cons. When throwing backdoor the disc won't fly so fast in the glide, and thus requires less running speed from the player.

If you throw to the right of the wind your chance to long throws increases, but you have to run more and faster. Many players uses backdoor in MTA and throw to the right of the wind in TRC, especially when throwing a Lynx or a Condor.

What disc to use...
The most important characteristic for a SCF disc is its ability to "glide". I.e. how easy the disc "planes out" to fly at low speed parallell to the ground.

The discs mostly used for SCF are Fastbacks and lightweight (below 145g) versions of Lynx and Condor. Fastbacks exists in numerous varieties, but the discs made in mold 3 or mold 6 are generally considered the best for the SCF event. You can tell the mold your Fastback is produced from by simply reading the text on the bottom side of the disc. The discs from mold 6 has "FB6..." written somewhere underneath the disc.

Of the modern discs I think Lynx is the best choice. Unfortunately the mold for the Lynxes were broken, and the "new" Lynx that was made in 2002-2003 where not as good as the original. The second best choice is the Condor, which Innova has started to sell in a lightweight version with SCF in mind. Especially after the 2003 retool of the Condor mold, this is an excellent flyer.

What disc you should choose is as always a question of finding the disc that best works with your personal technique. Until the era of the Lynx (around 1992) Fastback was THE choice. The current world MTA record were set using a Fastback. Nowadays most players uses the Lynx or the Condor.

Fastback in calm winds...
A Lynx is easier to control, especially at heavy winds. When there's little or no wind there are still many players who return to their Fastbacks. Using the Lynx or Condor, it's probably easier to maintain a good level at about 9 to 10 seconds MTA and around 50 meters TRC, but it's somewhat harder to reach the really high results.

The Innova Condor is a common choice, especially after the 2003 retooling...
 

Find the window...
SCF is always a game with/against the wind. In a good throw the wind is your best friend, but if your throw does not hold the perfect angles towards the wind the flight of your disc will be badly affected. SCF-players often refer to "the window", an imaginary window in the sky through which your disc should pass in order to plane out and helix and thus help your achieving a good SCF result.

Disc flight in calm weather...
 

The tricky part is to find this "window". A basic rule of thumb is that in strong wind the window is located lower and more straight into the wind. In calm conditions the window is more to the right of the wind direction. So: In strong winds- throw lower and almost straight into the wind and in little or no wind a bit higher and more to the right of the wind.

In strong winds you should throw "closer" to the wind...

But beware, dont throw as steep upwards so the disc just falls straight back to the ground withour having a chance to level out and glide.

Finding the correct angles towards the ground and the wind in all conditions is a skill which takes a lot of practise to master.

The best way to learn is as usual a lot of practise. It is also a good idea to watch and talk to experienced players to get som useful advice.

Note that all pictures here describes SCF from a right handed backhand thrower perspective. If you're a leftie yuo have to mirror all images to get the right picture.

Run the right way...
One of the biggest problems a SCF beginner encounters is to know to where the disc is heading. Unfortunately there's no easy way to learn this, the only way is to practise a lot and thus learn how the disc behaves in different wind conditions when thrown with different angles.

One basic rule of thumb is: run first and watch the disc later. Even if you're in the beginning of your SCF career you usually have at least a vague idea on where the disc is heading. What to do is simply to start running in this direction immediately after your releasing the disc.

When you've gained speed and is on your way, it's time to check to where the disc is actually going. If you stay where you threw the disc and look at the disc to determine its flight path you'll lose valuable time.

Running in the right direction from the start will save time. In reality it's virtually impossible to keep yuor run in a straight path from throw to catch. The normal is to run in a slight arc which is the result of adjusting the direction of your sprint to how the disc flies.
 

Read the disc...
To "read the disc" does not mean your reading the text in the hotstamp, it means to be able to determine to where the disc is flying by looking at the disc at any position in mid air. This is an ability that will keep improving with time spent on SCF practise. It's also a skill that you can't live without if you intend to succeed in this challenging event.

When your SCF skills improve, you will find that you easier can detect when the disc is about to turn in mid air, and hence you will be able to adjust your running direction in time.

The catch...
A SCF throw may only be in contact with one part of the body at a time. This means that you have to catch the disc clean with one hand.

If you don't succeed in gripping the disc, so the disc bounces out of your hand it's perfectly all right to try to catch it again, as long as the disc hasn't touched more than one part of your body at a time, and hasn't fallen to the ground. Your result is still measured at the first contact you have with the disc.

Since we're dealing with right handed backhand throws in this chapter, the disc will rotate clockwise. To increase your chances to catch the disc you should try to grip the right side of the disc.

If you do so the disc will rotate inwards into your hand which makes it significantly easier to grip the disc. If you try to grip the left side the probability of the disc rotating/bouncing out of your hand increases.

When catching, grip the right side of the disc to minimize the risk of the disc spinning out of your hand
(RHBH throw = clockwise spin)