Lane (noun)
A term to describe an area in the jam that is a player’s specific space. When players are more stationary, as when jamming in a circle, a lane is a circle around each player. As players begin to move together as a team, as when jamming in a line, the lane extends forward of direction of movement. Where the is no wind, as when jamming in doors, lanes move freely about as the direction of play moves. When there is wind, lanes almost always move into the wind because players will tend to face the wind as they play.
Reading lanes is as much about reading the nose of the disc as it is about reading a players intentions. For example if a player is not intending to move then it could be argued that their lane no longer extends up wind. Likewise, if a player intends to chase the disc no matter where it goes, it could be argued that their lane is the whole field when they have the disc.
With that said, it is generally accepted that one’s lane extends in a straight line, into the wind, similar to the way a swimming lane extends in a swimming pool. When all players work under this assumption, it is much easier for the group to perform spontaneous cooperative tricks.
Example: “Sorry, you’d have caught that if I didn’t poach your lane.”