Sunshine Coast Disc Golf Association’s (SCDGA) recent success during a one-day disc golf introduction to students at Halfmoon Bay Elementary has spun into a new after-school disc golf program.
Disc golfers Michelle Divecha and Trevor Connors introduced the school’s intermediate classes to the sport during PE class and found that most kids took to it right away. Students and teachers showed off their skills in the gymnasium and by the end of the day students were calling for a proper lesson outdoors, which led to the idea of an after-school program.
“It’s cool to see kids pick it up so quickly. We’ve all played catch with a frisbee before, but when you see the kids sort of figure out that a disc flies a bit differently and that you can manipulate the angles a bit more you almost see the lightbulb go off in their head,” says Connors, the SCDGA’s vice president. “And then when you see their joy in making a shot, it’s infectious.”
The Halfmoon Bay PAC recently invested in portable baskets (targets) and discs for their PE classes, which the SCDGA will be using for May’s after school disc golf program.
Disc golf, also called frisbee golf, is an outdoor sport with rules similar to traditional golf in that the player with the fewest shots (throws) wins the game. In disc golf, competitors throw a disc (frisbee) around trees, shrubs and other natural objects on their way to a basket target.
The SCDGA reports seeing a huge growth in the sport over the past two years and claims that usage of the Sunshine Coast’s lone public course at Shirley Macey Park in Gibsons has seen a nearly 2,000 per cent increase in usage during that time.
“It’s incredible and encouraging to see how many people have picked up the sport in the past couple years,” says Connors. “We’re hopeful that as more people become aware of the sport, the need for more public spaces for people to play becomes even more apparent. Ultimately, our goal is to create more courses on the Sunshine Coast for everyone to enjoy.”
If you’re interested in learning more about the SCDGA or just about disc golf in general, you can follow the SCDGA on Facebook at facebook.com/sunshinecoastdiscgolf or on the web at scdga.ca.
