The City of Dawson is getting set for its end-of-summer/fall-season disc golf tournament on Sept. 23 at the Crocus Bluff Lookout recreation site in Dawson City.
Dawson’s parks and recreation manager, Paul Robitaille, said the idea is to build a culture of disc golf in Dawson and get new players involved.
The tournament has five categories: beginner, mixed pro 50+, mixed amateur 1, women’s amateur 1 and mixed junior 15. Robitaille said the mixed amateur is open to anybody who wants to participate and is the most competitive in the tournament.
“Our goal with this event, like every thing else, is to make things happen in our city. Part of it is to encourage new players,” he said. “We don’t see many kids playing, so we want to get them to start playing, so we have a youth category for this tournament. We don’t have many women that play, so we have a women’s category. The same thing with seniors since we don’t have many seniors playing.”
He said the format of the tournament will see more serious players take on 36 holes or two rounds of 18 holes. Other divisions will play 18 holes. Each division will play their rounds, and everybody is expected to finish around the same time.
“We are going to be modifying a few of the holes to make them harder for that group,” he said. “We also want to make it fun for them, and for a lot of people, they don’t want to participate if they don’t feel welcome or if it’s too competitive. So, that’s why we have created these other flexible divisions for women, for example.”
For women, Robitaille said playing against each other makes it more enticing to keep playing and hopefully spark up some friendships that will keep them coming out during the winter.
“We have put in a substantial amount of work there. We are going to make it an inclusive game,” he said.
Registration is $20 and includes food, prizes and tournament entry. So far, 10 people have registered. Robitaille said he expects about 20 to 25 participants.
“That’s my target. If we have 25, I will be pretty happy with that, and if we have more, I will be ecstatic,” he told the News. “It’s open to anyone from any part of the world, including professionals who want to come and show off.”
The tournament is part of the disc golf league’s inaugural season, which started back in May and will run to Sept. 24. The 26 people who belong to the league will have free entry to the tournament, Robitaille said.
Participants will receive some disc golf prizes so they can keep playing. The tournament will conclude with a pizza party where hardware and prizes will be handed out.
“For us, this is trying to break down those barriers that don’t allow people to play,” Robitaille said. “We have also made it as affordable as we can.
“The main thing is to try to bring in new players and entice those who have been playing and looking to improve and create some healthy competitions and celebrate the successful year we have had up there.”
Robitaille continued: “I think this is something that we have seen growth in at the city. This tournament is a way to keep the momentum going, and we hope that people realize that we have a disc golf course in Dawson, which is free to play and open all year around.”
Contact Patrick Egwu at patrick.egwu@yukon-news.com
