COM_SITE_niagarathisweekcom

More women embracing benefits of disc golf as it grows in popularity

admin behindthestory, COM_ORIGINALPRPUBLICATION_niagara_this_week__niagara_falls, COM_ORIGINALPUBLICATION_niagara_this_week__niagara_falls, COM_OWNLOCALID_b995d2ef-6796-4bd6-b001-3c4562cc0ccb, COM_PRPUBLICATION_niagara_this_week__niagara_falls, COM_PRSECTION_news, COM_PRSITE_niagarathisweekcom, COM_PUBLICATION_niagara_this_week__niagara_falls, COM_SECTION_news, COM_SITE_niagarathisweekcom, COM_SOURCE_ZPS, InHouseArticle_localcommunities, Niagara Falls, Ontario 0 Comments May 11, 2023

, 2023-05-11 18:24:57,

Pam Fowler, chair of the first-ever tournament being organized by the Greater Niagara Women’s Disc Golf Association (GNWDGA) at Firemen’s Park in Niagara Falls on May 13, is shown at the park with one of her discs.

At a time when a round of golf can set you back close to $100 and a good club set can set you back far more than $1,000, the noble sport is increasingly one that you have to be somewhat well-heeled to afford.

A growing number of women in Niagara are embracing a new twist on the game by ditching the clubs and balls and switching to discs as fans of the surging sport of disc golf.

Pam Fowler, tournament chair of the first-ever tournament being organized by the Greater Niagara Women’s Disc Golf Association (GNWDGA) at Firemen’s Park in Niagara Falls on May 13, said she’s seeing rapid growth in the number of women cluing into the benefits of disc golf.

“It’s a hugely growing sport,” she said. “Last year, our club started the women’s division with 14 members and now we’re up to 54.”

Fowler, of St. Catharines, said that has a lot to do with the camaraderie that comes with disc golf.

“I can post on our Facebook group that I’m coming to play at noon, and people will just show up and play with you,” she said. “Our women’s disc golf is very community-based: we’re all about support and no one is alone in this adventure.”

Fowler’s association has a ladies’ league that plays weekly on Tuesdays, and it’s not uncommon for newcomers to show up and be lent beginners discs to try their hand at the sport that mimics golf with terms such as birdies, eagles and bogeys. “Almost anybody will pull out of their bag and say, ‘here, try it,’” she said.

The sport also has specialized discs similar to golf drivers, irons and putters. Distance discs have a shaper edge while other discs are better at curving around trees. Then there are discs with very rounded edges to toss into the metal baskets that replace cups in regular golf.

Unlike regular golf, it’s not expensive: in addition to the course at the lower Firemen’s Park, there are also free disc golf courses in St. Catharines and Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Fowler said you can get a good starter kit with all the discs you need to play for as little as $35.

The sport is also playable year round. “I’m here all winter,” said Fowler, demonstrating her disc tossing skills at Firemen’s Park.

Like regular golf, disc golf offers physical benefits such as upper and lower body…

,
To read the original article from www.niagarafallsreview.ca, Click here

Private Internet Access gives you unparalleled access to thousands of next-gen servers in over 83 countries and each US state. Your VPN experience will always be fast, smooth, and reliable.

Equipment

‘I’m loving it:’ Disc golf takes flight at the Niagara-on-the-Lake Community Centre

admin COM_ORIGINALPRPUBLICATION_niagaraonthelake_advance, COM_ORIGINALPUBLICATION_niagaraonthelake_advance, COM_OWNLOCALID_b995d2ef-6796-4bd6-b001-3c4562cc0ccb, COM_PRPUBLICATION_niagaraonthelake_advance, COM_PRSECTION_news, COM_PRSITE_niagarathisweekcom, COM_PUBLICATION_niagaraonthelake_advance, COM_SECTION_community, COM_SECTION_news, COM_SITE_niagarathisweekcom, COM_SOURCE_ZPS, InHouseArticle_localcommunities, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario 0 Comments September 22, 2022

, 2022-09-17 14:02:57,

Pam Fowler, a disc golf enthusiast from St. Catharines, enjoys the new disc golf course outside the Niagara-on-the-Lake Community Centre and Public Library.

Pam Fowler and Catherine Dambrauskas were happy to spend a couple of hours enjoying the last of September’s good weather at the Niagara-on-the-Lake Community Centre. Although they’re from St. Catharines, as avid disc golf players they came to town just to enjoy its brand-new disc golf course.

“I’m loving it,” said Fowler, who’s been playing disc golf for a year and a half. “It’s perfect. It’s great for everybody.”

The course has its grand opening Sept. 27 at 1:30 p.m. Discs can be borrowed at no cost from the community centre during its hours of operation, all four seasons of the year. Or you can use your own discs if you have them. Playing the course is free.

The project was spearheaded by the Niagara-on-the-Lake Rotary Club, as a collaboration with the town to bring the affordable and accessible game to the neighbourhood. They’ve been working on getting it off the ground for four years, and got the go-ahead on the $15,000 project in May.

Paul Lalonde, chair of rotary club’s community service committee and the project’s leader, said once word got out that this course was coming to town, the response they received was “overwhelming.”

“People who love disc golf are fanatical about disc golf,” he said. “Myself, with the Rotary Club, and the town, really felt like, ‘boy, we really got to get this right,’ because we didn’t realize how much people love this sport.”

Nine disc golf “holes,” which are upright, metal baskets, are located throughout the green space in front of the community centre and library, facing Anderson Lane. For the unfamiliar, the object of the game, like golf, is to throw the disc into the basket in as few turns as possible per hole.

“We’ve used a part of the community centre property that wasn’t being utilized before, and I think we’ve maximized the use of it,” Lalonde said. “We’re super happy with it, and the response has been pretty much more than I ever expected.”

Fowler and Dambrauskas, who are part of the St. Catharines Women’s Disc Golf Club, have played at this course a few times since it was installed this summer. They bring their own discs.

They say they’re fans of the sport because of its low barrier for entry — regardless of age, gender, or skill level.

“It doesn’t matter what your skill level is,” Fowler said. “Anybody can come out and play, have a good time, laugh and giggle, and get some exercise at the same time.”

“Everybody is treated the same — and fairly,” Dambrauskas said.

,
To read the original article, go to Click here

Disc News

St. Catharines’ Women’s Disc Golf Club gears up for Global Tournament

admin COM_ORIGINALPRPUBLICATION_niagara_this_week__st_catharines, COM_ORIGINALPUBLICATION_niagara_this_week__st_catharines, COM_OWNLOCALID_b995d2ef-6796-4bd6-b001-3c4562cc0ccb, COM_PRPUBLICATION_niagara_this_week__st_catharines, COM_PRSECTION_community, COM_PRSITE_niagarathisweekcom, COM_PUBLICATION_niagara_this_week__st_catharines, COM_SECTION_community, COM_SITE_niagarathisweekcom, COM_SOURCE_ZPS, newsicanrelateto, Ontario, St. Catharines 0 Comments July 25, 2022

, 2022-07-25 08:33:36,

Members of the St. Catharines Women’s Disc Golf Club will be in Richard Pierpoint park on August 6 for the local chapter of a global disc golf tournament.

When Andrea Michaud decided to hold a chapter of the Professional Disc Golf Association’s (PDGA) Women’s Global Event in St. Catharines, she didn’t realize quite what she had signed up for.

The co-founder of the St. Catharines Women’s Disc Golf Club thought it would be fun to host the tournament on Aug. 7.

What she learned was that becoming a tournament director is not the same as becoming a referee for hockey.

“When this opportunity came up to run this event, I foolishly bit off a little more than I could chew,” she said. “It’s not like hockey. You’re either an official tournament director for the PDGA and you can host national level events or you’re nothing. There’s no in between.”

Disc golf is a game where players throw a disc at metal baskets, trying to get it in with the lowest number of throws. The rules are similar to golf.

The newly named Richard Pierpoint Park features an 18-hole course that is free to use. That’s where the team practices and where the tournament will take place.

The tournament now has 37 members signed up to play and Michaud said they have women coming from as far as Pennsylvania to participate.

The tournament will be played in 77 countries around the globe between Aug. 6 and 7. Michaud explained that scores are recorded and compared with women in other countries in the same categories.

“The nice thing about this competition is that every category that the PDGA has must be offered,” she said, adding that they have categories for women over 70, 65, 60, 50 and 40. “Even if they don’t win locally, like some of the ladies that we have that are over 70, they might not do too great in our city competition, but when they’re compared to someone internationally. Realistically, how many women are over 70 playing disc golf in the world?”

Michaud said businesses in the Queenston area have stepped up to sponsor the tournament.

“In February, I started going around to businesses in the Queenstown area,” she said. “Well, within probably two months I had close to $4,000. I couldn’t believe it. They wanted to support the tournament.”

Michaud co-founded the women’s disc golf club about two years ago. St. Catharines already has a coed league, but Michaud wanted something that felt a little more welcoming for female beginners.

“I’d say there’s probably 30 to 40…

,
To read the original article, go to Click here