DDGA sends top competitors to World Championships

Published Date

Deaf Disc Golf Association sends top competitors to 2011 Professional Disc Golf World Championships

Event promoter World Disc Sports to provide American Sign Language interpreter for general assemblies

July 9, 2011, Santa Cruz, CA — World Disc Sports, promoter of The 2011 Professional Disc Golf World Championships, and the Deaf Disc Golf Association (DDGA) are pleased to announce a partnership intended to raise awareness of the DDGA and its efforts as well as encourage further participation of Deaf disc golfers in PDGA- sanctioned events worldwide.

“We have definitely surged into the disc golf mainstream over the past few years and have been very noticeable at major tournaments,” said DDGA president Nathan Boyes. “The 2011 World Championships takes it to a new level by providing an interpreter, but the outreach is nothing new in disc golf. The sport goes out of its way to embrace everyone.” Boyes notes that Deaf disc golfer Tan Nguyen caddied for his good friend Paul McBeth during a blistering final round -12 to help McBeth win the Beaver State Fling, a PDGA National Tour event in Oregon.

World Disc Sports contacted Boyes and offered to reserve three competitor spots for the DDGA to distribute however it saw fit. Boyes accepted, and used the spots as extra incentive for competitors at the 11th National Deaf Disc Golf Championships in Austin, Texas. The reserved spots were awarded to Justin Ashton (first place at DDGA Nationals), Todd Thompson (first place in age 40 and over division) and Boyes himself (second place in open division). Ashton is the top-ranked Deaf disc golfer in the world, and his 990 PDGA rating ranks him as a legitimate contender in any event he enters.

Top professional players (such as 12-time world champion Ken Climo and current world number two-ranked Dave Feldberg, through a special sponsorship by Keen) have donated thousands of dollars to the DDGA, and numerous other touring pros wear DDGA patches on their golf bags. In addition, the official rules of competitive disc golf do not include any restrictions on participation by people with disabilities, something that is extremely rare according to Deaf disc golf pioneer and past DDGA president Kent ‘Ziggy’ Schafer.

“Tournament Directors, competitors, and friends quickly learned through exposure that we are people too. Often learning some gestures and signs or quickly flipping out pen and paper we are able to facilitate communication. Nearly all disc golfers seem eager to let us know we’re welcome,” said Schafer.

Boyes and Schafer are among a core of Deaf disc golfers committed to exposing Deaf people to the sport at a young age. Through the group’s efforts, a number of disc golf courses have been installed on the campuses of K-12 Deaf schools nationwide, including the California School for the Deaf in Fremont, CA.

On-site Sign Language Interpreter a first at PDGA World Championships World Disc Sports has arranged for an American Sign Language interpreter to be present at important meetings and assemblies, a gesture that organizers think is both helpful to the Deaf competitors and symbolically important in demonstrating disc golf’s inclusiveness.

“We’ve got this group that is enthusiastic about our sport, and disc golf from its inception has had a tradition of reaching out to everyone,” said executive director of the 2011 World Championships and Disc Golf Hall-of-Famer Tom Schot. “We’re honored to have DDGA members participating in our event and want to do everything we can to give them the same access to information as our hearing competitors.”

Disc golf manufacturers and merchants have been as slow to embrace the marketing potential of Deaf disc golf. Only one major disc golf manufacturer, Disc Golf Association in Aromas, CA, sponsors a Deaf player (Schafer). But according to Boyes, the overall disc golf community embraces the Deaf disc golf community in very real and personal ways.

“We rented a large house in Santa Cruz and it’ll be filled with a mix of Deaf and hearing people. The 15 people will include three Deaf players and two Deaf fans and family members, and the rest will be hearing players we’ve met and befriended at other events. We’ll have a player from Finland, and others from several different states.”

Boyes also worked with several top touring players on a tutorial video posted on YouTube that demonstrates a number of Sign Language signs helpful on the disc golf course. It can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Pp7yMx-OzQ or at talkdg.com.

The 2011 Professional Disc Golf World Championships will take place August 7-13 in Santa Cruz, Watsonville and Monterey, CA. 435 players from 15 countries will compete for more than $100,000 and the title of ‘World Champion’ in eight different divisions.

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For more information on the 2011 Professional Disc Golf World Championships, or to arrange an interview with a DDGA official, please contact Jack Trageser, 831-809-0247; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

For more information about the Deaf Disc Golf Association, please visit http://ddga.org.