Although the numbers are growing rapidly, there are still only 2,000 Canadians in the Professional Disc Golf Association, compared to 57,000 members in the United States.
Ten years ago, there were only 14,000 members in the world. In 2020, that number rose to 70,000.
For the Moens, this sport is clearly a family affair.
Julie Moens, originally from Victoria, British Columbia, recently took 2nd place at the World Amateur Disc Golf Championships.
Ted Moens, Julie’s father, won the 60+ division at the same tournament in Orlando, Florida. Three other family members, including mother Nancy, play sports at an elite level.
Can we consider the Moens to be Canada’s premier disc golf family?
My mom says if she wants to see her family she has to play disc golf. We are four siblings who all play, and all of our partners play too. There is also an uncle in Nanaimo and a cousin in Toronto, who both play. I don’t know if we are the first, but maybe we are the most
, mentions Julie Moens.
What is disc golf?
The sport is played just like regular golf on an 18-hole course with tee boxes and pars. The biggest difference is that instead of hitting balls with a stick in a hole, players throw Frisbee type discs at metal baskets.
A disc-golf basket
Photo : Instagram PDGA
The discipline is especially popular in British Columbia and Ontario. Half of the 300 routes across the country are in these two provinces. But there are fields to play it in every province and territory, including Nunavut.
Sport is also practiced in winter.
Photo: The Canadian Press / Nathan Denette
Kevin Underhill, a former member of the Canadian Ultimate Frisbee team, is passionate about disc golf.
Sport is quite accessible. You see people of all backgrounds and genders playing in British Columbia’s parks
, he emphasizes.
And women?
Are you new to disc golf? All the women I know in the community had problems starting out. But lately we’ve noticed a lot of attention being paid to inclusion, explains Julie Moens. The clubs recognize that there is a problem and they take responsibility for it. The majority still remain the same demographic of white men, but there are many more women than before. Now I see quartets of women and you would never have seen this before.
At the last tournament in British Columbia, the winner received $ 1. The winner in the men’s category received $ 500. It sends a certain message …
A sport increasingly practiced by women across Canada.
Photo : Radio-Canada / Emily Fitzpatrick
This year, the Professional Disc Golf Association has pledged to pay equal payout to the winner of the National Tour ranking.
With information from CBC’s David Giddens Sports
