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The Kansas City Flying Disc Club (KCFDC) is pleased to announce its major event
schedule for 2007. The 25th Kansas City Wide Open, June 22-24 is one of the
leading and oldest pro-am disc golf tournaments in the world. The Wide Open will
draw at least 250 players and will include many of the best professional and
amateur disc golfers from all over North America.
The tournament will be contested at Rosedale Park Disc Golf Course in Kansas
City, Kansas, Swope Park Disc Golf Course, Water Works Disc Golf Course and Blue Valley Disc
Golf Course all in Kansas City, Missouri. We are expecting to draw large crowds to watch the
showcase final round on June 11 featuring the four leading players in the Wide Open at Blue
Valley Park.
The KCFDC is seeking sponsorship support from both the Kansas City area and the
disc golf business communities. As you consider the following levels of sponsorship
please be aware that the KCFDC is a not-for-profit corporation operated by volunteers.
All profits from these events will be used for promoting disc golf in the greater KC
metro area. This includes making improvements to existing courses, proposing and
building new courses, holding demos and clinics, and continuing to provide this
healthy and inexpensive recreational and sporting activity to the community. The KCFDC
has the full support of the Parks and Recreation Departments who maintain the five parks.
While we do need financial support for tournament expenses, we can, in some cases,
accept products or services in exchange for sponsorship. It's our goal to make each
player's trip to Kansas City as memorable as possible and to present these events as
professionally as possible. We would like to return an ample portion of the collective
entry fees back to the Professional players as prize money and to the Amateur players
as both prizes and amenities. Sponsorship money will be used to defray our infrastructure
and advertising expenses and to enhance the players' visit to the Kansas City
metropolitan area.
Thank you for your consideration of becoming a sponsor of Disc Golf Kansas City 2007.
At its simplest, disc golf is a game of skill that involves throwing a flying disc from
a tee off area to a pre-arranged target. Disc golfers play the throw from where it lies,
and count each throw as a point or "stroke" until the hole is completed. This is how the
game was first played in the 1950's when Frisbees®, the most widely known brand of flying
discs, were mass-marketed. The owners of these "toys" were instructed to play catch and
to invent games. Across the country, many sports-minded people spontaneously discovered
what was to become disc golf when they challenged their friends to see who could hit a
tree 250 feet away in the fewest number of throws. The next "hole" was the stop sign on
the corner and so on. Thus, the most primitive disc golf courses were born.
In the 1960's, the maker of Frisbees, the Wham-O Company, changed the design of their
disc that enabled enthusiasts to throw it farther with more control. Wham-O also started
to promote sports that could be played with Frisbees. Tournaments were staged in the late
sixties and throughout the seventies, featuring the disc sports of golf, guts, distance,
accuracy, ultimate, and freestyle.
The first "official" disc golf course, utilizing metal poles as targets, was permanently
installed in Oak Grove Park by the Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation Department in
1975. As players got better and the competition became greater, arguments would arise as
to whether or not the disc had actually hit the pole. This need to "hole out" led to the
development of the disc golf basket, the target used today. A disc golf basket features
a metal basket two feet above the ground with at least one chain assembly above the
basket which acts as a backboard so the disc will stop its forward motion and drop into
the basket. Both the basket and the chain assembly are attached to a pole that is about
five feet high and two inches in diameter.
Disc golf utilizing baskets caught on quickly in California and has since grown steadily
throughout most of the United States. There are now over 1800 courses worldwide, including
courses in Canada, Europe, Japan, and Australia. The first permanent 18-hole disc golf
course in Kansas City was installed at Swope Park in 1981, followed by a nine-hole course
at Oceans of Fun in 1982. In 1984, the 18-hole course at Rosedale Park in Kansas City,
Kansas went in. A 9-hole course was installed at Prairie Center Park in Olathe in 1990
and was expanded to 18 holes in 1994. Centennial Park in Lawrence got an 18-hole course
in 1991. The baskets in Kansas City's Water Works Park were installed in April of 1998.
The second 18-hole course at Rosedale (Down Under Disc Golf Course) was installed in 1999.
The Cliff Drive Disc Golf Course was installed in 2004 and is still under construction. The
most recent course was installed on July 4, 2005 at Blue Valley Park at 23rd and Topping in
Kansas City, Missouri. Blue Valley is the longest disc golf course in the world at 11,049 feet.
The Parks and Recreation Departments of Leawood, Lenexa, Merriam, Shawnee, Leavenworth,
and Gladstone have expressed interest in obtaining courses of their own. Other cities in
the region with courses include Columbia (2), St. Louis (11), Springfield, Lincoln (2),
Wichita (2), Topeka (2), Emporia (3), Hutchinson, Council Bluffs and Omaha. Some other
towns with courses include Salina, Lindsborg, Winfield, Hays and Herington in Kansas and
Hazelwood, Joplin, Springfield and Mexico in Missouri.
Radical improvements in flying disc technology occurred in the 1980's and continues into
the 2000’s. The better professionals can easily throw golf discs with accuracy over 500
feet. The world record for throwing a flying disc is over 720 feet. There are currently
five manufacturers of these discs vying for disc golfer allegiance.
Disc golf in now being discovered by people of all ages as an excellent fitness sport
that is inexpensive to play, fun and challenging. Many of these enthusiasts have made
disc golf their life-long sport. It is an activity in which timing, coordination and a
calm demeanor are more important for success than either a great physique or brute
strength. An average 18-hole round of disc golf takes from one and one-half to two
hours to complete and involves walking about two miles. It is an excellent activity
to increase flexibility in the arm, leg and back muscle groups and to develop eye-hand
coordination. While any flying disc can be used, pro model golf discs, which give a
competitive advantage, cost from $8 to $30 dollars. Most disc golf courses are free to
play.
The pro tour of the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) was born and expanded in
the 1980's. There are now over 450 PDGA-sanctioned events each year, at which about 2,000
touring players compete to qualify for the annual world professional and amateur
championships.
The not-for-profit Kansas City Flying Disc Club runs a series of leagues and tournaments
throughout the year. Many of these events feature nominal entry fees and novice divisions.
For more info please visit www.kcfdc.org.
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