Wikipedia photo
Correction: Grant is $5,000 instead of $12,000
Adds donation information
The latest Ford Institute Leadership Program graudates announced to the Newport City Council Monday night that they have acquired a $5,000 grant to build a “disc golf course” near the entrance to Oregon Coast Community College. The forty acre disc golf course entails throwing frisbees instead of hitting golf balls over long distances. The frisbees soar through the air over very long distances and must come to rest in a receiving device.
Ford Leadership Graduate Carla Perry picks up the story from here:
This Disc Golf Course endeavor is an outgrowth of the five-month Central Lincoln Leadership Training Program of the Ford Institute for Community Building. Members of the Cohort were nominated and then selected based on a broad diversity of backgrounds, ages, professions and cultures. The monthly weekend trainings covered topics such as social capital, personality types, leadership styles, rural community development models, asset mapping, group decision-making, communication strategies, and volunteerism. The participant’s final assignment is to put those training skills to use by selecting and implementing a project that benefits the community. The choice of constructing a professional grade Disc Golf Course was whittled down from close to 50 worthy projects suggested by class participants.
Although disc golf has been gaining renown all around the world and is on the verge of becoming an official Olympic sport, many people along the Oregon Coast have never heard of using Frisbees in this way. However, one indication that the sport is gaining importance locally is that the current Oregon Parks and Recreation survey lists Disc Golf as its own line item. Having the only PDGA-approved (Professional Disc Golf Association), 18-hole Disc Golf Course on the Oregon Coast between Coos Bay and Astoria will appeal to regional and national competitive league players, as well as attract recreational visitors to Lincoln County, which will provide a boost to the lodging and restaurant economies. But best of all, the course will provide free access to residents of the Central Oregon Coast so that people of all ages and economic levels can take advantage of family-friendly, healthy exercise in a beautiful setting.
Perry says the disc golf course should be ready for play in late summer. To cover the cost of implementation of the course, members of Cohort 2 must raise approximately $7K to match a grant from the Ford Family Foundation. Donations, including sponsorship for each of the 18-disc golf baskets, can be made payable to: Lincoln County Foundation, and mailed c/o Nancy Nash, 246 NW 13th Street, Newport Oregon 97365. For more information, contact Alma Baxter, 503-812-2016, or Alma.Baxter@BankOfTheWest.com.
Wilder is excited to make a portion of its property available for the new disc golf course. One goal of the Wilder community is to utilize the natural open spaces while being as gentle as possible on the land. Disc golf meets this goal and enhances Wilder’s recreational opportunities for both residents of the new homes in Wilder and the Newport community as a whole.
Yup, I guess when you have something called “The Central Lincoln Leadership Training Program of the Ford Institute for Community Building” meeting for 5 months to “whittle down” 50 possibilities to benefit the community, this is the amazing result.
Throwing a Frisbee into a basket, I can see how that is tremendous for community building. About the only people who could do it are probably young, male, and very, very practiced with a frisbee.
Will there at least be a paved path around this new course so those of us who are disabled or over 35 may be part of the community too?
As both a player supporter I can tell you that this sport is not limited to age or gender. I play almost every weekend in the valley and see men, women, and children (i.e. whole families) playing. And I’m also sure that anyone playing would be very accepting of people that just want to walk around the course.
Here’s a link describing the sports reach: http://www.innovadiscs.com/course/lifetime-sport.html
It’s a wonderful, low impact game that I hope to play well into my later years….
Joanie – I’m not sure why you think that or where you got your information but you couldn’t be more wrong about disc golf. It is played by people of all ages and walks of life. Women, kids, senior citizens, even people with disabilities. It is a recreational sport, so maybe not everyone with a disbaility can play, but some can. You may not like the choice that the funders made, but you are wrong about disc golf. It’s a better community builder than a walking path, that’s for sure. People get together to play disc golf, walk in nature, get exercise and stay healthy. I’ve seen 5 year olds and 75 year olds playing, and I’ve seen people with canes and disabilties playing.
Try a google search for “disc golf” and you’ll see. Congratulations to the young people trying to do something good for the community – don’t let bitterness and negativity bring you down!