On May 8th, 2021, 34 women and girls gathered to compete in single-gender disc golf tournament WGE – Run the Chains Perth. Players joined disc golfers around the world celebrating women’s disc golf and competing in local tournaments as part of the biennial Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) Women’s Global Event (WGE).
Held by the Perth Disc Golf Club (PDGC), Run the Chains was the club’s first-ever single-gender event. The event was a progression from the club’s Chick Flick event of previous years, usually held in conjunction with WGE, which started in 2012. The WGE was scheduled to be held in 2020, but was postponed at both local and international level due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Run the Chains narrowly avoided the local pandemic-induced requirement to wear face masks, lifted by the State Government only the night before. So the day began with the perfect conditions, with warm, sunny weather and minimal wind completing the scene for a fun day for beginners and experienced players alike.
The tournament course was designed with new players in mind: two rounds of 13 holes, the minimum required for the WGE, at the beginner-friendly Chichester Park disc golf course in Woodvale, in the northern suburbs of Perth. Three temporary baskets meant the course avoided holes along the sloping hillside bordering the sports oval around which most of the back nine of Chichester runs.
Registrants received players’ packs on arrival, with the first 17 picking up the special PDGA WGE pack, and the remainder a Fourth Circle Discs Firehawk disc and colourful FCD Zing mini. Prize sponsor Disc Connection, who manned a stall at tournament central that was flooded with eager buyers, also supplied loan discs. With three male volunteers recruited to join play as ratings propagators (a PDGA requirement), the event was set to begin.
Round one began a little after schedule around 9:35am with groups of players of mixed divisions and experience setting off for a shotgun start. Fremantle player Tracey Hamilton topped the Novice division with a score of 40. Woodvale local Jo McCamish blitzed the Intermediate division with a 35. Rockingham’s Tracey Fyfe carded the best Masters score with 45. Emma Matich, the sole Open Women player, demonstrated top form, beating the whole Advanced field with her first-round 35. All four juniors played well in their sole required round, including three 7-year old girls new to disc golf. The propagators also did well in round one, with PDGC Secretary and Assistant Tournament Director Mick Canci carding the best score of the day, a 994-rated 30.
After a shortish morning tea break (made longer than planned by some technical glitches in the tournament management software), round two got under way. As it was not practical to split the groups by divisions due to the high number of Novice players, groups were kept the same after a few players expressed a wish to play with the same people. One junior chose to play again (unrated), making it 31 players on the course. Some pedestrian traffic meant some delays, so play wound up about 20 minutes later than scheduled. The second round saw some competitive play shake up the leaderboards. All in all, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, and many walked away with some sweet prizes thanks to the many kind supporters and sponsors. Also included in the awards were two prizes for spirit, in the flying disc sport tradition, and was awarded to two players who displayed typical spirit characteristics such as fairness, positivity and high standards of play. To wrap up the event, PDGC President Kris Kohout announced that Run the Chains would become an annual event for the club, which was met by an enthusiastic cheer.
Many people helped make the event a reality, and thanks goes to the following sponsors, volunteers and supporters:
Sponsors
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- Australian Disc Golf (WGE player packs)
- Rhys Kruger and Fourth Circle Discs (second batch of player packs)
- Body n Beauty, Malaga (player prize and vouchers for player packs)
- Chapman’s Clothing, Woodvale (vouchers for placegetters)
- Ken Summers and SporLab Dyes (prizes for placegetters)
- Jo & Matt and Eagle Eye Coatings for the beaut candle trophies, and Tony at Stones Promotions for free engraving
- Sharelle Walker, Mobile Travel Agent (prize for placegetter)
- Portside Boulders (prizes for placegetters)
Volunteers
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- Mick Canci, Kris Kohout, Anna Haynes, Vanessa Eramanis, Claire Batey, Julie O’Donoghue, Joanne McCamish, Chris Himing, David Kynaston, Alex Kynaston, George Vellios, Boat McQuade, Mike Wombell, Sean Dobbs, and Ken Summers.
Winners
- Junior spirit prize – Elizabeth Clark
- Senior spirit prize – Claudine Baker
Junior Girls Under 8:
- 1st place – Zahlie Walker
- 2nd place – Lilu Ortega Latimer
Junior Girls Under 10:
- 1st place – Jennifer Lim
Novice Women (18 players):
- 1st place – Anna Haynes
- 2nd place – Tracey Hamilton
- 3rd place – Jasmin Barr
- 4th place – Amanda Robertson
- =5th place – Emily Parkinson
- =5th place – Rachel Asquith
Intermediate Women (4 players):
- 1st place – Joanne McCamish
- 2nd place – Megan O’Reilly
Masters Women:
- 1st place – Jennifer Holmes
- 2nd place – Tracey Fyfe
Masters Mixed:
- 1st place – Mick Canci
- 2nd place – David Kynaston
Advanced Women
- 1st place – Julie O’Donoghue
- 2nd place – Sue Summers
Open Women:
- 1st place – Emma Matich
Open Mixed:
- 1st place – Alex Kynaston
Last but certainly not least, thank you also to everyone who attended WGE – Run the Chains. I thoroughly enjoyed the event, and look forward to seeing you next year!
Sue Summers, Tournament Director, WGE – Run the Chains Perth 2021
