Community Corner
Disc Golf Volunteers Say Their Job Is Worth Paying To Do
Disc Golf World Championship would not be the same without them.
The players are hitting their putts this week at the Disc Golf World Championships in Santa Cruz and Watsonville, but without the army of more than 100 paying volunteers the tournament would not have been possible.
Even at minimum wage, the thousands of hours people like Vincenzo Cetani and Thomas Ford have spent—working registration desks, shuttling players and helping to find discs after agonizing rolls down into canyons—would have cost more than the $108,750 total prize pool.
It cost $60 to be a volunteer this year, but “Worlds” Executive Director Tom Schot is making sure everyone gets a lot for their money and labor. The volunteer package includes discs, three T-shirts, a dinner Wednesday night at Cocoanut Grove, and the chance to see some amazing play by the world's best players.
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Ford says he is glad to be out of his house and helping Schot, a friend for over thirty years.
“Since he was hosting the tournament, I decide to come out and give him a hand,” Ford said. “I've been off of work because of a knee injury, and what better chance to come out.”
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Ford spotted hole six at DeLaveaga on Thursday, an important job because it has complex out of bounds areas that require a person with good eyes on watch to settle debates between players on if and where a disc flew “O.B.”
And there is a lot of “O.B.” on this hole that is so tempting to run for and “ace” or birdie. In the time Patch chatted with him a disc skipped off the ground, flying just inches under the basket and into the road, costing the player a penalty stroke.
On top of paying to work, and spending the week directing frustrated pros to some of the less desirable locations in ravines all week, course locals put in tireless hours over the past year to make sure everything was in tip-top shape, from laying wood chips around the baskets to make the disc golf version of “putting greens,” to mowing hundreds of acres of grass with push-mowers and weed whackers.
Jim Hagan managed to save up energy to play in the tournament after spending weeks at DeLaveaga working like it was his second job for the past several months. Playing Thursday he seemed more light-hearted than his usual stern self. He even smiled a few times.
Others didn't have the chance to join in the pre-tournament preparations, but in the case of Neil Stuart there is a good reason. He lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
“They had, I think there was 120 volunteers who paid to come to come out here,” said TJ Goodwin, tournament director at DeLaveaga for the week. “We had a guy named Neil...[rode] down from Calgary, took a three week vacation and drove down playing courses to volunteer.”
Goodwin says even though he has the title of Tournament Director, there is really no one in charge, and that "it's just a massive team effort."
The volunteers get to play a round at Pinto Lake Sunday. Players who are still in town will return the favor by spotting their discs that fly off the mowed course at Pinto Lake.
