Photo Credit: Liza Curtiss

By Shane Clausing

grande prairie disc golf club

Grande Prairie Disc Golf Club bidding to host 2023 national championship

Mar 25, 2022 | 1:16 PM

The Grande Prairie Disc Golf Club says it is preparing a bid to host the 2023 national disc golf championship.

The bid would see competitors compete at all three disc golf courses in the Swan City area. The courses are located at South Bear Creek Park, Evergreen Park and Thrill Hill.

Chair of the bid committee and Grande Prairie city councillor Dylan Bressey tells EverythingGP they’ve decided to pursue a bid because of how much the sport has grown in our city over the last half-decade.

“In the last five years, we’ve opened two new courses. COVID was one of those things that brought a real boom to our sport because we were outdoor, socially distanced and it’s cheap to do,” he explained.

“We have hundreds of people playing the sport right now where it’s creating course backups every Saturday. It’s great to see so many people getting (out) on the course.”

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Hosting the national championship would come right off the heels of the club hosting its first major event which was the provincial championship last summer.

Bressey says the idea of hosting the tournament has attracted the support of many local groups.

“We’ve actually collected 14 letters of support from the city, county and other community organizations,” he said.

“We’ve got a committee of ten people working to put this bid package together. Already we’ve got support of people looking to bring nationals here.”

This year’s national championship for disc golf is being held in Prince Edward Island (PEI) and currently has 450 people registered.

Bressey adds hosting nationals could give a nice economic boost to businesses in the city.

“If we can get hundreds of players and their companions to Grande Prairie not just playing on our courses, but staying at our hotels, eating in our restaurants and checking out our retail stores, that is a big boost to our local area.”

While there will be competition from other disc golf enthusiasts across the country, Bressey thinks they have created a compelling bid.

“I’m expecting there to be a few strong bids in, but I think we’ve got a really strong bid of our own. We don’t just have great courses to pitch, but we have a whole community really behind this bid wanting to welcome players here. I think we’ve got a strong bid and I’m optimistic about our chances.”

A national disc golf association will make the decision on who gets to host nationals.

Finalists will be announced in June and the winning bid will be announced on Canada Day.