Disc golfers to start 2025 with tournament in NOTL

Snow, rain, sleet, ice, gusty winds - nothing will keep local disc golf players off the Rotary Club-sponsored tract outside the Niagara-on-the-Lake Community Centre on January 4. 

After a one-year hiatus, former DSBN teacher and disc golf enthusiast Andrea Michaud is back hosting the Winter Wizards event on the nine-hole course that opened in September 2022.

“We play our sport year-round,” Michaud tells The Local. “At Christmas time we put ribbons on the discs. In the winter, the plastic hardens up a bit and the discs fly differently. Even when the snow is up to my waist I’m out there playing.”

With the Weather Network’s forecast currently calling for snow Friday and Saturday, winter conditions are likely to be in play. 

“The trees are bare in the winter,” Michaud adds. “I can go over the top on hole 6 and I can’t do that in the summer. And when the snow ices up it’s sometimes better to throw your disc upside down to take advantage of the skip and slide off the surface. Every season is different.”

Though she doesn’t live in NOTL, Michaud is probably the biggest proponent of the local course. She was behind the first-ever tournament held here in January 2023. It drew almost 60 disc golfers to the town on a cold, damp day. And in May Michaud hosted a group of Grimsby business people who were interested in finding out how they could urge their town council to build their own layout.

The short length and easy-to-walk flat tract is a factor in the local course being an exemplar, as are town-installed concrete pads making each of the nine tee boxes equipped to handle the heavy traffic during inclement conditions. 

“It really is the perfect venue,” says Michaud. “We have also received support from some of the businesses nearby. The cafe (Sweets & Swirls) is doing coffee, tea and cappuccino for us and offering some lunch specials for us too.”

NOTL Rotary Club executive Paul Lalonde loves the enthusiasm Michaud has toward the course, built with financial support from the club, some of whose members actually came out to assist with installing the baskets back in 2022. 

“We are so happy to see it being used,” Lalonde says. “Andrea has been a driving force behind that, organizing these tournaments and inviting us to stay involved. It was our gift to the town and they continue to support it, too. It’s accessible to everybody.”

Lalonde will speak at Saturday's tournament, as will Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa, who will welcome participants to the town. Lalonde has played the game a few times himself and is hoping to organize a Rotary Club tournament for members in the spring. 

“When we set this course up I never really knew the passion players have for this sport,” says Lalonde. “They take it seriously. Though I think a January 4 event is crazy it’s also awesome. But we’ll have our tournament when it’s a bit nicer outside.”

Registered participants for the Winter Wizards event will compete for medals in four different categories - female amateur, female professional, mixed amateur and mixed advanced, while a small group of male professional players will vie for a cash prize. The medals all carry the Rotary Club’s familiar gear logo. 

The nine-hole course will be expanded to 13 for Saturday’s two-round competition, including additional obstacles and out-of-bounds areas. Players will also have an opportunity to compete in a Niagara-themed disc-dying competition. There will be a break between rounds for voting and the top three designs will win awards or cash. 

“You can put shaving cream on white discs and then apply the same dye used for fishing lures to customize your discs,” Michaud explains. “You can do custom patterns and colours and even use Cricut cutouts. It’s another component to bring people into the sport.”

The $50 registration fee includes a Winter Wizards prize pack featuring a bandana, a 4S Wizard putter, a Nylon Wizard putter, a mini marker set, a $10 Gateway gift card, a holographic sticker and a chance to win Gateway's Winter Raffle. 

As well, artist Jason Baston, who designed the tournament’s Wizard logo, will be on hand to sign the discs that feature his work. 

Online registration remains open until 9 a.m. on January 2. Check-in begins Saturday at 9 a.m.with play beginning at 10. The awards ceremony is scheduled for 2:15 p.m. Visit the Disc Golf Scene website for more information and to register.