Kāpiti Knees Up

Details of email sent this week It's less than a fortnight to go until the Kāpiti Knees Up! A huge thank you from Greater Wellington Disc Golf for registering to be part of the amateur disc gol ... show more ›

Details of email sent this week

It's less than a fortnight to go until the Kāpiti Knees Up!

A huge thank you from Greater Wellington Disc Golf for registering to be part of the amateur disc golf event at the fantastic El Rancho course. We have 43 registrations at the moment, but there's still time to nag your mates to come along the more the merrier.

There's a bit in this email, but please read through so you can come and be as prepared as possible.

The Course

The course at El Rancho was set up years ago for campers to use at the site, but had to be decommissioned when the Kāpiti Expressway was built through the middle of the course. The baskets and ideas sat unused for some time, until Haydn Shore from Disc Shop stepped up to help them redesign the course with the space they had - ensuring a second life for the homemade baskets, and access to disc golf for people who stay at the camp. So a big shout out to Haydn and Disc Shop for the mahi in setting up a really fun and varied 18 hole layout.

El Rancho has a few ponds and parts of the course are essentially reclaimed swamp. Given it's July, dress accordingly and gumboots are recommended (I nearly called it Wellies in Welly - be warned!) On that note, there are no permanent teepads there and so most teepads are from grass. Where we can, we'll move the teebox by a metre or two for the afternoon round to reduce the slip'n'slide effect, but please note that the conditions can be wet underfoot. Also, bring clean socks or slippers for inside during the lunch break - we don't want to traipse the Waikanae countryside into the meeting hall.

I will be going around the course on Saturday afternoon to confirm conditions are appropriate to proceed, and obviously monitoring the long range forecast.

The Event

We're playing two rounds at the El Rancho course, using the permanent layout with one change - as the fairways for holes 4 and 5 intersect, we're skipping hole 5 for the sake of course flow, and introducing another hole between usual holes 6 and 7.
9am - Players Meeting - please be there for this, especially as there may be some last minute updates for the course/event
9.30am - Round one - TD's draw (cards of 3 or 4)
12-1pm - Lunch (potluck - please bring a contribution)
1pm - Round two - seeded draw
3.30 (or once we're all in!) - Prizegiving
This is PDGA sanctioned amateur event - so ratings will count, and we should be following PDGA rules for the event - e.g. using an appropriate marker for your lie (no flipping discs), 3 minutes to search for lost discs, applications of penalties for OB etc. We rely on players/cards to apply the rules appropriately for a fun and fair competition. It will be scored on the PDGA livescoring website (you can also install the PDGA app to do this, which can help if there's poor connectivity in areas.)

Please note, lunch is not provided as part of the cost. Bring some kai to share (we have hired a hall so there's a sheltered spot to gather throughout the day) - or if you prefer there are a few cafes around the area where you can eat alone and work on your mental game.

There are prizes for each division - a big thank you to Sweet Chain Music for arranging great discounts on prize packs for these divisions, as well as to Disc Shop for their donated prizes to help make the event shine - the support of these New Zealand based businesses helps disc golf throughout the country, and having been a customer of each of these companies I fully recommend using them!

There are also spot prizes for most golf (or most honest golfer) from an anonymous donor - again a big thank you to them - whoever they may be :)

And courtesy of a donation made on behalf of MTDG, hole 1 is sponsored by Manawatu Tararua Disc Golf with some prizes up for that sponsored hole.

Player entry fees have been used to pay El Rancho for the use of the course and hall, for PDGA sanctioning fees and prize packs. There may be some incidental costs to come, and any surplus will go to Greater Wellington Disc Golf to enable ongoing support for events and courses in the region.

Finally, there's the Ace Kitty - currently sitting at $135, with some very tasty holes on this course it's worth being in on this. You must be in the ace pool to win it - someone hit the ace at interclub but hadn't paid in, making it a heartbreaking miss!

Some Housekeeping

We're really grateful to El Rancho for the opportunity to use their course, but please note that this is a privately owned course and we need to be extra respectful of their space and rules.

El Rancho run children's camps, and so due to obligations under the Children's Act need to pay particular attention to how their space is used - please respect this. For this reason, please let me know if anyone is coming with you (caddy etc.) as we need a record of all people onsite at any time.

Also note these other rules from El Rancho...
The course is often available for public use on a Sunday - but you need to phone ahead and confirm with them. There's a $5 green fee when playing (green fees for the event are covered in registration fee.) For the Kāpiti Knees Up, if you plan to stay overnight there's an opportunity to play a practice round on Saturday afternoon. Accommodation is available onsite - contact El Rancho for options. (https://www.elrancho.co.nz)
Alcohol must not be consumed openly in the campus, but BYO alcohol is ok inside accommodation.
Smoking - No smoking preferred but accepted WELL away from facilities.
Dress standard applies. No ripped or offensive clothing.
Loud or offensive behaviour is not tolerated and will risk future Disc Golf agreements.
No dogs or firearms are permitted.
Vehicles must be parked in marked carparks only.
No shortcuts through the course, passing accommodation wings and potentially disturbing the quiet enjoyment of other users of the place.
Depending on how this event goes, there's interest in arranging future events across a full weekend, with accommodation included in the package - this is a good chance to test the course, and make great impression.

Always play safely - if in doubt, use a spotter. No throwing if someone could get hit. And be prepared that in some parts of the course you may have to take a standstill throw over a twisted knee in the mud.

I am bringing a basic first aid course. If anyone else is a registered first aider and willing to help if there's an incident, please let me know by return email.

I can be contacted on 027 436 3089 on the weekend if you need to check anything.

Thanks

I've highlighted it above, but would like to once again thank the following supporters for making this tournament work well...

The team at El Rancho - Austin, the activities coordinator, has been an enthusiastic and helpful host in getting Disc Golf Events into El Rancho, and the bookings and management teams have been super supportive as we get this event going.
Discshop NZ - New Zealand's go-to disc golf supplier! - for getting the course up and running at El Rancho again making it all possible, and the advice and donation of prizes for players.
Sweet Chain Music - for cutting us a deal for prize packs, helping spread the budget.
Manawatū-Tararua Disc Golf - for sponsoring hole 1 as a CTP hole
Anonymous sponsor for the most golf prize pack.

Thanks, on behalf of Greater Wellington Disc Golf Club

Stewart Clark
027 436 3089

Coda: Why the name?

Please indulge me for a moment while I explain the name. As my siblings and I grew up on the other side of the planet from our grandparents, a beautiful family from Lower Hutt - the Nees - stepped in and acted as our "kiwi grandparents" - indulging us and looking out for us. They also happened to have a bach on the grounds of El Rancho - and so many family holidays as I grew up were spent at the Nees' bach in El Rancho. I have a lot of fond memories of the place (although it has changed a lot), as well as a chipped tooth from the old flying fox. As my little thank you to the Nees family I snuck their name into the event name. Thank you for listening to my Ted Talk.