Jim,
The World's Biggest Info is great on the web page. What is the Widdershins Open format going to be? How much $$? Just wondering.
Later
Brett
Well, I got the WPD spring/summer mailer in my mailbox yesterday. Lo & behold on the calendar on the back page, for June 1st they have the Biggest listed! The do NOT, however, have it listed on the second nor do they make any mention of the Widdershins. They also do not make any mention of the course (outside of the one page table listing every park's ammenities) and of course they don't have anything about us....
More discussion on WPD & their mailer in a more related category....
You can definately count on me to attend both days; I can come early to Bevier & supply a gas trimmer to help spruce up the woods if desired.
Seeing how I can't make leagues again this week (sorry JoJo) I've been granted clearance for both events from the powers that be. Sha, like I wouldn't be there anyhow! :)
Oh, Jim- In case you didn't guess or whatever, I s'pose I'll keep in line with leagues and play Advanced in the Widdershins. Hopefully I'll have a better couple rounds than @ Standing Rocks...
I won't be @ leagues again today... :'(
However I plan on showing up @ the park tomorrow afternoon after my class with weed wacker in tow.
TC- Try to leave me some weeds to whack? :-p
Give me a week and info will be ready. For the World's Biggest, it will be probably $12 per person - $10 ages 12 and under. We still need to work out details about packages and prizes, but I think $12 should get you a disc and a mini and a shirt. The discs/minis we should get through the WB headquarters, since we are using their name and idea/format. We can save some $$ by having the shirts done ourselves. Last year, the package of one shirt and one disc cost us $9.10 with shipping. If we just get discs, that will be much lower. We can get minis cheapest from Disc Golf World. We can use some regular plastic club-stamped discs as prizes if we need, depending on how fast they sell.
Brett - can you please check out Grand Sports (and compare at least one other) to get a quote on 50 Hanes Beefy-Tees in all sizes with one-color printing on front and back? Thanks!
Also, I really hope that all of you who have made baskets will bring them out to the World's Biggest for use and for show. They are great!
World's Biggest Reminder:
The Rolf Frei Award is given each year at each WB location to the person who brings the most people to the WB event. Last year, a guy from Winthrop Harbor(?) brought 8 people - and it was just hours before his wedding! The prize is a custom-printed award disc.
Ideas: my wife is already spreading the word where she works and has at least 6 people committed to come. I have at least 4, maybe a lot more. If each club member brings 3 new people, we'll do great. Please keep me or Ops members informed so that we can track how many discs/shirts we need to order. THANKS!
This just in: For the WB, we have a donation for a CTP prize! Barry G. (my friend at work) has donated a like-new Innova standard bag and 2 discs! He wants it used for a special CTP for BEGINNERS ONLY! How cool is THAT??!! :-)
Also, 40 t-shirts, a glow mini set, and a Rolf Frei award disc have been ordered from WB headquarters. After some disheartening news that our order was lost, John (Houck, WB founder) was on vacation, and all inventory was gone, I got a hold of John at his ranch on his cell phone. We talked for an hour and got most of it cleared up. We should have delivery by next Tuesday.
Also, I made an exec decision about the discs, since most of their disc stock was depleted and all that was left were 175g Cobras and 150g Aviars. We will use club discs as part of the players' package (good self-promotion); we will pay ourselves back for these with WB income, after other bills are paid.
If we want (have time), we can do the iron-on thing on the backs of the WB shirts; if not, everyone has our club disc. Whatever.
The WB and Widdershins are only a week and a half away!!!
I am asking members to come early on June 1st to help spruce up the park and do general set-up. I would also love it if most members could hang around throughout the day to do demos and shoot rounds with inexperienced participants. Let's have a strong showing!!!
WB UPDATES:
We have 4 full days to prepare for this year's WB! I will be calling or emailing people tonight to confirm attendance and ability to help out. I hope all members can make it out for the day. I believe we are going to get our 40+ people, as long as the weather holds up; extended forecasts say we'll enjoy 70-degree weather!!!
Also, Barry extended his generous donation by adding 3 more new discs and a mini!!!
Please try to encourage people to come out this weekend. I'd rather have too many people than not enough. The park was full of new players this weekend, so if you see someone you don't recognize on the course, introduce yourself and tell 'em about the WB! Or simply let them know there's now a bulletin board up, filled with info.
Also, we can use a last-minute sponsor if anyone feels energetic! Securing a sponsor for this weekend now would help ensure a fun event and raise some money for the club! Let's see how good we can make it this year!
Fabulous! I plan on being at Bevier Thursday night, Friday in the afternoon and/or evening, then Saturday at dawn to start cleaning and set-up. I appreciate the enthusiasm and the trimmer! The woodchips have been dumped at holes 6/8/9. They need to be spread out more, but it looks like the WOD will be doing some work this week.......
BillyBobJoeBob, can you make it a mix of cheap pop, bottled water, and maybe some juice boxes? I can reimburse. Thanks - if a problem, let me know or use your judgment.
Brett, Friday night/Saturday morning cleanup. I wan to make sure the back holes are sweet and clean with evenly-dispursed woodchips. I also want to make Tee #27 as open and cleared as possible. Also, garbage pickup. I went out Monday morning and spent 45 minutes cleaning garbage - it was everywhere! I want the course to sparkle! That's it for now!
Al G - if you are logged on - are you still willing to provide some sandwiches or other foodstuffs? Let me know or let me know what you need.
That's GREAT! Thanks Brett and everyone else who is or will be helping out this weekend. BRING YOUR FRIENDS. BRING YOUR ENEMIES. BRING YOUR GRUMPY NEIGHBORS. BRING ANYONE WHO MIGHT ENJOY A DAY THROWING DISC!
I met with Mike Trigg (WPD) yesterday. The woodchips are out there; more will be added and spread out. The tees and baskets wil be trimmed and edged. THE WPD is loaning us a 10x10 tent for the weekend too! On Saturday, there will be baseball games, which do not affect us, and NO SOCCER. On Sunday, there will be no baseball, but there WILL be soccer on the soccer field by the 9th basket. On Sunday only, we will not be able to use the 9th basket, so we will set up 1 or 2 temp baskets after the 8th hole. We will walk out under the ComEd wires, go east, and play back around through the cleared opening toward the soccer field.
Here's some other info/assignments:
Adrian - food, some drinks, basket, road signs, teesigns
Bill - beverages, basket(s)
Jim - info signs, handout packets, raffle tix, prizes, registration info
Brett - weedwacker, registration table or guided rounds, setup
Al G - food(?), distance clinic, setup
Paul - registration table or guided rounds
Jason - Fri night/Sat morning setup
If I have forgotten anyone's committment, please forgive my feeble brain. Every club member who shows up will have some sort of responsibility, whether it be cleanup, setup, guided rounds, putting clinic, whatever. Jump in where you want and help out. Most of all, spread some fun and experience around. Talk to new folks and help them feel comfy, warm, and fuzzy inside. YOU are the face of disc golf for these people; help them have FUN!!!
Please show up by 7:30am on Saturday and Sunday and be ready to rock! More info tonight!
We will have a registration table which players will visit first to:
Sign-In
Pay $12
Sign Waiver
Get t-shirt handed to player
Get info-pack handed to player
Player chooses one disc
If people show up to play casually, outside of the WB, that's fine, as long as they do not get a disc or t-shirt
It Should Rock!
Fantabulous! I play the Innova DGGame all the time. It can be useful in understanding some aspects of throwing and what different discs do. Perhaps we can split them up between WB and Widdershins, since the Widdershins doesn't have all the stuff we'll have at the WB. THANKS, Bill!!!!
THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!!!!
Thanks to Bill, Barry, Mirth, Brett, Paul, Kay, Danny, Shawn, Jason, Al, Brent, Bicente, Bill, Kirsten, Jay, Chud, Beast, and everyone else who did anything to make this weekend possible!!!!
This is YOUR club and YOU deserve much THANKS!
Same here, Bill.
Regarding efficiency, I agree. Although I tried to spread work around, my talents are in DOING, not DELEGATING (not very efficient). I'm not trying to be everything for everyone, and am working on that. That's why I am stepping back completely from the Juniors Leagues. If someone else would like to really step up and take the lead on sponsorship or any other item, that would be fab! Wherever you want to take this club is where we should go.......
If I can stay awake tonight, all info from WB/Widdershins will be updated, complete with scores and a few dozen EXCELLENT photos. If anyone did not see Monday's News-Sun page 3 photos, I have them scanned in. Let me know and I'll email them to you.
And yes, Best Shot scores will get updated as well. After this weekend, I'll be handing that over to Mirth, so that it can get done correctly and in a timely manner.
Jim,
Right now I have a possibility of 3 coming. It will be a blast.
34 Days!
Sweet!!!! I'll be there. Jason & Brandon will be coming with me as well. I may have 3 other people coming but those are ?'s at this point. I'll try my best to get them! Let me know what times you'll be out this week Jim. I have some free time on my hands now.
Jim,
I'm going to be there Thursday after school till best shot. I will also go after school on Friday. What time do you think you'll be there on Friday?Anyone able to meet around 2:00PM on Friday? I'll bring my weed eater as well. I agree with you Jim. Let's make the course look awesome.
Only 3 days to prepare. If you get a chance make sure to post fliers @ any courses you can. Libertyville, Elk Grove, & Fairfield have been taken care of. Can anyone get Parkside?
Pretty quiet considering we are within 2 days of a huge weekend. OK- I have hit these courses with fliers. Elk Grove Village (Clark Park), Libertyville (Adler), Round Lake (Fairfield), Buffalo Grove (Willow Stream). I think my buddies have hit Downers Grove, Streamwood, & Lombard. Obviously Bevier has been taken care of & I assume UW Parkside has also been taken care of. Does anyone live or drive by these courses? Crystal Lake, Highland Park, Naperville, or Milwaukee. We still have a few days to get the word out. My buddy from Buffalo Grove said his friends knew about this weekend before he said anything to them so the word is out. I also
e-mailed about 40 people from the pdga links that live around this area. Hopefully we'll get a good turnout.
I'm planning on helping Jim early Saturday morning. Let's all pitch in & make it easy on Jim. He's been busting his !@#. I'll be out today around 2:00PM to do some weed whacking & pick up garbage. I'm staying until Best Shot starts. Hope to see you out there. I will also be out on Friday @ 2:00.
Mirth, I will leave some weeds to whack. I've got something else to whack! I don't want to spend all my energy just whacking weeds. :) What time do you expect to be out on Friday?
Jim,
How will we be marking players who have paid? (wrist bands, markers?) Just wondering since this is the 1st time i'll be attending. What would happen if someone showed up to just play a round on there own & wanted no part in the World's Biggest. Just wondering.
As of today this is who I know & have coming to attend.
Brett- Saturday & Sunday
Jason-Saturday & Sunday
Brandon- Saturday ?Sunday?
Chris- Saturday
Carl- ?Saturday?
Hopefully we'll have a good showing
I would first like to start off by thanking Jim for all his hard work these past couple of weeks. If it weren't for JIM *we* wouldn't have such GREAT events organized. The prizes were excellent & things seemed to run smoothly. I hope we ended up breaking even for the weekend.
Please-anyone with input about the weekend, post it. Let's build on the experience & make it the best we can. Don't hold back. Post your opinions. Constructive criticism is the only way to improve.
World's Biggest[- I had a great time. There were quite a few new faces out there. I was hoping for a better turnout but it wasn't too bad. I'm not sure what the official count was. Somewhere in the 30's. I think maybe we should charge $15.00 for the day. This would make it easier to break even & I think it is well worth it. You basically pay for a disc & t-shirt with that donation. With all the prizes, many ended up getting a ton of stuff. If not raising the fee, cut back on prizes. Maybe we can find someone to donate food for the Bevier Blast. This way the food money is eliminated. We need to find a food place to sponsor DISContinuum. I also think that we should wait until 12:00 or even 1:00 to start any contests for prizes. This way people don't have to get there right away. Announce this on web & in the morning so people hang around & socailize. This is a good way to try to lure people into the club. I talked to a few newbies but didn't a chance to talk to a few of the people that came. Members-introduce yourself & let newbies know about the club. Remember how you feel when you go to a new place. Make them feel comfortable. For the contests I think there needs to be a juniors only contest. This way all the kids get a chance to win. I think Ams, Adv, & Pro could do a CTP & putting contest together. I think we should eliminate the long distance & just get the big arms to put on a demonstration of throwing BOMBS! I always enjoy watching the big guns throw. I also think we need to use a real basket for putting contests. I know there were a lot of complaints. I thought throwing over the lake was awesome. Maybe we can put a basket over there next time to aim at? The raffle was cool as well! I really wanted that sign MIRTH.
Widdershins Open[-What a sweet day. Nice temp & no rain. You can't ask for much more. It was even better that I won the Advanced Division. There was some great play all day. I again was disappointed with the turnout though. I think we should raise entry fees to $10.00/$15.00/$20.00. This would offset costs. I really thought play ran smoothly. I like the 30 hole format. The 2 temporary holes were AWESOME!!!! I heard many + comments about the setup. Once again I think we have to get better baskets for those holes. In the 3 rounds played, I saw some excellent puts get booted out that would have gone in a regular basket. I think all players deserve quality equipment. There were tons of complaints & I was one them while a perfect put went bouncing out. I wouldn't even volunteer my basket. I like practicing on homemade baskets because you have to make super quality puts to put them in but for competition it is brutal. I also think we need to revamp the vertical plane rule. I think everyone understands why we don't throw over the tennis courts. We need to resolve #5/#14 & #10 planes. I have heard complaints now @ the Blast & Widdershins. The concern is why can't players throw over the road. I would say for safety & liability reasons. I can live with not throwing over the road but I don't understand why we can throw over the road on #10 & not on #13 & #5/#14. We could resolve problems by stating either you can throw over any road or you cannot throw over any road for safety & liability reasons. I also think that if the an ace is not hit that money should go to pay the expenses or boost payouts.
Overall, I think the weekend was a success. There were some minor issues but I think they can all corrected. The majority of people had fun. That's what the weekend is all about.
Bill, I have one of your baskets that I will bring to best shot on Thursday. I also have flags for you as well.
I'll bring a cooler of cheap soda for Saturday.
....also, I believe that only registered players will be allowed to compete in the putting contest, CTP, raffel, etc (correct me if I'm wrong Jim). As long as there is a list of names, we should be fine.
The Innova Disc Golf CD-ROM games came in yesterday. They were $9 each, so I got 4. You can sell them or use them as prizes, or both. I've heard a lot of complaints about the game, but I really like it. Luckily I don't have a PC, otherwise I would be playing it all the time.
I was also suprised that the putting contest was on one of those temp baskets. They are nice and portable, but practing with one at home, I realize that they kick out a lot of decent putts that would have normally gone in. For competition, we need to use a higher quality basket.
I know this operations committee is supposed to help out with responsibilities, but this weekend seemed like a one man show (again). Jim did everything, was in charge of everything, planned everything, and answered everyone's questions. There are too many things to do at these events to have just one person running the show. I think we need to sit down with a piece of paper and spell out some responsibilties, just for the sake of efficiency. The more efficient we are, the more we can do.