Held every two years, the prestigious European DGCs (Championnats d’Europe) are getting set to tee off in Pas-de-Calais (Département 62) in northern France. 216 of Europe’s finest disc golfers, representing 17 different countries, have arrived on site and are readying to battle for the chance to be crowned Euro Disc Golf Champions.
Starting on Thursday, the players will compete over 4 rounds, plus semis and finals, on 2 courses: the 2725 m (8992’) par 64 Parc de l’Ohlain, and the 2191 m (7230’) par 62 Parc de la Nature de Wingles. The heavily forested Ohlain Park, set on a ridge overlooking the plains where many key battles in World Wars I and II were fought, is a regional centre for outdoors activities that is serving as event headquarters. Here participants can camp, dorm, or lodge, savor the regional cuisine and beer being offered for lunch and dinner each day, play tennis, mountain bike, and even rappel through the treetops, when they are not practicing their putt.
While Scandinavian players, including Jesper Lundmark, Markus Källström, Karl Johan Nybø and defending ECs Champion Ville Piippo in Open, Birgitta Lagerholm in Women’s, and Robert Buzasy in Masters, may be the tournament favorites going in, a host of continental European players are expected to challenge them for the crowns. Look for France’s top player Sylvain Gouge, German wunderkind Simon Lizotte, Belgian Marco Lehousse and Austrian Otfried Derschmidt in Masters, UK's leading lady Sophie Southgate, and Dutch Junior Sander Bahnerth to be on the leader cards, among others.
Beyond the field, the aspect of this event that is truly “formidable” is the partnership between the TD Florence Dumont and the National Federation for Sport in Rural Areas (FNSMR). Flo also serves as PDGA Country Rep for France and as Disc Golf Representative on the FNSMR. The co-TD and the designer of the newly approved FNSMR-1 basket. Gérard Fiegler, is Pas-de-Calais’ FNSMR Committee President. All told, FNSMR have sent 68 employees and representatives from across France to serve as event volunteers, reflecting their belief that disc golf “clearly represents the fundamental values of our philosophy of sport for everyone.” In short, this is a most remarkable collaboration between disc golf and a national sports body, one that is perhaps unmatched in the short history of our game.
Stay tuned to pdga.com for daily stories and photos from France as the week and the Euro DGCs unfold, or visit the event website www.ec10.fr for way more information!
