Heads up to the ladies out there. My wife was turned away by HB Clark at a sanctioned C tier this past weekend because of personal reasons. She is in good standing and a current member. This caused the 3 other women that were going to play to demand their money back...(along with 1 jr which would have been his first tournament)

The women and child went to another park to play disc golf, and had a great day....so not all was lost.

We have filled out the proper paperwork and sent it in. HB already was turned in to the PDGA a year ago for urinating in front of a woman PDGA member in a public parking lot....(he was issued a warning by the PDGA)

This is the same TD who didn't let any women play the final nine at BG Ams in 2009....

I wonder why there aren't more women playing disc golf tournaments.....especially in Bowling Green KY, where 2 multi women World Champions reside??

yall need to move to texas. i've been to a couple of tournaments that were "at/over capacity" and they still let 3 women in day of. (turned away a couple of guys though. not personal reasons)

when i start running sanctioned events... women take priority

Women take top priority in Western New York. Come on down to the Beachwood Classic July 15,16, & 17. For the last 5 years every Am women has been paid. We had a field of 10 Open girls last year with hopes of a repeat performance this year. We are a Vibram Qualifier for one lucky Woman.

Girls rule. Boys drool.

not necessarily an indictment of HB, cuz i wasn't there and don't know all the facts, rather just a general rule of thumb that i try to follow:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsjW7o3w0jI

It's not "women", it's "woman". One woman was denied entry. The rest withdrew. Of do misread the original post?

That's lame but would like to hear the full story.

We are still fighting here with proper treatment, it seems you either get pandered to or treated poorly (IE get to play with Juniors and be babysitter). There are a lot of good TDs here though and most treat them right and since we are getting more to come out and play it has helped a lot.

I only run women's events so I don't have any of these problems. :)

Of do misread the original post?

Huh??

After the way BG ams were Ran this year I doubt HB will be running many more tournaments anyways. In fact the question kept coming up as to where all the money went BG ams. Over Half the people DID NOT get to EAT at the players party because they ran out of food. You had to PAY for the entertainment. and you got LESS in the players packs this year.' Not to mention the fact that the "TDs" on each course were not even Local and could NOT answer your questions.

BG Ams has been a big money grab for several years. It has little or no bearing on attendance. If you like BG Ams, you'll like Am Worlds too. Big pools; big money grab.

Regardless of weither or not the "women" withdrew or not is not relevent. Its the reason that they withdrew. That is horrible!! I would hope and expect the PDGA to do something about this. Was it reported???

Regardless of weither or not the "women" withdrew or not is not relevent. Its the reason that they withdrew. That is horrible!! I would hope and expect the PDGA to do something about this. Was it reported???

Yes it was reported. Nothing has been done. No contact from the PDGA. HB was also turned into the PDGA a year ago for urinating in front of a 60 year old lady in a public parking lot less than 50 feet from a port-a-pot, at a sanctioned tournament. This lady happened to be a PDGA Hall of Fame member and World Champion....HB received a warning. HB runs too many am scams, and pays the PDGA enough money to receive special treatment I guess. My wife and I are going to ask for our PDGA memberships dues back, if something isn't done by the end of the month.....

Regardless of weither or not the "women" withdrew or not is not relevent.

The thread title says WOMEN were DENIED ENTRY. Seems to imply that this was a "men only" event. Or at least some broadly-based bias against women.

The text says one woman was denied entry---not for being a woman, but for personal reasons. Seems to me a huge difference.

Perhaps it was "horrible" the way the one woman was treated. I don't know all the facts. But the distinction between being denied entry, and choosing to leave, strikes me as relevant.

go18under, I am sorry that your wife had this experience. I hate to see anyone (male or female) have an experience that could negatively taint their view of disc golf.

However, I have to agree with David there is a huge difference between not allowing any women to play in a tournament and not allowing one woman due to reasons having nothing to do with her gender.

The reason(s) she was not allowed to play may or may not be complete crap and totally unfair but there is no way to determine/judge that without knowing all the details.

if it wasnt on private land and the player "male or female"was in good standing with the pdga it wouldnt matter if they ran over the tds dog on the way they cannot be turned away per the sanctioning agreement......ok fantasy land over...real deal...they send $ to the pdga,the pdga likes $,slap on the wrist,and a o well

Without more details, and not knowing anyone involved, I have to give the benefit of the doubt to the PDGA and TD, and presume that the TD did something he was permitted to do, like saying the tournament was full, or that the division/player pool was full, or that there weren't enough players signed up to support that division and she would have to play the men's. But the refusal to make an ordinary exception or accomodation was perceived to be motivated by personal reasons we also don't know anything about. Is there any more info that would lead us to conclude that the PDGA even has the option to sanction this TD under these circumstances? It's all just a bit too vague.

I agree that the original post is very vague and appears to be somewhat misleading. I do not have my competition manual in front of me but I am pretty sure that the TD can deny entry to players for any reason. Personally, my wife and I have never had any problems with HB, or RB and KB for that matter. This is not meant to sound patronising but if you would really like to make a positive change in how things are, you could start TD'ing some tournaments of your own and set a better precedent or perhaps run for a position in the PDGA. Either way Go18under I hope you and your wife stay in the PDGA but if not good luck and keep discin.

You are incorrect. A TD cannot deny entry to any player for any reason as described in yout post

You are incorrect. A TD cannot deny entry to any player for any reason as described in yout post

Actually the only people that a TD cannot deny are current PDGA members in "good standing".

"A. All members in good standing of the PDGA are eligible to compete in any division for which they qualify based upon class (Professional or Amateur), age, sex, and player rating unless approved in advance by the PDGA Tour Manager. Please see Section 2: Division Qualification for more specific information on division eligibility. "

Also if she missed the check in time by 1 minute the TD can turn her away. There are lots of cases where this can happen and the original post does not provide enough information.

Actually the only people that a TD cannot deny are current PDGA members in "good standing".

"A. All members in good standing of the PDGA are eligible to compete in any division for which they qualify based upon class (Professional or Amateur), age, sex, and player rating unless approved in advance by the PDGA Tour Manager. Please see Section 2: Division Qualification for more specific information on division eligibility. "

Also if she missed the check in time by 1 minute the TD can turn her away. There are lots of cases where this can happen and the original post does not provide enough information.

My wife and I did run multiple sanctioned tournaments......we had to turn HB into the PDGA for urinating in front of a PDGA Hall of Fame/Multi World Champion Woman after she complained. This happened in a busy open public parking lot with a port a pot less than 50 ft away.....it was 50 ft away from the registration table, and families were on the walking track less than 50 ft away as well......that was the only documented incident.....there are many more undocumented problems he created at our tournaments (drinking while playing/no shirt/harassing players/etc). After a few empty threats from him and his son, we moved on with our lives. Basically we finally stood up to him, and he can't move on like we did. (I think he received a warning by the PDGA for that incident)

As far as the tournament, my wife showed up in plenty of time, with a smile on her face, copy of her current registration in hand, obviously not a threat.....he then raised his voice and starting yelling that she tried to harm him, and his company, and he doesn't have to let her play if he didn't want to, and that's when I got involved.....

Thanks to the PDGA for handling this situation properly. (I think he received TD warning)

The PDGA has sided in my wife's favor, and has informed HB that my wife and I cannot be turned away from any of his PDGA sanctioned events.

Thanks for following up. I'm sure I'm not alone in saying I'm sad to hear you had this problem, and glad everything worked out to your satisfaction.

HB did just deny one woman (my wife) entry for personal reasons.

The three other women that had already signed up for the tournament saw how HB treated my wife, so they asked for their money back, and all 4 went out and played another course for fun.

So in a way, HB's behavior denied to provide a safe professional environment which to compete in a PDGA sanctioned event:)

That was a good follow up. Sounds like a very strange incident and I am glad that the PDGA helped was able to help you out.