I was curious to know if any Disc Golf organizations who run PDGA events have ever used any method to discourage players from DNF?

I have noticed recently that some events in our state fill up very fast and then you will see players DNF. This takes away from players who wish to participate and are stuck on the sidelines. Certainly if a player is injured and cannot continue or they have some emergency to prevent them to continue playing would be a viable excuse. But for the players who either A) just don't show up for whatever reason, or B) quit because they are fed up, or disappointed with their first round performance shouldn't be treated the same.

With the continual growth of the sport, there is more demand to sign up for the events and it's disparaging for players to miss out due to DNF players. I'm not sure if there is any practical method to be applied, but just a thought would be to limit the DNF player to signing up for future events if they continue to DNF.

Any thoughts?

I used to believe that the only valid reason to DNF was an injury that precluded you from continuing.

Then I played a Wintertime Open Pro Weekend one year when the event should've been cancelled due to high water.

The real answer is: sign-up early.

Ive never seen a player not show and still get a dnf when most cases they are not in the results unless they started play and quit during the round. What can they do? And like rhet said, just sign up early and you'll likely get a spot.

The PDGA is monitoring players who regularly DNF if reported by TDs and disciplinary action is possible. Again, it has to be reported as a problem or the PDGA will not know.

The focus of this topic is what to do to discourage players to DNF (and less about ways to get into an event). I believe there should be some consequence if a player either decides to not show up or quits during an event.

Ive never seen a player not show and still get a dnf when most cases they are not in the results unless they started play and quit during the round. What can they do? And like rhet said, just sign up early and you'll likely get a spot. If you take a look at the El Dorado Open held on Feb 27-28th in Long Beach, CA 12/89 players (13% of the field) were DNF, of which only one completed a round (I think its safe to assume the other 11 players either did not show up or quit). "What can they do?" That is precisely my question, what can we do to discourage this?

Make entries higher. If they have more invested, they may stick aorund. Or it may discourage the guy from signing up, knowing he may dnf.

Ultimately TDs can't do much, since they must accept registration from any eligible player. Though I think I could make that player feel unwanted if he were really a problem.

For pre-registered no-shows, it's easy. Keep their money. (Though one of ours last year---who never notified us before or after---put a stop-payment on his check!)

For the others, who wants to be judge of what's a legitimate injury, or legitimate reason for dropping out? A broken leg is easy. How 'bout a surgically-repaired shoulder that starts acting up, and the player doesn't want to risk damaging it? No outward signs, you have to take his word.

Yet another problem is, how much do you want someone in your group who wants to quit but was coerced into toughing it out? The rest of the group might prefer he left and saved them the misery.

(Though I do hold a grudge for those who quit between rounds and don't tell the TD, so the next round starts with their groupmates wondering where they are).

Ultimately, I think the most effective measure is peer pressure. If it's a problem player, ostracize him.

I helped with player check in on Saturday morning at the event Patrick is talking about. As far as I know only two players did not show up for Round One. This is a case where the weather likely caused the majority of players to drop out, but not necessarily. One player barely made the event as he was caught directly behind a car involved in an injury accident on the freeway. Another player pulled out during Round One because a family member was ill. I heard another player talking about how his family was evacuated because of fear of flooding. I wouldn't expect these players to finish when their families are in crisis and I wouldn't want to deny them entry into another event because of it.

In over ten years of being a TD, the number one reason players pull out before an event is illness or family crisis. Next is schedule changes by the player's work or family. The main reasons players DNF during an event is again illness or family problems followed by the player having a bad round or a bad day. Many times I don't even find out why a player does not show or leaves early. I would hate to report them and find out they didn't show or DNF'd because their Grandma went to the hospital.

I really do not see DNF's as a chronic problem that requires some type of solution. As Chuck said, the PDGA is starting to track DNF's when reported by TD's as a problem. As long as a player does not leave a twosome, it is sometimes best for everyone that they leave. Again, I would not want a player to be disciplined or get a bad rep because of a chronic injury or recurring family problems.

Reporting DNF players will not prevent events from selling out quickly nor will it allow "more worthy" players into a sold out event.