It's finally here! General registration for the inaugural St. Jude Disc Golf Charity Invitational is starting today, Tuesday March 10th at 3:00pm EDT! If somehow you still haven't heard anything about this amazing new disc golf fundraising event happening May 22nd-24th in Seaside, CA, now is your chance to get caught up, and get signed up.

About St. Jude

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, often referred to as simply “St. Jude”, is truly a magnificent organization and pediatric institute. On top of being one of the most successful charities on the planet, St. Jude is renowned as one of the greatest children’s hospitals as well.

"St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital^® is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life–threatening diseases. Everything we do is centered on finding cures and saving children. Families never receive a bill from St. Jude. We pay for treatment, travel, housing and food – because all a family should worry about is helping their child live.

St. Jude freely shares the discoveries we make, so every child saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more children. Treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% to 80% since we opened in 1962. We are working to drive the overall survival rate for childhood cancer to 90% in the next decade. We won’t stop until no child dies from cancer."

Fundraising

A unique aspect of the tournament is that each and every competitor will be raising funds for the children at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, by means of a personal online fundraising portal that will be established when they register. Competitors will be asking friends, family and sponsors to support them in the event by making a donation to the hospital. Fundraising teams can also be established by anyone, so look for clubs, manufacturer teams, and other random groups to join forces to see which team can raise the most money for our charity. The PDGA Board and Office staff has already established a team and are challenging all other teams to match or beat our fundraising goal of $5,000. Incentive gifts can be earned by individuals who reach certain fundraising levels and prizes will be awarded at the event to the top individual and team fundraisers, who will be recognized for their efforts.

If, for some reason, you are not able to compete in the tournament as a competitor, you can still be an active participant in the event by registering as a non-competing fundraiser, volunteer, or simply making a tax-deductible donation. This is a unique and rare opportunity for PDGA members and disc golfers around the world to join together and put our best foot forward to demonstrate what our sport is capable of accomplishing. If every one of our 25,000 active members would each commit to raising only $40, our sport could present a check to St. Jude in the amount of $1 million. Imagine the number of kids’ lives that would be affected in such a positive way with that gift, and imagine also how the image of our sport would be perceived.

The fundraising registration option is now open to all non-players.

This peer-to-peer style of fundraising is headed up by three members of the Event Committee. Their names might ring a bell: Paul McBeth #27523, Catrina Allen #44184, and Dana Vicich #26228. Working closely with them on the peer-to-peer fundraising are Will Schusterick #29064 and Paul Ulibarri #27171.

Left to right: Paul McBeth, Will Schusterick, Dana Vicich, Catrina Allen, and Paul Ulibarri

The Event Committee is stacked with some of disc golf’s most well-known names, and headed up by Event Chair John Heaton #4409 of Whirld Sports, an online shop that specializes in helpful disc golf gadgets. From the top touring pros mentioned above, to Disc Golf Hall of Fame members like “Crazy” John Brooks #2022 and Jim Challas #160. 

The Course

Inspired by the beauty and professionalism showcased at the Nasu Highland Golf Club after his return from the 2014 Japan Open, “Crazy” John Brooks suggested that the St. Jude Disc Golf Charity Invitational also take place on a prestigious ball golf course. And so, the search began. Dozens of courses were looked at and considered, but it wasn’t until the deadline was nearing that the ideal host would come to light, discovered by Disc Golf Hall of Fame member and Event Committee member, Jim Challas.

The inaugural St. Jude Disc Golf Charity Invitational will take place in Seaside, CA on the oceanside grounds of Bayonet & Black Horse, a premium 36-hole facility located on the beautiful Monterey Bay.

Bayonet & Black Horse - "The best 36 holes in Monterey Bay."

The disc golf course will be set up on the Bayonet course exclusively, leaving Black Horse to the ball golfers for the weekend. The temporary Bayonet Disc Golf Course will have two separate layouts; one longer than the other but both with a par of 62 or greater. Much like the design at the 2014 Japan Open, cart paths, putting greens, and sand traps will serve as risk/reward obstacles and out-of-bounds areas. Discmania’s own Jussi Meresmaa #14600 is the lead designer for the professional layout while Scott Keasey #19655 of DGA will be working with a design team for the amateur layout. 

Media

The St. Jude Disc Golf Charity Invitational will be taped and post-produced for television broadcast on the Emerging Sports Network. Additionally the event will also be covered by PDGA Media and many other media outlets, both within and outside of our sport. Competitors will be held to the highest standards in terms of rules, etiquette and the dress code and there will be zero tolerance in regards to unacceptable behavior. As representatives of our sport and guests at the Bayonet & Black Horse Golf Club, all competitors will be expected to act professionally at all times and to project a professional image by wearing your Sunday best on all days in terms of clothing and attire.

Competition

The format of this 3-day event will be unique due to the unique challenges inherent in hosting a tournament on a traditional ball golf course. Because the temporary courses cannot be set up until the Thursday evening preceding the event, Friday, May 22 will be a practice day allowing all registered competitors to play a pre-scheduled practice round with tee times on the one course they will be playing in the event, before a mandatory players meeting that night. All competitors will then play one round on Saturday and one round on Sunday with 10-minute tee times for a total of 36 holes.

The event is sanctioned as an XA-Tier so the pro payout will meet or exceed A-tier standards. The amateur side of the event will feature a “True Amateur” format similar to the Am Worlds, meaning all players will receive a very nice player’s package with a value exceeding their entry fee, and the top 3 in each division will receive a trophy and recognition at the awards ceremony.

The real payout or payoff will be the experience of playing the game we all love on a magnificent venue overlooking Monterey Bay, all while representing our great sport in raising funds for the kids at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. They are the primary reason for this event!

For more information on this epic event visit: http://stjudediscgolf.com

Updates & Info

The best way to keep up with the latest updates about the St. Jude Disc Golf Charity Invitational is by subscribing to the event's Facebook page and by following @StJudeDiscGolf on Twitter. 

Sign Up Now!

General registration is officially open starting at 3:00pm EDT for all current PDGA members. Sign up now while you still can!

Become An Official Sponsor

Looking to become an official sponsor? Sponsorship information, including donation tiers and a downloadable Sponsor Kit, is available at www.stjudediscgolf.com. Sponsorships and general donations are currently being accepted on the website vai credit card.