by Carla Caruso
Your Adelaide Park Lands are about to host South Australia’s first female-only disc golf tournament.
In celebration of the International Day of the Girl, South Australian Disc Golf will stage Throw Pink Adelaide on Sunday, October 13.
The action will take place in King Rodney Park / Ityamai-itpina (Park 15), where a disc golf course has been the subject of recent controversy over damage caused to several significant trees.
For the uninitiated, disc golf is a sport in which players throw a flying disc at a target, with rules that are similar to golf.
Two rounds will be held on a modified 13-basket course, with a 10am tee-off. Beginner and experienced players are welcome at the junior- and female-friendly event. (Cost is $20.)
The tournament is inspired by Throw Pink disc golf events in the US, which are focused on encouraging women and girls to get out and be more physically active.
South Australian Disc Golf vice-president Christie Hales-Thornton with her daughter, Caitlin.
Christie Hales-Thornton, the vice-president of the non-profit South Australian Disc Golf club, said she was excited to put on a local event.
“While Throw Pink is mainly in the US, I thought if I do a little tournament here, hopefully it’ll be the kickoff for an annual event that gets bigger and bigger each year.
“My direction [with the club] for the next couple of years is to really push making the sport more female-friendly.
“It can be quite daunting, rocking up to a league day and there are 30 men and only two or three females.
“My goal for the next few years is to really start getting that to more of a level that would encourage new females along.”
The Park 15 course will be slightly modified for the tournament to suit the style of female and junior competitors.
“Most of the female players have more finesse and are more about accuracy, as opposed to the massive, big bombs [that many men do],” Christie said. “So, we have discs that are a bit lighter, which can still get the distance.
“There’s no age gap [either]. The event’s open to anyone who can throw a frisbee or a ball and who can walk around the Adelaide Park Lands. I think I first started my daughter throwing when she was about seven years old.” (Caitlin’s now nine.)
Women celebrating wins on the course in King Rodney Park / Ityamai-itpina (Park 15). Photo: Matt Jennings / Gel Ball Adelaide Photography. (The Adelaide City Council charges South Australian Disc Golf an annual fee for using the Park Lands.)
Christie, who’s also an aged care enrolled nurse, got into the sport after she began hiking for fitness. “When I discovered disc golf, I was like, ‘It’s just hiking with a frisbee.’
“It was something to do while I was walking; I’d still have my music on. But then I got involved in the community and it just turned into this little obsession that has now taken over my life.”
As for what women and girls should wear to the upcoming tournament, Christie said: “I definitely encourage anything pink or [typically] feminine. But honestly, whatever is comfortable for them moving around the Park Lands.”
Funds raised will go towards next year’s event.
League days are held regularly in King Rodney Park / Ityamai-itpina (Park 15). The course is also always available to casual users, for free. Photo: Matt Jennings / Gel Ball Adelaide Photography.(Main photo, top, also care of Matt.)
See the recent controversy over tree damage caused by the flying discs: https://www.adelaide-parklands.asn.au/blog/2024/10/4/trees-stressed-vulnerable-on-disc-golf-course
