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VIDEO: B.C. Open disc golf tournament draws more than 300 competitors

Event billed as the biggest in Canada — so big, a second course had to be created

Paul Levasseur from Regina got married the week before the B.C. Open disc golf tournament.

On Sunday, July 24, having flown out to B.C., he was at Raptors Knoll course in Aldergrove, warming up while he waited his turn to play. His wife Emma was competing, too.

“We’re having our honeymoon,” the newlywed smiled.

“We’re just having fun.”

The Levasseurs were among 346 competitors, 94 professionals and 252 amateurs from Canada and the U.S., to play at the PDGA (Professional Disc Golf Association) sanctioned B.C. Open, making it the largest event of its kind in Canada, according to tournament director John Gould-Thorpe.

Newlywed amateur disc golfer Paul Levasseur viewed the B.C. Open, held on Sunday, July 24th at Raptors Knoll disc golf course in Aldergrove, as his honeymoon. (Dan Ferguson/Langley Advance Times)
Newlywed amateur disc golfer Paul Levasseur viewed the B.C. Open, held on Sunday, July 24th at Raptors Knoll disc golf course in Aldergrove, as his honeymoon. (Dan Ferguson/Langley Advance Times)

Gould-Thorpe, owner of Ace Runners Disc Golf in Langley, explained so many people signed up to play, a second course had to be created at Campbell Valley Regional Park in Langley to accommodate the overflow.

“We had over 100 people on the waitlist within a few days of it opening,” Gould-Thorpe told the Langley Advance Times.

American pro disc golfer Scott Withers won the MPO (Male Pro Open) division at the B.C. Open.

Withers, from Albany, Oregon is ranked 53rd in the U.S. and has career earnings of $104,671.

Mission’s Stewart McIsack, who co-designed Raptors Knoll with Chris Hartmann in 2019, finished 10th in the MPO.

As for the newly married Levasseur, he achieved a six-way tie for 31st spot in the male amateur 1 advanced division.

READ ALSO: VIDEO: Why more people than ever are playing disc golf

According to one online account, the sport of disc golf originated in Bladworth, Saskatchewan in 1926, when some elementary school students started throwing tin lids into four-foot circles outdoors.

It was called Tin Lid Golf, but it didn’t catch on.

Revived by U.S. university students in the 1960’s, who tossed discs at targets, the game was re-introduced to Canada at Canadian Frisbee championships in the 1970’s.

Disc golf, as it is now known, evolved into its current form in California, adding chains and a basket for targets and bevelled discs for better accuracy.

READ ALSO: Co-creator of Aldergrove disc golf course to coach Canada’s first varsity-level disc golf teams

Built on a former Aldergrove landfill that has been restored, covered with soil and donated wildflower seeds, and planted with trees, Raptors Knoll Disc Golf Park is a part of the 100-acre Jackman Wetlands Park.

Co-founded and designed by McIsack and Hartmann in 2019, the 18-hole, 40-acre course is ranked 13th in the world.

To learn more, visit the club website at www.rkdiscgolfpark.com or see their Facebook page, “Raptors Knoll Disc Golf Park at Jackman Wetlands Park.”

More photos from the B.C. Open can be viewed online at the Langley Advance Times Facebook page.


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Dan Ferguson

About the Author: Dan Ferguson

Best recognized for my resemblance to St. Nick, I’m the guy you’ll often see out at community events and happenings around town.
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