Hornsea Disc Golf
9 basket Disc golf course, Hall Garth Park

Hull and East Yorkshire Mind is delighted with the successful introduction of Disc Golf to Hall Garth Park.
People and Community Exercise (PACE), a project led by Hull & East Yorkshire Mind and funded by the Big Lottery, have introduced the popular American craze of Disc Golf to Hornsea which has produced some positive feedback says community project worker Christian Sansam. Its aim is to provide the residents of Hull and the East Yorkshire with an alternative, inexpensive way of getting the recommended levels of daily physical activity, which is a vital element when maintaining good mental health.

The new 9-basket disc golf course is now available for play and within its first month has shown signs of encouragement from the local residents claims Christian;

“I’ve spoken with many residents about the new course and I have been pleased with the response so far. Families have been out playing which is a really good sign and visitors from surrounding towns have enjoyed themselves. It’s a really addictive sport and we love it, I hope others will do too!”

The exercise initiative led by Mind has worked alongside Hornsea Town Council to bring disc golf to the area. With guidance from professional disc golf course designers (Catch the Spirit), all parties have worked together to design a course that is both user friendly and challenging. The new course will become East Yorkshire’s premier disc golf venue and now joins as one of only 20 courses throughout the UK (www.bdga.org.uk). Plans to include the course as part of professional UK disc golf tours are being proposed with ambitions to host regional and national disc golf events.

PACE is also working with local schools and community groups with the intention of adding disc golf as part of physical education and activity schedules. Amanda Stamp, Head of physical education at Hornsea high School, who took part in a disc golf demonstration held by PACE earlier this year added;

“I personally think that disc golf will be well received. Equipment is inexpensive which can so often alienate youngsters from being able to participate within certain sporting activities, and anything that gets youngsters up and active can only be a good thing.”

PACE have introduced disc golf because of the many benefits the sport has to offer. It is a low intensity activity which accommodates a wide range of people young and old. Participating in a physical activity over a sustained period of time can help prevent mental health problems and also assist in their recovery.

“We would love to get a disc golf club up and running soon. There are endless opportunities for this course to inspire many things but we’ll need community champions and volunteers to get it off the ground”.

Professional discs are available for hire with a small refunded deposit (£2/disc) from the Beach Hut Café, located on Cliff road, Hornsea. There are 3 main types of disc; distance driver, mid-range and putter. New players will find that throwing a distance driver accurately is somewhat challenging at first, so beginners should maybe try a mid-range or putting disc for better flight. Good luck and happy bidding!

Notes for the Editor

History of disc golf
Disc golf (also known as Discgo) is a game in which individuals throw a flying disc into a basket or target. The concept is based loosely around traditional golf, where the object of the game is to traverse the course from beginning to end in the fewest numbers of shots.
Disc golf, as we know it today, was created by an American called George Sappenfield of Pasadena, California during the 1960’s after his invention of the first formal disc golf target (the Mach 1) using a basket and chains. Before this time, Sappenfield had been using targets such as lamp poles and fire hydrants, but for his first tournament (Thousand Oaks Park, California 1968) he used hula hoops as targets, which were kindly donated by the Wham-O™ Frisbee organisation (www.bdga.org.uk, 2009)
Since then participation levels in disc golf have increased steadily and according to the British Disc Golf Association (BDGA) it now has a reported growth of almost 15 percent per year in approximately 40 countries. It is said that in the USA and North America, one round out of every five rounds of golf, is disc golf. (www.pdga.com, 2009)


PACE & Time to Change
Time to Change is England's most ambitious programme to end the discrimination face by people who experience mental health problems, as well as improve the nation's wellbeing.
Mind, Mental Health Media and Rethink are leading this programme of 35 projects, funded with £18m from the Big Lottery Fund and Comic Relief and evaluated by the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College, London.
The programme is founded on an international evidence base, and has people with direct experience of mental health problems at its heart. Local community projects work alongside a national high-profile campaign, a mass participation physical activity week, legal test cases, training for student doctors and teachers and a network of grassroots activists combating discrimination.
We aim to work in partnership with all sectors and communities in order to tackle a long lingering taboo and one of the greatest social injustices. Find out more information on the national Mind website at www.time-to-change.org.uk
PACE has engaged over 500 people in sport and physical activity since it started in March 2008. PACE is part of the national time to change campaign to end mental health discrimination and is funded by the Big Lottery.
PACE is funded to work within the Holderness region of the East Riding.
The PACE project relies heavily on the work done by volunteers and asks the communities to consider getting involved. PACE is keen to establish a disc golf club and asks potential members to contact Hull & East Yorkshire Mind;
References & Useful links
www.mindhey.co.uk
www.time-to-change.org.uk
www.bdga.org.uk
www.catchthespirit.co.uk
www.pdga.com
Contacts
Christian Sansam PACE. Mind.csansam@mindhey.co.uk 01482 240200 / 07791 635 222