Team Canada takes gold at inaugural WFDF Pan American Team Disc Golf Championship
Team Canada fended off hard-fought competition from Team USA to take home gold in the final match of the inaugural World Flying Disc Federation Pan American Team Disc Golf Championship, which took place 10-12 November in South Carolina, USA.
Team USA jumped to an early lead in the medal match with a 3/1 win from Nina Guerrero and Ryan Mulder over Daniel Laitsch and Karen Martel. The final two matches would come down to the wire. Team Canada went up by as many as four coming down the stretch, but Team USA responded, picking up wins on back-to-back holes. However, Team Canada sealed the match and the title on the 16th hole.
Colombia took home the Spirit award.
The Professional Disc Golf Association acted as the local organizing committee for the event. The championship awarded world ranking points to all three teams who attended. With a maximum of 12 points for the gold medal winning country, followed by 10 for the Silver and 8 for the bronze medalists respectively.
“This first WFDF Pan American Team Disc Golf Championship was a challenge to host and PDGA and IDGC staff have to be applauded in helping WFDF produce a quality event in difficult circumstances,” said Charlie Mead, Chair of the WFDF Disc Golf Committee.
“Having overcome pine beetle infestations and teams unable to gain visa entry to USA, the teams that remained showed the spirit and camaraderie that is now familiar to WFDF Team Championships. We were witness to new friendships and highly competitive play sitting side by side with national pride and genuine appreciation of the skills of each other – especially in the alternate shot doubles format. Relying on your team players to contribute equally is at the core of this event – and the experience of Canada in this event and format at past World Championships stood them in good stead – and definitely contributed to their Gold Medal success.”
“We thank all the teams and players, caddies and friends who made the trip to Langley Pond – and hope to see you all in Perth, Australia for the next World Team Disc Golf Championship in Nov 2024.”
Summary of Results
