Die Schweiz besteht bekanntlich aus vier Sprachregionen. Während die Deutschschweiz betreffend Disc Golf sicherlich die Hochburg ist, tut sich aber auch in den anderen Regionen reichlich etwas. Schaut man jedoch über den Gotthard, so stellt man fest, dass unsere südlichen Kolleg*innen bisher noch nicht viel mit Disc Golf zu tun haben. Doch nun scheint sich auch im Tessin etwas zu bewegen, denn Brendan Shea und seine Freunde gründeten den ersten Disc Golf Club im Tessin.
In diesem Beitrag stellt sich der Disc Golf Club Collina d’Oro vor; ebenso erzählt Brendan wie die Pläne für die Zukunft aussehen. Und sind wir mal ehrlich, Disc Golf im Tessin ist eigentlich ein Muss! Das Interview wurde in English geführt und wird daher auch in English wiedergegeben. Viel Spass beim Lesen.
Let the community know who you are:
We are an international group of more than 10 players from Switzerland, USA, and Portugal. The majority of us started playing in the United States, and we are thrilled to be a part of the growth of the game in Europe. Our members have competed in a number of PDGA tournaments, and in the past year, two players from our club finished in the top 10 at the Italian Championship. We also have several seasonal members, including DJ Starframe of JoMez Pro.
What was your inspiration for building a club?
We had played at the Tenero Sports complex a number of times in the past, but when the pandemic started and many activities were paused, we decided to design our own object course in a vacant but beautiful park nearby on the Collina d’Oro (near Lugano). We have since discovered other courses in Switzerland, met other players, and started our own events, so we decided it was time to create an official club.
When will your object course be a permanent course with real baskets?
We are currently making contacts with various partners locally and beyond to see if we can develop a course on the Collina d’Oro or in the Lugano Region. The field we currently practice on is not used for anything in particular, but is connected to the popular Collina d’Oro No. 352 Mountain Bike trail, and is near the ZURICH Percorso Vita di Agra. The park has a small parking lot and is accessible by the 436 bus from Lugano, so it is very convenient to travel to. There are a number of restaurants and convenience stores nearby, so we think that a disc golf course could benefit tourism in the area and promote wellness in the community. And due to the excellent weather in Lugano and the fact that the elevated grounds enjoy the most sunshine in Ticino, we are able to play 12 months a year!
If you combine the number of rounds logged in UDisc from Tenero Sports Complex and our Collina d’Oro practice course, there were more than 250 rounds of disc golf played in Ticino in 2022—more than double the year before. Disc golf is growing, and we want to do everything we can to help people of all ages discover the sport in our area!
Do you have any words for the Swiss disc golf community?
We look forward to playing in more events and seeing more courses in Switzerland this upcoming season. We are delighted to join the Swiss Disc Golf community and look forward to meeting more of our fellow disc golfers in the near future!
