Quad Cities – The Quad Cities is going to host another World Championship! The Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) announced the Quad Cities will host the 2017 Amateur and Junior Disc Golf World Championships on July 15-21, 2017.
The Amateur and Junior World Championships will be directed by Chase Roberts PDGA #20460 of Iron Lion Disc Golf Supply with the support of the Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau (QCCVB). The PDGA said in their announcement, “Chase and his team have a history of putting on great events such as The Rumble (a PDGA A-Tier event for five years), just as the Quad Cities has a reputation for being one of the premier disc golf outlets across the country.”
During the week of the international tournament, 600-1200 players will be competing all over the Quad Cities. The courses include West Lake Park, Middle Park, Camden Park, Credit Island, Prospect Park, Eastern Avenue Park, Devils Glen Park, and more courses in the surrounding areas.
“We’ve been watching disc golf grow for 10 years and we’ve spent that time running tournaments and trying to build the local golf scene towards this type of event,” says Chase Roberts, co-owner of the Iron Lion. “A Worlds event will put the spotlight on the Quad Cities and is our opportunity to show the world what we have to offer.”
Roberts says, “We wanted to work with the QCCVB to submit the bid because we wanted to showcase the Quad Cities scene and prove disc golf could make an economic impact on the area. We are proud to work with the QCCVB to help facilitate this for our local golfers and more so for the community.”
“We are very excited to have PDGA back in the Quad Cities and showcase everything that we have to offer,” says Dan Gleason, QCCVB Director of Sales. “The QCCVB and Iron Lion have been working hard together to get the PDGA to host a World’s event here. We had to put our best foot forward and outshine other communities that are larger than ours. We did that by our community support and the caliber of our courses. This was truly a community effort and I could not be happier for the Quad Cities to have gotten this bid.”
The QCCVB estimates the local economic impact will be almost $800,000.
PDGA Major Events are the premier national and international competitions for the sport of disc golf each year, featuring the world’s best disc golfers competing for World and National Titles. Hosting a PDGA Major is no easy task. Interest was shown from several involved local organizing committees, meaning selection of the 2017 events was difficult.
The PDGA has conducted its Major Championship Events in nearly every region of the U.S. The 2016 PDGA Amateur and Junior Disc Golf World Championships are being held in Madison, Wis.
The Quad Cities hosted the 2009 U.S. Women’s Disc Golf Championships.
The Iron Lion is hosting The Rumble tournament on April 22-24, 2016. The Rumble will use West Lake Park in Davenport, Camden Park in Milan, and Middle Park in Bettendorf. For The Rumble registration information, visit www.ironliondgs.com or contact Iron Lion Disc Golf Supply at 309-757-7685.
