UCSB Disc Golf Team founder Mike Sale will attempt to break the world record for most disc golf holes played in 24 hours next month as part of a fundraiser for the team to attend the National Collegiate Disc Golf Championships in North Augusta, South Carolina.

Established last September, the team placed second in the West Coast Collegiate Open in November, advancing them to the upcoming National Championships. The fundraising event, which involves the team selling customized discs from the Disc Golf Association, will take place Feb.10 at the Isla Vista Peace Disc Golf Course on Estero Road.

Sale, one of the four starters on the team and the number one ranked amateur player in Chicago, said he must play over 1,305 disc golf holes to make a new record.

“I had the idea of trying to break the world record for most disc golf holes played in 24 hours, which is 1,305,” Sale said. “So on February 10 at 9 a.m., I’ll be starting a 24-hour disc golf tournament in order to try to raise the money to go to Nationals. So we are looking for people to come out, donate, volunteer, etc. Hopefully, we will set the world record here in Isla Vista.”

The goal, Sale said, is to fundraise between $1,000 and $1,500 to go towards the team’s travel expenses.

According to Jason Cortella, a third-year mechanical engineering major and a starting player, the 24-hour event means no sleep for the team that weekend, but “he’s had enough of that already.”

“The fundraiser is supposed to raise awareness and have people pledge one or two cents for every hole made,” Cortella said.

The group will be tabling outside of the Student Resource Building on Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mike Schnell, a fourth-year communication major and team member, said members are trying to accrue publicity and make a Facebook event page for the fundraiser.

Disc golf, a sport originating in the 1960s, can be described as a hybrid of Frisbee and golf. According to Sale, players tee-off on a rectangular pad and attempt to throw a moderately heavy disc across a disc golf course and into a basket.

Sale said he took the initiative to discuss his idea of starting the team with Schnell and another student at the beginning of the school year.

“Essentially the first week I got here, I went out into Goleta where there is a course called Evergreens, and out there I met two of my [current] teammates, Dylan and Mike,” Sale said. “I ended up pitching the idea to them, and Mike [had] already done the administrative stuff for the club baseball team… It just got going. We just got affiliated with the school and Rec Sports, I believe.”

According to Sale, training takes place on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 3 p.m. located at the Evergreen Park in Goleta. The team currently hopes to reach out to more potential members, Sale said.

“We are always looking for new members at UCSB to come out and play with us,” Sale said. “There is also a course in Isla Vista we play [at] every once in a while and we are on Facebook. ‘Like’ us, and if you come talk to us, we’ll come out [and] go around to you any time you want.”

Cortella said the team welcomes “any influx of new people.” He said the sport is not about a dominant single player but about a team contributing equally to the game and functioning as a unit.

“The nice thing about [disc golf] is that even if you have a superstar, the whole team needs to be good for us to move forward,” Cortella said.

The National Championships are scheduled to be from Apr. 3 to 7. For more information on the competitions, visit ncdgc.com, or to find out more about the UCSB Disc Golf Team, visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/UcsbDiscGolf.

 

A version of this article appeared on page 3 of January 28th, 2013’s print edition of the Nexus.

Print