On Saturday, May 10, the 3rd annual Sunnyvale Youth Disc Golf Tournament took place at the Villa Maria Disc Golf Course in Cupertino. It was organized by Fairwood Explorer Elementary 5th-grade teacher Joe Gabent, who also leads the Fairwood Disc Golf Club. Lakewood Elementary 5th grade teacher Kevin Davis leads the Lakewood Disc Golf Crew, and also participated in the tournament. Almost 40 players competed, including middle school players from both Columbia Middle School and Sunnyvale Middle School for the first time.
After weekly practices for several months, players were able to play at a real disc golf course, many for the first time. Villa Maria is a 12-hole course that challenges players to keep their discs on the fairways and out of the trees and bushes. For the first time at the tournament, there was even an ace (hole-in-one) shot by Lucas from Columbia Middle School.
Gabent: “It’s been really exciting to see how the tournament has grown over the last few years. A ton of people help make this possible. I had fantastic staff who helped put on the event, including Sunnyvale teachers, parents, and my family. I’m also very grateful to the amount of prize donations we received for our raffle, donations of food and drinks for the players, and the Silicon Valley Disc Golf Club for letting us use the course and setting up the tournament layout for us.”
Davis: “It’s so great to see more kids getting involved with disc golf. We had 4 students from Lakewood who were new to disc golf this year who placed in the tournament. Logan, Santi, Omar, and Calissa did an especially great job, and I’m so proud of them for working so hard to learn and excel at a new sport.”
Fairwood student Pragathi, who won the girls division, said that disc golf has been a “good and nice experience for me. It was a new sport that I tried and liked so much. The tournament was great and I got new friends.”
Lakewood student Calisa, who took 2nd place in the girls division, really enjoyed her first year playing disc golf. “When I first heard about disc golf, I didn’t know what to expect. Turns out, this is one of my favorite sports. I was proud that I was one of two girls in the Lakewood disc golf team.”
Fairwood student Oliver, who won the boys division, said, “What I like most about disc golf is that it’s fun, you can play with your family or friends, and it’s also a challenge with different kinds of weather and courses. It was fun playing the tournament with my friends, and I’m glad to know how much I’ve improved since last year.”Thomas from CMS won the middle school boys division.
Gabent continues to offer his help and support to any District school that would like to start up their own disc golf program. He will hold an annual “Family Disc Golf Clinic” in the fall and encourages any staff or parents from other schools in the District to come have fun and learn about disc golf. For more information, please visit the Fairwood Disc Golf Club site or email joe.gabent@sesd.org.
