Why Join the PDGA?

[disc_golfing_fool]

"Ask not what the PDGA can do for you, but what can you do for the PDGA."

I did not renew our memberships for 2009.

[curt]

If people want change dont they need to vote in some new people to call the shots. Its like anything else that you vote for.

There were only 5 candidates for 4 positions, so the absolute best that could have been hoped for is voting out the 1 board member that you dislike the most.

[chiggins]

I'm going to need you to explain how competition is bad without going on an anti-government rant.

Give it more thought, I don't think that's something you really need.

[Frank Delicious]

Ron Paul 2012

[Timko]

I'm a PDGA member, and will remain one. Not because I play that many PDGA tournaments (only 1 this year), but to keep my Officials status so I can run PDGA events in the future. Unless you play 5 PDGA events throughout the year, or are interested in running events, I don't think it's worth your while to be a member.

[scoot_er]

I'm a PDGA member, and will remain one. Not because I play that many PDGA tournaments (only 1 this year), but to keep my Officials status so I can run PDGA events in the future. Unless you play 5 PDGA events throughout the year, or are interested in running events, I don't think it's worth your while to be a member.

Plus they don't listen very well to unhappy members......................who send them checks every year and $3-5 per event.

[Working Stiff]

You know it's not like all those associations are the only ones for their sport so it's not like they are the "official" association. They are just the biggest and best promoted. Really the problem is that there is no competition against the PDGA therefor they don't need to improve.

WTF?

why would the PDGA need competition? hello? what planet are you from? it's not a fucking walmart, it's not a starbucks... it's not a business... competition is not how you improve a non-profit organization, donating, contributing, paying membership fees, voting, these are the things that will improve the PDGA.

Hehe, those that are PDGA members should check out the article in the most recent magazine about the history of the sport and those that tried to make a new PDGA (I forget exactly what the names and acronyms were at the time). Pretty interesting stuff though.

I don't get the mag since I'm not a member. Was that article about the Doug Newland-led effort to get the old DGA controlled PDGA to turn disc golf over to a player-run organization? If it was, the funny thing I always took from that story is that the kind of organization that Doug wanted and Ed argued successfully against is EXACTLY the kind of organization the PDGA is today and has been for the last 25 years.

[Working Stiff]

Plus they don't listen very well to unhappy members......................who send them checks every year and $3-5 per event.

I thought when Graham came in that maybe I could rejoin, since I quit because Hoeinger was an ass to me one too many times. I came to realize that I quit not because I didn't like the PDGA, but because I didn't like Guru. Hell, the PDGA is just a group of disc golfers. How can you not like that? I just hated dealing with the "my way or the highway" pompous ass Executive Director. I got a little excited counting down the days until his green card expired.

Now with the whole "take back the message board" and the fact that he gets on the PDGA message board to try to bully people just like Hoeinger used to, I've pretty much written off Graham as anything new. Just another guy named Brian. I suppose I won't be renewing anytime soon.

[Working Stiff]

I'm a PDGA member, and will remain one. Not because I play that many PDGA tournaments (only 1 this year), but to keep my Officials status so I can run PDGA events in the future. Unless you play 5 PDGA events throughout the year, or are interested in running events, I don't think it's worth your while to be a member.

That was the only reason I ever joined. I joined so I could be an Official and subsequently get conned into running sanctioned events. I never played in enough events in any year for the (at the time) $5.00 savings to add up to my fee.

[Working Stiff]

I'm kind of hoping Stiff is typing up a response to this thread right now. I know he has some opinions on the matter.

Talking about the PDGA either makes me mad or sad. Never happy, just mad or sad. When I'm mad I can go on some inspired tirades about how disc golf is organized upside-down and the whole focus of the PDGA is completely off-target.

Tonight talking about the PDGA is making me sad. I don't want to be sad, so I'm going to stop talking about it now and go look for a good Roc thread. Some Roc talk always cheers me up!

[scoot_er]

Plus they don't listen very well to unhappy members......................who send them checks every year and $3-5 per event.

I thought when Graham came in that maybe I could rejoin, since I quit because Hoeinger was an ass to me one too many times. I came to realize that I quit not because I didn't like the PDGA, but because I didn't like Guru. Hell, the PDGA is just a group of disc golfers. How can you not like that? I just hated dealing with the "my way or the highway" pompous ass Executive Director. I got a little excited counting down the days until his green card expired.

Now with the whole "take back the message board" and the fact that he gets on the PDGA message board to try to bully people just like Hoeinger used to, I've pretty much written off Graham as anything new. Just another guy named Brian. I suppose I won't be renewing anytime soon.

You are just one of many who didn't like Brian BO Hoeniger.

Graham is nice but from my conversations with him he has no real idea of how to push the Pro side of the sport forward.

[Timko]

I think the Pros would benefit from some type of Pro players union, and enter into some sort of contractual collective bargaining agreement. Perhaps putting Feldberg on the board will change things.

The largest group of PDGA members has and will always be dominated by the amateur divisions. For most folks, being a member of the PDGA is like being a member of a club, where you and your friends get together and play some golf. Some are more serious about it, some more relaxed. If that is something that interests you, then joining the PDGA is a fantastic idea. But I don't think becoming a member of the PDGA is going to help progress the sport.

[Star Shark]

Steve Rico is a friend of mine. He and his good friend Josh Anthon have been a bit miffed lately in that the players don't get a dime in terms of fees/royalties on any of the dvds you buy. In fact, for the clash series, basically your sponsors buy you into the dvd. There's no prize money. Granted the Clash series is a real quality production and it does do a bit for the sport, but pro disc golfers are already underpaid in terms of tournament payouts. There's really only a couple guys on the tour who are making enough to even 'live' off the money. Avery just won a world title and got 5.5k out of it. That's just a little sad.

[Chuck Kennedy]

Looked at another way by most people in the world, it's pretty amazing that Avery just won $5500 for skillfully throwing around discs during a week, even though less than a 1000 of several billion people watched let alone care to watch and certainly not willing to pay to watch. There are thousands of people in the world who have developed special skills like tiddly winks and Rubik's cube experts who get much less or nothing for their skills.

[Jesse B 707]

Looked at another way by most people in the world, it's pretty amazing that Avery just won $5500 for skillfully throwing around discs during a week, even though less than a 1000 of several billion people watched let alone care to watch and certainly not willing to pay to watch. There are thousands of people in the world who have developed special skills like tiddly winks and Rubik's cube experts who get much less or nothing for their skills.

there is also a girl who just won 50,000 in a TEXT MESSAGING speed contest