Thursday, August 24, 2023

Issue:

Mackay and Whitsunday Life

Frisbee Fever

Photo: Chris Palazzi at the Australian Disc Golf Championships last weekend. Photo credit: Kingsley Flett

For Chris Palazzi, throwing a frisbee is a euphoric experience.

“I like watching plastic fly, I don’t know what it is,” he said.

“Something about the physics, I guess it’s tranquil watching it fly.”

Chris has been playing disc sports for years, even representing Queensland and South Australia in ultimate frisbee.

As he got older and more courses were constructed around Australia, Chris focused his skills on disc golf, travelling to the Sunshine Coast last weekend to compete in the Australian Disc Golf Championships.

The Australian Disc Golf Championships brought together some of the best in the world in a competitive yet social atmosphere.

“There was a lot of intensity … but at the same time, especially towards the end when we were following around the pro players, there was a really good atmosphere, and it was really cool to see some of the best in the world competing,” he said.

Chris placed 11th out of 30 in his division, reaching as high as fifth throughout the weekend.

“I know there’s some things in my game that I need to work on and there’s some things in my game that are quite good compared to the pros,” he said.

Disc sports have been rising in popularity over the last few years, and the weekend gave Chris an appreciation of the level of skill out there.

“With things like Covid which meant you couldn’t do team sports any more, people were looking for outdoor activities in small groups where you could stay isolated, and disc golf just ticked all the boxes so it’s basically exploded over the last three years,” he said.

“There’s more and more courses being put in … Mackay’s hopefully one of the next spots to get one.”

Chris and his wife Keri run Kingfisher Disc Golf, a local supplier for everything disc sports and the sponsor for Mackay Disc Sports aiming to bring disc sports to Mackay.

“We’re trying to get both ultimate and disc golf going,” he said.

“They’re targeted at similar crowds but at the same time ultimately different; ultimate’s a bit more athletic and disc golf is basically accessible to just about anyone.”

Mackay Disc Sports is holding their second league day this Sunday, November 27 from 2:30pm at John Breen Park in North Mackay.

For more information and to pre-register for the league day, visit Mackay Disc Sports on Facebook.

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