1000 Rated Disc Golf Players, News, scores, and more

1000 RATED: Many disc golf clubs and associations dream of hosting the Professional Disc Golf World Championships. Can you tell us a little about how this came together, what you had to present in order to be selected, and offer any insight to others who may be interested in applying to host the Worlds in the years ahead?

LARRY: After a meeting with the CVBs of Kalamazoo and Battle Creek, we made the decision to bid for the worlds. It was an extensive bidding process and it took almost a year before a decision was made from the point where we made the bid to when it was awarded. We had a ton of information that the PDGA requested and then had a site visit where Dave Gentry and John Houck came to evaluate our courses. I would suggest to anyone else interested in bidding on the combined to realize that they will be devoting 2-3 hours a day everyday for almost a year to work on this. I would also suggest to try and have as many courses at the same site as possible and to have a strong supporting staff that is behind having this event.

1000 RATED: Due to the rise of the sport, as well as the prime centralized location of the 2008 event, are you anticipating record crowds for the semi’s and the Final 9? How have you prepared for something of this capacity and what are you hoping to achieve?

LARRY: I believe that we should have a large crowd for the finals. We have a couple of evening activities that bring disc golfers together with the local community. I expect that this will help get more non-disc golfers out to see what disc golf is about.

1000 RATED: Something this big is obviously very time consuming and requires help from a large group of volunteers. How many people will be working the event this year? Are you still looking for more?

LARRY: There are so many people that have been and are involved in putting on this event that I can’t put a number to it. We are always needing more help.The more help we have the easier it will be to get things done and make it nicer for the players.

1000 RATED: What kind of media coverage are you hoping to attract? A lot of players always hope for the best - has there been any talk with or interest from ESPN whatsoever?

LARRY: We are going to have great local media coverage, but I think with the Olympics happening at the same time, national media won’t really happen.

1000 RATED: Did it take an explanation to the city of Kalamazoo before they understood the size of the tournament and the significance of the event to the sport and it’s members? Are they excited to have you in town?

LARRY: There was no explanation to the city itself. We had the support of the CVBs of both cities from the start. The interesting part was working with the 9 different locations of our courses. Each one is run by a different entity and they each have their different things that they wanted or needed from us to put this event on. Some were great and easy to work with. Others had more requirements and things that needed to be done to host our event in their park.

1000 RATED: I’m sure you want to stay as unbiased about the event as possible, but could you offer any predictions or surprises we may see from the field at the 2008 Worlds?

LARRY: It is hard to say. There are a lot of really talented players here, all with a great chance of winning their divisions. I also haven’t really been following the pro tour lately. I’ve been too busy working on the World’s to pay attention. The most interesting scenario is David Feldberg coming back to Kalamazoo (He started playing at Cold Brook Park) ranked #1.

1000 RATED: We know this might be a difficult question to answer, but we ask everyone; who is your favorite 1000 rated player and why?

LARRY: I would say me, but my rating has fallen lately, since I haven’t been playing too much. By this time next year though I’ll have it there again.