The 2018 Disc Golf Season is officially over and what a busy year it has been.

This time last year in her application for her Eagle Wings Junior Grant, Evelyn outlined her goals for the 2018 season.

1. Go to Junior Worlds and place in the top three in my division.

She came very close.  Evelyn did attend Junior Worlds but missed out on a top three finish by just two shots!  It was such a close battle for that third place position but she was grateful for the opportunity to compete and extremely happy with her fourth place.  The experience of playing the final nine holes at the Emporia Country Club, being announced by the Dynamic Discs crew and high-fiving Jeremy Rusco before she and the other girls teed off will be an experience she will never forget.  In fact, the entire Junior Worlds experience was one we will never forget.  We made so many wonderful new friends and Evelyn grew as a disc golfer.  It has been great to see the improvement in her game since Worlds.

And of course we cannot forget that Under 12 Girls Worlds Doubles Champion title that she and her friend Virginia Polkinghorne left Emporia with.  That was the beginning of a lifelong disc golf friendship.

2. Improve my rating by at least 75 and my league handicap by at least 10 by the end of 2018. With practice, I think I can do this.

Well, she smashed this one out of the park!  This time last year, Evelyn’s PDGA rating was 507.  After the November 2018 update, her rating was 655.  That is an improvement of 148!  A huge improvement was shown after her experience at Junior Worlds.  This really ignited her passion for the sport and her determination to keep improving.

She didn’t quite reach her league handicap goal but came very close.

3. Meet other junior girl disc golfers.

This had to be the highlight of our disc golf year.  Evelyn met so many amazing girls and young women disc golfers this year.  We are excited about what the future holds for women’s disc golf.

We don’t have a lot of women disc golfers competing in the Australian tour but that number is slowly growing.  It was so exciting for us to meet so many girls and their families who are so  passionate about this sport when we visited the US.  Evelyn finally has friends she can talk disc golf with, even though it is by Skype now we have returned.  I am sure that many of the people we have met will be lifetime friends and I am absolutely sure that we will meet again on a disc golf course somewhere…maybe even back at Emporia where many of our friendships were formed.

And that final goal;  Meet my disc golf idol Paige Pierce.

This was much easier than she expected.  we were overwhelmed by the support of the disc golf pros who were visiting Emporia during Junior Worlds.  Meeting a pro is one thing…having a pro follow your card during a round is something that this 11 year old will never, ever forget. It seemed like every corner we turned there was someone ‘disc golf famous’ that we had only ever seen on YouTube or podcasts before.

Evelyn was even interview by Danny Lindahl, Bobby Brown and “The Disc Golf Guy”, Terry Miller. It was so exciting for us.  Emporia during a big tournament like this is like Disneyland for disc golfers.

Of course there were many other great things that happened in 2018.   Evelyn was one of the 2018 Eagle Wings, Junior Grant recipients, she introduced disc golf to many new players and helped design a new course, we played lots of new courses and tournaments in Victoria, South Australia, New South Wales and the ACT.  This included our first ever Women’s Global event and our first Australian Championships on one of the longest courses we have ever played.  Above all, we have met so many amazing people and extended our disc golf family.  We even hosted the Disc Golf Guy, Terry Miller on his Tour Down Under and shared some Aussie hospitality.

And to top it all off, Evelyn was recently awarded the trophy for 2018 Australian Disc Golf, Women’s Junior, tour Champion.  Wow!  What a year it has been.

Now to set some goals for next year.  Evelyn has decided to play in the Women’s Novice division on the Australian tour this year to challenge herself and help to improve her game and of course she would like to see that rating climb a little higher.

What are your disc golf goals for 2019?

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