[ Contact Info ] • Web Site: www.greatLVsoccer.com • Telephone #: 607-432-4365 • Fax #: 607-432-4430 • E-mail: greatLVsoccer@colassoc.com • E-mail: tournaments@colassoc.com • Mail: Great Lehigh Valley Soccer Festival % Lehigh Valley Sports Commission PO Box 20785, Lehigh Valley, PA 18002-0785		[ Press Releases ] February 8, 2005 Contact: Gene Nichols, (610) 882-9200 gnichols@lehighvalleypa.org THE LEHIGH VALLEY LANDS THE 2005 PROFESSIONAL DISC GOLF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS International Tournament to Bring Hundreds of Visitors to the Area this Summer (Lehigh Valley, Pa) – The Lehigh Valley Sports Commission – an arm of the Lehigh Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau – has successfully landed the PDGA Disc Golf World Championships for the summer of 2005 (Professional Disc Golf Association). The event will be held July 23 – 30 at Allentown’s Little Lehigh Parkway and Jordan Creek Park. Quakertown’s Nockamixon State Park and Tinicum Park in Erwinna will also host matches. It is estimated that the world championships will bring 400 athletes from 15 different nations to the Lehigh Valley. An additional 100 support staff and 425 visitors per day are expected. A total economic impact of at least $500,000 is likely. Previous PDGA World Championships have been held in cities such as Houston, Phoenix, Rochester, Ann Arbor, and Des Moines. WHAT IS DISC GOLF? An activity that combines two of America’s most loved recreational outlets – hitting a golf ball and throwing a Frisbee – disc golf has been called a game, a sport and a recreational activity. It used golf concepts with Frisbees and specialized targets known as pole holes. Like the clubs of a regular golfer, disc golfers have specialized discs used for drivers, approaches and putts. The discs are weighted and designed to fly specific distances. It is not uncommon to find a dedicated disc golfer carrying 10-15 discs in their bags at a given time. The object of the game is to navigate the 18-hole (and sometimes 27-hole) course in the least amount of throws (or strokes). Players start from the designated tee area for each hole and make their first throw. As in regular golf, the next throw comes from where the disc lands, and so on, until the player throws the disc into the pole hole to complete that hole. Players follow this pattern for the entire course, adding up all throws from the round to attain their final score. The player with the lowest score is considered the winner. THE HISTORY OF DISC GOLF Pennsylvania is an historic center for disc golf. In 1977, WMMR radio in Philadelphia, in conjunction with Wham-O, promoted a Frisbee festival on the Belmont Plateau overlooking downtown Philly. To everyone’s surprise, approximately 10,000 people showed up, impressing Wham-O so much that they donated an entire disc golf course to Philadelphia. This donation gave Pennsylvania the distinction of housing the first permanent pole hole disc golf course in the east, and the third in the world. Today, Pennsylvania is the leading disc golf state in the Mid-Atlantic Region, maintaining more courses, hosting more tournaments, and possessing more disc golfers than Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and New York. Pennsylvania is also the home state of 2000 Pro Masters World Champion Joe Mela, as well as the birthplace of Frisbee legend Dan “Stork” Roddick, who is still an active promoter with the Professional Disc Golf Association and the World Flying Disc Federation. Around the world, the PDGA estimates that 2-3 million people play disc golf, with most being casual, recreational players. As the sport continues to grow, competitive disc golf is rapidly expanding throughout the nation and the world. In 2004, the PDGA sanctioned some 584 competitive tournaments, which is a 17% gain over 2003 (499 events) and a 35% increase over 2002 (431 events). Worldwide, there are currently 44,148 competitive disc golfers, 15,672 professionals and 28,479 amateurs/juniors. HOW THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS WERE LANDED BY THE LEHIGH VALLEY The Lehigh Valley Sports Commission has worked closely with the PDGA since February of 2003 to bring the 2005 World Championships to the Lehigh Valley. An extensive bidding process, including the development of a marketing plan, a formal presentation to the PDGA Board of Directors in Scottsdale, AZ and the securing of local facilities was undertaken. “We have been working with the PDGA for two years to make this a reality,” said Michael Kusmuk, sports marketing manager for the Lehigh Valley Sports Commission. “It has been a painstaking process, and we are thrilled to see the world championships coming to the Lehigh Valley. The hard work was well worth it.” The PDGA was interested in coming to the Lehigh Valley because the local popularity of disc golf has been skyrocketing in recent years. The sport has been embraced regionally, with a rising number of players, courses and competitive tournaments. “In addition to the world-class competitive venues being provided for the event, the Lehigh Valley is a great place where our global visitors can enjoy history, entertainment and accessible amenities,” said John Duesler, PA state representative for the PDGA. “And all of this is available at an affordable price that will encourage, not only the players to come, but their families as well.” LOGISTICS OF THE 2005 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS The tournament, which is expected to offer the first $100,000 purse in the sport’s history, is a singles event that will consist of eight different competitive divisions (based on age and gender). Players will compete in seven rounds of disc golf at four courses throughout the week. After players complete seven rounds on Friday, a “cut” will be made. The top half of each division will participate in the semi-final rounds Saturday morning (at Jordan Creek and Little Lehigh Parkway). After that round, the top 4-8 players in each division will participate in a final round held at the Little Lehigh Parkway. The players who finish with the best total scores after this round will be crowned the 2005 Professional Disc Golf World Champions. “The Lehigh Valley will be the center of the disc golf universe during the ’05 Pro Worlds, as we host 400 of the players in the world competing for the biggest purse in disc golf history,” said Duesler. “This is very exciting.” Mike Stershic, executive director of the Lehigh Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau, commented that “the Lehigh Valley is well-positioned to land major professional and amateur tournaments in burgeoning sports. This is a sign that we are becoming a real player when it comes to these types of events, which bring hundreds of visitors and thousands of dollars to the Valley.” To inquire about sponsorship opportunities or for additional information, please call John Duesler at (215) 914-0677 or visit www.2005worlds.org. The Lehigh Valley Sports Commission is an arm of the Lehigh Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau, the designated tourism promotion agency of Lehigh and Northampton Counties. Its mission is to attract sporting events to the Lehigh Valley through effective marketing, bid coordination and hosting activities. For information on the Lehigh Valley Sports Commission please call (800) 747-0561 or visit www.lvsports.com.