Despite the snowy morning weather, Ferris’ disc golf team braved the cold by hosting a fundraiser for their upcoming trip to nationals.
The fundraiser took place on Feb. 17 at the disc golf course in Northend Riverside Park with 35 people in attendance. The event was hosted by tournament directors Ethan Boswell, an accounting sophomore, and Owen Wolfson, an architecture freshman.
Wolfson stated that the fundraiser was planned to get the team involved with the community and to raise money to take the team to the Disc Golf National Championship.
“We’re going to go down Rock Hill, South Carolina to play against hundreds of other kids from colleges and hopefully take the win,” Wolfson said.
Over time, the disc golf team has continued to grow as a fun sport. During their time on the team, Wolfson and Boswell prepared this event as a way of gaining community interest.
Boswell co-created the fundraiser as a way of bringing disc golf into the campus sports limelight.
“We wanted to grow our presence as a team on campus,” Boswell said. “Not a lot of people know that we even have a disc golf team, let alone that we’ve won multiple national championships. So, we wanted to put our name out there.”
Coach Leonard Johnson stated that the main goal of this fundraiser was to support the team and philanthropic effort.
“We’ve hosted tournaments before where people bring canned food items, and then we would donate them to a food bank,” Johnson said.
Disc golf has been a part of Ferris since 2006 when Johnson first formed the team. As a retired Ferris professor of 25 years, Johnson still shows his support for the team. For him, it’s not only the sport that he comes for but the joy it brings to the students.
“I started professional disc golf in 2000, but in the 70s I was an ultimate frisbee player in college,” Johnson said. “[Now,] I’m more of the behind-the-scenes supporter. These players are so good and they’re much better than I am. They just teach each other and are committed to practice. It’s the enthusiasm that the students bring to it, it’s never-ending. It’s why I went into teaching in the first place.”
Johnson states that disc golf is an inexpensive way to stay active and it’s suitable for all ages. He and Boswell have seen a large increase in people’s interest in the sport over the years.
“We see people out there all the time that are of all age groups, from kids that are 10 years old to adults that are 70 and 80 out here,” said Johnson. “So, the appeal to the community has really ballooned in the last few years.”
For Wolfson, disc golf is a way to grow and socialize with new people as a freshman. He feels that the sport makes his transition into college life easier.
“I was extremely nervous coming in as a freshman as most are,” Wolfson said. “This team has really helped me grow as a person and overall have friends that I can rely on. It’s a great community and it gives me a lot of relaxation time because it’s fun to get out here.”
The next disc golf tournament takes place in Lexington, Kentucky on Feb. 24. For more information on the disc golf team, visit https://www.ferris.edu/student-life/u-rec/students/clubsports/discsports.htm.