Primary Disc Golf 2023

Tuesday 11^th July 2023 – What a day! Today was our annual Disc Golf event at Plympton Academy hosted by some of our most talented sports leaders. Thankfully the rain held off but it was definitely the most windy event we have ever had  - some of the neighbours ended up with some frisbees in their gardens! We had 18 teams (2 teams from 9 schools) with us over the course of the day: Bickleigh Down, Leigham, Montpelier, Old Priory, Plympton St. Maurice, St. Matthew’s, Thornbury, Widewell and Yealmpstone Farm, so there were 90 children all taking part, learning new skills and having some fun. It was an early start to set up our 12 hole course but in no time at all, the teams were arriving. Half of the teams took part in the morning and the rest joined us for the afternoon tee off. After a quick training session on how to throw the disc and putt, we were underway. This event is run with a shot-gun start so each team starts on a different hole and then all move round once they have completed that hole. There is a 8 shot maximum with the idea being to complete each hole in as few shots as possible, just like Golf. Despite the wind, everyone got the hang of it really quickly and there were some impressive scores coming in – no holes in 1 today but as teams were having to take shots from their knees to get under the wind, it is to be expected. Alongside the children’s event, we also had a competition for the staff – who it turns out, are definitely more competitive! There were several prestigious categories to compete for: overall winning team; lowest scoring boy; lowest scoring girl and lowest scoring female and male staff. It was fantastic to see so many children (and adults) enjoying being outside and actively playing. With a mammoth amount of scores in hand at the end of the day, it was off to the computer for me to work out who had won… Congratulations to the ‘Old Priory Panthers’ who took the top spot in the team category; Indie from ‘Bickleigh Down Martin’s Marvels’ for winning lowest scoring girl; Finlay from Old Priory who won the lowest scoring boy title. We had a joint first place in the lowest scoring female member of staff category: congratulations to Mrs. Alford and Mrs. Evans – both from Plympton St. Maurice who finished on exactly the same points. Congratulations as well to Mr. Hewish from Old Priory who won the men’s title. Well done to all of our winners – it was my absolute pleasure to visit all your schools yesterday to drop off your prizes. I would like to say a huge thank you to a few people: first off to the fantastic group of sports leaders from Plympton Academy – you were absolutely brilliant with the children and they had a great time because of it; to Miss Nichols and Ms Clooke for arriving early and staying all day to help and keep me sane; to the Plympton Academy staff who helped me set up and get everything in place – I am so grateful to you all. It was all worth it as we had some very happy children at the end of the day. If this has inspired you to take part, head down to Central Park and check out the course there (www.centralparkgolf.co.uk) Thank you all for coming along, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did and I hope to see you all again next year.