By Lisa Parent

Family powers through disc golf tournament in rain and dominates

Jun 5, 2023 | 11:04 AM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – A disc golf tournament held by Skip Shot Disc Sports powered through a damp and rainy day on Saturday.

While the tournament hosted many different players, one family dominated the scene.

Ethan Knodel, owner of Skip Shot Disc Sports organized the tournament. He saw a turnout larger than any of his other tournaments, even though it rained all day. He said the rain can affect how discs are thrown.

“If the disc is wet it sometimes comes out earlier or later, but if you have a towel it mitigates that, and then it’s just, your shoes are wet and it’s unfortunate. But yeah, we play through it,” Ethan mentions.

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While Knodel has mastered his throwing technique now, he began the journey about five years ago.

“Well that was a while ago. My parents got me a starter pack for my birthday and I went to a summer camp and I played the nine there. I was just so happy with it, and then I came back home and played a whole bunch of times, got my family into it and then from there it was self-sustaining,” Ethan says.

Tw of Ethan Knodel’s sisters and his parents also attended the event. His sister Nyla says Ethan is extremely passionate about disc golf and the community.

“So he would go out like everyday and eventually me and my dad were just like ‘so what are you actually doing,’ and then we joined him and flash forward to now where we all have backpacks full of discs and hundreds of dollars in,” Nyla explains.

The youngest of the bunch, Summer Knodel says that while she enjoys being outside and throwing discs, her favourite part is being with her family.

“My favourite part is probably hanging out with my family while I do it, I really like that part,” Summer says.

And while Summer says she still has lots to learn, she is already wracking in wins. She placed first in the U18 category this weekend.

Her siblings Ethan and Nyla placed first in their categories, and their father Jeremy grabbed silver in his. Jeremy Knodel joking saying ‘the tournament sounds rigged,” but winning his own tournaments isn’t why Ethan organizes them.

“It’s amazing how committed he is. His love for the sport and the community really makes it special because he’s not just here to make money or just have a tournament, he wants people to really enjoy the sport,” Nyla says.

Ethan says the community is what made him fall in love with the sport in the first place.

“Oh, the community is the best part of disc golf. Everybody’s so friendly, and you can get on a card with some people and play a tournament, and then be friends. It’s a wonderful experience,” he says.

Ethan hopes to plan more tournaments this summer, and offers lessons to those interested in trying disc golf.