A Tournament for Okeeheelee Park
Disc Golf Addiction is proud to announce the
CRAWL INTO FALL TOURNAMENT
OCT 3rd & 4th
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Skin Cancer is a Real Risk to Disc Golfers
I used to always tell people that “It is good to learn from your mistakes, but whenever possible try to learn from someone else’s”.
I have been diagnosed with skin cancer. This is a bad time to have skin cancer. Why? In a down economy people are less likely to have insurance to address small things that need medical attention before they turn into big things that need medical attention. This is the case with me.
As a recreational disc golf enthusiast I play disc golf out in the sun, mostly around Fort Lauderdale. When you play out in the sun you get exposed to the sun’s harmful rays. I apply the 50 SPF (such as Ocean Potion) stuff all of the time, but that was not always the case. As a kid I surfed and worked construction and in college I worked agriculture. This was the way of life in South Florida. This is the way of South Florida disc golf. The effects of the sun accumulate over a lifetime until one day you get a “spot” somewhere.
The spot seems innocuous enough. It bleeds a little sometimes, a lot at other times. But it can lead to bigger things underneath the skin. When you don’t have health insurance you might ignore it. When you ignore it it gets worse. If you ignore it long enough it will get worse and when you finally go to the doctor serious damage has occurred.
What would have been a relatively easy procedure is now going to be an expensive reconstruction. This could have been prevented. Here is how:
- Wear protection from the sun. Protection comes in many forms: Hat, sunglasses, UV resistant clothing,and most importantly, SUNSCREEN.
- Whenever possible play when your shadow is the longest. This is early in the morning and later in the afternoon.
- Start protecting yourself early in life. Moms should make sure babies are protected. Since the sun’s damage is accumulative start wearing skin protection as soon as you start going out in the sun.
- Apply the protection at regular intervals during your time in the sun.
In recent years the incidence of skin cancer has been rising steadily and the average age of people with skin cancer has been getting lower. Women under 40 are getting skin cancer twice as fast as men in the same age group. Too many of my friends get burnt every weekend and in some cases everyday. During a disc golf tournament you can be exposed as much as 12 hours during the weekend. It only makes sense to start protecting yourself now and from this point forward to reduce the chances of you getting skin cancer.
Fortunately skin cancer is quite curable when treated early. More than 90 per cent of all cases of skin cancer are completely cured.
How The RCDGA Does It:
My good friend Jack Hicks belongs to a very successful fund raising organization, that being the River City Disc Golf Association. Periodically I get an email from Joe Van Duzee, the club’s president, detailing the club’s activities. I am amazed at the level of participation this club gets. They have monthly minis, course maintenance days, regular leagues, install new basket postions, etc. The RCDGA markets Disc Golf and recruits and trains players. You might think its easy for them to raise money because they are a successful club – and that may be true, but think of how and why they started.
Initially a like minded group of people stated that they would start handicapping to raise money for their goals. They told the established club what they were doing and that they would not interfere with the established club’s activities. In 2006, The River City Disc Golf Association (RCDGA) formed as an official organization and have since continued onward and endeavored towards their goals. Being civic minded, the RCDGA decided to partner with a local charity, The Clara White Mission (http://www.clarawhitemission.org/). From a humble beginning they have successfully turned a handful of people into a larger group of people who have combined civic minded activities with the sport of disc golf. These Disc Golfers have a genuine sense of community. They have benefited from making steady progress a little bit at a time.
This year they managed to raise even more money and hosted another Jacksonville Open. According to Jack Hicks, the result of their efforts accomplished the following: (updated and corrected)
- Filled field of 120 golfers.
- Raised enough money to match the PDGA endowment Program and gave their charity The Clara White Mission a check for $1500
- Paid out $8,400 for the Pro’s prizes and $6,600 for the Ams for a total event value of $15,000.
- Solicited sponsorship for golfers meals for both days.
They are able to do this because they have individuals like Jack and Joe who volunteer their time and efforts and their money to further their goals for their community. Their club actively promotes and recruits DG’ers from the local and surrounding areas. They focus their efforts and inspire the rest of us. This is how its done folks.
Congratulations are in order for the RCDGA. The RCDGA is good for Florida disc golf. The South Florida Disc Golf community has also enjoyed successes. Recently I participated in The 16th Annual Sizzler at Tradewinds Park and we accomplished some very similar goals and the local Disc Golf Clubs, as well as the TD Mike Lennon, are to be commended for their coordinated efforts.
Its stories like this the public needs to be aware of. It attracts more Disc Golfers like Jack Hicks, Joe Van Duzee, and Mike Lennon, who are just the kind of people to inspire the rest of us.
From the PDGA’s website:
2009 Jacksonville Open – Not your ordinary B-tier
