Club Image
Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 9:16 pm
Here it is. I'm dropping the big wad of dirty laundry.
I've taken on the task of running the majority of our league events for the last 2 years. Everyone knows that it is much more than taking money and paying it back out. There is tracking handicaps, keeping track of club funds, creating league schedules, preparing for upcoming tournaments, keeping track of membership and member info, carrying and posting updated forms on bullitens, creating files to track ace fund info and league history etc., keeping an updated disc inventory and making regular orders with selections made by the members, promoting the league to new players, course repairs, pin rotations, talking about improving league at monthly meetings, coming up with new formats, playing new courses, keeping things fair and people happy.....
Why do I do it? Easy. Because I love the game and I love providing people with a fun and competitive place to play it.
I've been seeing some disturbing things happening at league. I think some of these things are giving our club a bad image and these things will continue to become more damaging unless the club (not just me) wants to see things change. I've had people tell me that they have quit coming to league because of some of these things or similar. I've even had a person blame the club for this behavior and demand that people be held responsible for their actions. Here are some examples:
*Profane and Vulgar language right in front of women and children. Should women and kids be excluded from league play just because they show more control over themselves? The people offended by this aren't limited to women and kids either. They could be parents or those with a more disciplined lifestyle. The people we are driving away might be the ones who could take the game to the next level.
*Illegal activity. To each his own. But in the clubhouse, in front of the police station? That's just asking to lose the clubhouse, our courses, the reputation of disc golf locally or even nationally.... Be very discreet. Show consideration for everyone in your group. It only takes one person who has a bad experience and chooses to report it. There is nothing keeping this from happening.
*Inappropriate behavior on the course. I had a situation today where a player showed up to league after taking heavy doses of "altering" medications. To this was added alcohol and more. After a few holes, the player was not capable of continuing play. 12 holes took over 2 hours because the player couldn't keep track of where they were throwing on every single shot. There's more that is really too inappropriate to go in to. I kept thinking, what if this was a new golfer or my stepson who was partnered up with this player? After babysitting for so long, I tried to get the player to just set it out. As the situation continued to deteriorate, I talked privately with them to make sure they knew that what was going on was inappropriate. At this, the player immediately became offended and left.
I feel bad for dealing harshly with this person. There are obviously problems going on. This person repeatedly gets belligerent drunk during league and tournament events and has to quit early. This was the first time it happened in my group, but how many times has it happened to others? How many people can tolerate this kind of behavior, and should they? I want to run a disc golf league where players can strengthen their skills, not a safe-haven for people to get away with behavior that wouldn't be tolerated anywhere else. It is really hard to let someone know they have crossed the line without coming off as rude, but that may be exactly what is needed. It is not OK.
*Personal attacks. I’m not just talking about a couple of people here. I've heard of several different incidents lately involving several different players where there was constant bickering going on for a league round and these incidents have come very close to getting physical. Is there any excuse for this? I can't think of any situation where this is the right choice. We are all out there on our own personal time to have some fun. How fun is it to have players fighting in your group? We should think of our disc golf buddies as our family. There's no grudge out there worth keeping. Let's try to make it a good time for everyone. Make it a better experience for others, not worse. It comes down to respect. For the game, for each other, for ourselves.
If it makes people uncomfortable to see it mentioned publicly, that's probably a good thing. Because that's exactly what myself and other folks experience when we go to league. Public disgrace. What kind of reputation do we want to have? A serious question. I know most of the people who view this forum are the players who do show respect for other players. So don't take this as an accusation. I'm hoping that you will support me in trying to improve our club rep. Policing all the players shouldn't be yet another responsiblility for me to take on alone. It has to be everybody who wants for our club and league events to be an enjoyable experience FOR ANYONE who wants to come play.
I've taken on the task of running the majority of our league events for the last 2 years. Everyone knows that it is much more than taking money and paying it back out. There is tracking handicaps, keeping track of club funds, creating league schedules, preparing for upcoming tournaments, keeping track of membership and member info, carrying and posting updated forms on bullitens, creating files to track ace fund info and league history etc., keeping an updated disc inventory and making regular orders with selections made by the members, promoting the league to new players, course repairs, pin rotations, talking about improving league at monthly meetings, coming up with new formats, playing new courses, keeping things fair and people happy.....
Why do I do it? Easy. Because I love the game and I love providing people with a fun and competitive place to play it.
I've been seeing some disturbing things happening at league. I think some of these things are giving our club a bad image and these things will continue to become more damaging unless the club (not just me) wants to see things change. I've had people tell me that they have quit coming to league because of some of these things or similar. I've even had a person blame the club for this behavior and demand that people be held responsible for their actions. Here are some examples:
*Profane and Vulgar language right in front of women and children. Should women and kids be excluded from league play just because they show more control over themselves? The people offended by this aren't limited to women and kids either. They could be parents or those with a more disciplined lifestyle. The people we are driving away might be the ones who could take the game to the next level.
*Illegal activity. To each his own. But in the clubhouse, in front of the police station? That's just asking to lose the clubhouse, our courses, the reputation of disc golf locally or even nationally.... Be very discreet. Show consideration for everyone in your group. It only takes one person who has a bad experience and chooses to report it. There is nothing keeping this from happening.
*Inappropriate behavior on the course. I had a situation today where a player showed up to league after taking heavy doses of "altering" medications. To this was added alcohol and more. After a few holes, the player was not capable of continuing play. 12 holes took over 2 hours because the player couldn't keep track of where they were throwing on every single shot. There's more that is really too inappropriate to go in to. I kept thinking, what if this was a new golfer or my stepson who was partnered up with this player? After babysitting for so long, I tried to get the player to just set it out. As the situation continued to deteriorate, I talked privately with them to make sure they knew that what was going on was inappropriate. At this, the player immediately became offended and left.
I feel bad for dealing harshly with this person. There are obviously problems going on. This person repeatedly gets belligerent drunk during league and tournament events and has to quit early. This was the first time it happened in my group, but how many times has it happened to others? How many people can tolerate this kind of behavior, and should they? I want to run a disc golf league where players can strengthen their skills, not a safe-haven for people to get away with behavior that wouldn't be tolerated anywhere else. It is really hard to let someone know they have crossed the line without coming off as rude, but that may be exactly what is needed. It is not OK.
*Personal attacks. I’m not just talking about a couple of people here. I've heard of several different incidents lately involving several different players where there was constant bickering going on for a league round and these incidents have come very close to getting physical. Is there any excuse for this? I can't think of any situation where this is the right choice. We are all out there on our own personal time to have some fun. How fun is it to have players fighting in your group? We should think of our disc golf buddies as our family. There's no grudge out there worth keeping. Let's try to make it a good time for everyone. Make it a better experience for others, not worse. It comes down to respect. For the game, for each other, for ourselves.
If it makes people uncomfortable to see it mentioned publicly, that's probably a good thing. Because that's exactly what myself and other folks experience when we go to league. Public disgrace. What kind of reputation do we want to have? A serious question. I know most of the people who view this forum are the players who do show respect for other players. So don't take this as an accusation. I'm hoping that you will support me in trying to improve our club rep. Policing all the players shouldn't be yet another responsiblility for me to take on alone. It has to be everybody who wants for our club and league events to be an enjoyable experience FOR ANYONE who wants to come play.
Ron 
