About this Project:
We will be installing nine-hole courses complete with baskets, tee signs, and teepads. Both courses will feature beginner-friendly layouts that will enrich their respective tribal communities.
Chief Kitsap Academy:
Chief Kitsap Academy, a tribal compact school for 6th through 12th graders in Poulsbo, Washington, is “committed to delivering culturally-based learning environments that prepare each student for a successful future.” As part of the Suquamish Tribe, the school serves as an ideal location to introduce disc golf to the community.
Through a partnership with the West Sound Disc Golf Association, the Paul McBeth Foundation will complete the design and installation of a nine-hole course on the school grounds in the summer of 2023. This exciting project will not only provide a new opportunity for Suquamish youth and families to engage in physical activity, but it will also serve as a means of preserving and promoting the cultural heritage of the Suquamish Tribe.
UDisc will be the primary sponsor of this course and has donated the baskets required for the project.
Čhaŋkú Wašté Ranch:
Čhaŋkú Wašté Ranch, located just outside the stunning Badlands National Park in South Dakota, is located within the Pine Ridge Reservation. The nine-hole disc golf course that the Paul McBeth Foundation is building in partnership with DiscGolfPark and Avery Jenkins is uniquely designed to complement the ranch's mostly open terrain.
This course will serve the reservation's youth population who attend summer camps hosted by Čhaŋkú Wašté Ranch every year. Apart from these camps, the ranch also partners with community members to create safe and healthy living spaces and offers wellness programs to the Oglala Lakota Tribal Community. By introducing disc golf to this already robust program, the ranch will further support its community and provide yet another means of promoting physical activity, mental wellness, and social engagement. We expect to complete this project in the summer of 2023.
"Our mission at Čhaŋkú Wašté Ranch is to give everyone in our community access to a restored life,' Executive Director Matt Hadden said."This disc golf course will allow us to provide access to recreation through a sport that has not had a lot of exposure in our community. I am excited to see how quickly it will catch on."
Why Indigenous Communities?
One of our core focus areas is indigenous communities, as most do not have access to the sport of disc golf.
Indigenous communities in the United States have been historically marginalized and exploited, making them some of the most vulnerable populations in the country. We see disc golf as an opportunity to give back to these communities by providing a fun and accessible way to promote physical activity, mental wellness, and social engagement. This effort reflects the foundation's commitment to promoting disc golf as a tool for positive change and its belief that everyone should have access to the benefits of this exciting and rewarding sport.
