The Pacific Rim Rotary Club is adding a disc golf course to Ucluelet’s basket of outdoor recreation opportunities.
The club first pitched the idea about four years ago and has been working diligently since, securing forested, district-owned land near the town’s community centre.
“We started down the path of doing reports for the district and looking at different plots of land to use …We discovered that up here behind the water tower fit in with the skate park, basketball court, community centre and bike park as a nice addition to outdoor play for the community,” the club’s past president Jeff Anderson told the Westerly News as he removed debris from the site alongside three other rotary volunteers on a rainy Saturday morning.
“Three-and-a-half years later, after many delegations and reports to the district, we were granted the land use of this parcel to build the disc golf course.”
The nine-hole, family friendly course will be free to play, though participants will need to bring their own disc, and the Rotary Club is expecting to host a soft-opening in early November with an official grand opening scheduled for the spring of 2024.
“It will be for all ages. We will have beginner and intermediate tee boxes so the whole family can come and play,” Anderson said. “It’s a year-round activity that doesn’t cost anything and gets everyone outdoors for fresh air and exercise.”
Disc golf, also known as frisbee golf, follows similar rules to traditional golf though players attempt to throw a disc into a basket, rather than hitting a ball into a hole.
Dennis Morgan was one of the volunteers helping out during Saturday’s rainy site-clearing clean-up. He told the Westerly he has been playing disc golf for about 30 years and the sport is surging in popularity .
“It’s a super fast growing sport. I’ve got cousins who are pros now out of Victoria. It’s gaining a lot of traction,” he said. “I love playing and my kids like it, so anything I can do with my teenagers is a good thing. It’s a really casual, family-friendly activity that anybody can do.”
Anderson said the new course will offer year-round fun and is well-suited to the forested area in the heart of Ucluelet’s recreational hub.
“The Pacific Rim Rotary club has put in a lot of hours with not only the planning and approval of the land-use, but through the help of the community and many volunteer hours, especially this summer. We have been clearing out the brush, dead trees, stumps and anything undesirable on this piece of land and we’re about three quarters of the way there to have the completion of the course done,” he said.
“Ucluelet itself is such a community minded place to be and there’s a lot of excitement about disc golf…As soon as people hear ‘disc golf’ it brings out a lot of excitement and makes people want to be out here helping and contributing to the shaping of the course. We’ve had so much excitement about this and a tremendous amount of people have come out so far. We’re hoping more come out to start to play as soon as we can and get the whole community involved.”
He added all nine baskets, or holes, are on-site and work is underway to clear fairways and install signage.
“We’re going to put some art in here and some signage and we’re working with WildSafeBC to put in interpretive wildlife signage through here so there’s an educational piece as well,” he said. “You can play this in rain or shine and it’s exploding all over Canada and North America.”
Grant opportunities are being combed through to help push the project’s funding over the finish line and, along with the volunteerism powering the clearing work, the club has also tapped into the town’s generosity, raising about $8,000 of its $15,000 goal with more fundraisers planned.
“Thank you to everyone that’s come out and participated thus far and we hope to see more of you out here enjoying this course once it’s finished,” Anderson said. “Keep up the great spirit Ukee.”
Don’t miss out on reading the latest local, provincial and national news. Join our community and receive daily news alerts & breaking news, right to your inbox: www.westerlynews.ca/newsletters.
READ MORE: Pacific Rim Rotary Club continues to shine
READ MORE: Ucluelet’s generosity helps Easter spirit thrive
READ MORE: Rotary Club enjoys rapid growth in Ucluelet
