As DiscGolfPark by Discmania continues to design and instal top level disc golf courses around the world, we’re excited to expand DiscGolfPark to Canada.
We’re welcoming a team of Canadian DiscGolfPark professionals to the team: Benjamin Smith, Cara Hovius, Jeff MacKeigan, Mark Oxer, Matt Riordan, and Clayton Beddington. They each bring a unique skill set to the table and complement the top professional approach that DiscGolfPark has carried out.
Staff Introductions
Benjamin Smith is a well-known face in the Canadian disc golf landscape. He was recently featured in the disc golf documentary, "Throw Canada" and has been the two-time tournament director of Canada's National Championship. His company, Flickline, has been able to deliver disc golf programming in schools for over 12,000 students. Smith has 23 permanent disc golf courses under his belt and dozens of tournament designs.
Cara Hovius and Jeff MacKeigan have been planting disc golf seeds (and baskets) in the City of Toronto for the last three years. This duo created both the Marilyn Bell Park Disc Golf Course and the widely popular downtown Beaches Disc Golf Course. Their strengths lie not only in course building, but in diligent planning, and community engagement. Through their ongoing efforts, and their business, ChainLink Disc Golf, their long-term strategy will see disc golf being played by more people as they build disc golf communities throughout Ontario and into Quebec.
Mark Oxer has great experience in both sport leadership and coaching roles. Combined with the knowledge gained from the numerous courses he has played around the world, Mark’s established partnerships with schools, youth organizations and clubs provide the backdrop for sharing the sport as well as fun and accessible disc golf courses for communities in Alberta and Western Canada.
Matt Riordan is a course designer and tournament director in Alberta. With deep roots in Western Canada and his experience in course design, Riordan will be focusing on development of disc golf in Canada to the next level.
Clayton Beddington brings 24 years of British Columbia disc golf experience as a player, tournament director, and disc golf course designer. He specializes in technical course designs that focus on safety and low environmental impact.
New Sponsorships
With today's announcement, Discmania and DiscGolfPark are building on the meaningful Canadian partnerships they have been nourishing with retailers like TopLink Disc Golf. Discmania is also sponsoring this year's Canadian National Championship and Flickline signature tour.
With a country as vast and complex as Canada, it is important to have people who understand the climate they live in and can best serve the disc golf world of which they are a part of. Each new DiscGolfPark designer knows their own markets and are making strides to grow the game with the tools they possess.
DiscGolfPark in Toronto
Thanks to the efforts of Jeff MacKeigan and Cara Hovius, Toronto, North America's fourth largest city, is now home to DiscGolfPark targets. Canada's newest course, Scarlett Woods Disc Golf Course, is a part of Toronto's plan to keep people active through the winter months during the pandemic. This will be the first of many projects our DiscGolfPark team launches in Canada with more coming soon.