NEVADA COUNTY DISK GOLF NEWS

Nevada County's SkyCatz is a local disc golf organization that is attempting to get the word out regarding disc golf and the effort it takes to make disc golf  possible here in Grass Valley, Penn Valley and Nevada City. It you have played then you understand how popular the sport is and if you have not, well then, you should. Nevada County has two great courses or is it three? Condon Park in Grass Valley and Western Gateway in Penn Valley are the most popular. I was reading the Meeting Overview letter which is listed below, I learned, we have another course, this one is in Nevada City. Apparantly Truk Jantz masterminded the new semi-private course called Silva Acres DGC. Please contact SkyCatz at their facebook page here.

• April 2012 - SkyCatz Meeting Overview:
  
  April’s SkyCatz meeting was very well attended a couple weeks ago. In fact, it was a good mix of new and well-established players including, Hall of Famer - Michael Travers, Sheri Hoefler-Weese, Kathy Collins, Jay Behr, Matt Bell, Bruce and Teresa Hinson, Jeremy Lang, Joe Pugliese, Matt House, and the mastermind behind Nevada City’s new semi-private Silva Acres DG course himself Mr. Truk Jantz. This solid turnout, which represented our diverse region, was due in part to the results of the March club elections that formally seated the following (also in attendance):
  
  Club President - Shaun Long
  Vice President - Dan Lynch
  Treasurer – Mike “Woody” Woodman
  GV Sergeant in Arms – Brian Costa
  PV Sergeant in Arms – Kerry Eldredge
  Secretary – Chris Carpenter (who was nominated during this meeting since the iconic Ms . Lynn Costa was not available this year).
  
  It has been a long time since the club has had such a balanced representation among PV and GV players alike. This is a great sign for our growing community as we work together to share the resources that we all care so much about.
  
  After announcing the newly appointed members, the first item on the agenda was the club financial report. While the club is far from rich, Woody indicated that we have sufficient funds to push forward with many of the maintenance items that have been on the SkyCatz’ to-do list. Funding has been coming from weeklies, the Hanging Oak Tournament, Club Memberships (both renewed and new!), along with a successful selling out of the first run of bag tags (more are on order). Woody had a detailed breakdown of debts/credits putting us on the plus side of the ledger.
  
  Other good news, Woody and Bruce had a face to face meeting with Grass Valley Public Works and Engineering Department staff and worked through the details to develop an Facility Use Agreement for the Condon Park Disc Golf Course. Long story short, Sky Catz and Trueline volunteered to make course improvements and conduct maintenance activities over the next 2 years in return for having the course rental fee waived for 13 events over the next 24 months starting with the Motherlode AM tournament. We will ultimately bring cleanliness, new signage, bench maintenance, course maintenance, and a steady flow of out of town traffic to Grass Valley. This translates to reduced tournament costs and more winnings that can be funneled back to the various players who come out to play, while benefitting the community for all.
  
  Penn Valley course conditions were brought to the table by Shaun, Kerry and Jay. Proposed work days were discussed, but firm plans didn't quite surface. Nonetheless, it sounds like a fund-raiser to get some dedicated mowing equipment could go a long way in the future. And anyone out there playing who sees someone working is encouraged to offer a helping hand. Let’s keep this type of discussion going. For now, it sounds like our new President, Shaun Long, and Sergeant in Arms, Kerry Eldredge with his posse, know what needs to be done to prepare for the Pro Motherlode. If Mother Nature starts to get the upper hand, we may need to formalize a work day. Woody is checking into using the Park’s mower too.
  
  Sky Catz Bag Tags for sale. http://www.dirtybirdy530.com/ has got these babies up on their website now. Kerry also volunteered to sell them at the weeklies being that he attends nearly all of the events .
  Future to-do items that are gaining traction include:
  
  • GV Hole Committee – our new VP, Dan Lynch, has asked Costa to formalize a course enhancement plan that can be presented, in writing, to the city of Grass Valley. We discussed new pin positions, practice basket space and a variety of maintenance items. He even want to see little flags in the dirt marking the exact locations, so we can walk the decision makers around and show them the benevolence of our intended actions. Condon Park will not allow for renegade actions, so we are dutifully playing by the rules so we can all have more fun out there.
  • Woody proposed making a strategic layout for ADA players at Condon in recognition of the Americans with Disabilities Act. He has contacts at ? to help with the planning, and sees this an opportunity to bring additional joy to this scenic disc golf venue. Costa chimed in with a quick 9-hole layout of 1,2,10,11,12,7,8,9. There are kids and adults alike who would come away with big smiles on their faces if we can make this happen.
  • Plans to fix and/or make OB lines at Penn Valley more permanent. This was a lively conversation that touch on shoring up edges and even proposing cool ideas for filling the ponds with gravel and dirt, so they only held a foot of water (versus losing your favorite disc forever in the deep cold stuff).
  • Big tournaments fill fast!! An excellent idea was proposed by Kerry Eldredge recommending that Sky Catz members have automatic priority tournament eligibility. Let’s face it, this game is growing and many of us enjoy competing. More importantly, Penn Valley and Grass Valley are recognized as great courses to play, which is attracting traveling players. We know you take pride in these courses, let’s make sure you get to play when our big ones come around. We just might surprise a few people out there with our unique lines as we walk away a few strokes lighter.
  
  Well…there is more rambling that could be done about this last meeting because there was a lot going on. So how about you come to the next meeting to see what’s happening behind the scenes for yourself? We have an ever evolving agenda that will never have a true ending. So we simply keep finding ways to provide a fun, safe and unique disc golf experience whether players know we are making it possible or not. The next meeting is scheduled for May 24th, Thursday 6 PM.