The Cultures, Economies and Politics of Emerging Sports
About Us
Parked is a non-profit educational blog created in 2016 to broaden the discussion of disc golf, generate insight on the sport through sociological theory and scientific research, celebrate disc golf photography, help grow the sport and sustain a culture of inclusion and fun.
Editor
Josh Woods, editor at Parked, is a professor of sociology at West Virginia University. He is the author of four academic books, several journal articles and publications in popular media, including articles in Udisc’s Release Point and Ultiworld Disc Golf. His most recent research examines emerging sports communities, with a focus on disc golf. He is working on a book, Emerging Sports as Social Movements: Disc Golf and the Rise of an Unknown Sport, to be published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2021.Dr. Woods believes that black lives matter.
Writers and Photographers
Jesse Wright is the News Director at West Virginia Public Broadcasting and loves playing disc golf. Jesse is the key contributor of photographs to Parked. His work has also appeared in DiscGolfer Magazine and Full Metal Basket. Check out more of his photography at West Virginia Disc Golf.Lauren E. Lakeberg has a B.A. in photography from Columbia College Chicago. She has been photographing disc golf since 2004 and has been a regular contributor to DiscGolfer Magazine and the PDGA since 2009. You can follow her on Facebook, Instagram and her website.
John Mola received his PhD in Ecology from the University of California Davis and now works as a Research Ecologist for a federal agency focusing on pollinator conservation. He quit his high school golf team to take up Ultimate and disc golf and never looked back.Dillon Carr is an assistant professor of anthropology at Grand Rapids Community College with a research specialty in Great Lakes archaeology. In response to an aging body and little children at home he has recently retired from volleyball and taken up disc golf as his serious hobby.J. Gary Dropcho is a professional disc golf course designer, promoter and player. He was a founding board member of the Disc Golf Foundation, and currently serves as PFD’s course superintendent, as an Innova Ambassador and is the founder of Grip it and Rip it Disc Golf. Dropcho was inducted into the Disc Golf Hall of Fame in 2015.Bill Newman, PDGA #1603, has been playing disc golf since his days in college in Boston. With degrees in Geography, Law and Education, he is a member of the PDGA’s Environmental and Disciplinary Committees.Rebecca Burton is a social worker who has helped seniors and their families with life transitions for 30 years. She loves playing disc golf with her Lady Flyers and helping to grow disc golf in North Central West Virginia.Alex Colucci is an adjunct instructor at Kent State University where he also earned a PhD in geography. His research sits at the intersection of political economy and political ecology, and he has published on the subjects of capital punishment, violence, and social theory. He has published extensively on disc golf as a former managing editor and full-time reporter at Ultiworld Disc Golf.Chris Bawden is a Michigan disc golfer of nearly 20 years and has been an author with the Disc Golf Puttheads since 2015. He lives with his wife and two daughters near his home course of Burchfield Park and is a data scientist on the side.Kaycee Glattke is currently working on her PhD in biomedical engineering at Arizona State University. When she is not spending time in the lab, she enjoys rock climbing, volunteering with the local American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life, and adventuring with her dog, Gibson.Asbjørn B.V. Hauberg lives with his wife Lea and two kids in Copenhagen, Denmark, just 3,200 feet from Valbyparken disc golf course. He works as a teacher in the areas of music and outdoor activities. Asbjørn designed and maintains a disc golf course in the southern part of Denmark and is currently writing and compiling advice for others who are trying to establish courses, clubs and events.Vic Allen is the PDGA Memberships Manager. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology and Geography, and a Master of Education at Texas State University. Before working at the PDGA, he helped establish the Texas State University Disc Golf Club and worked as a production assistant for DiscGolfPlanet.tv.James McDonald is the PDGA State Coordinator for West Virginia, the creator and site manager of Full Metal Basket and a tireless disc golf promoter.Ben Owens is a journalist and tournament organizer based in Colorado. He has published widely on the cannabis industry and culture. Owens is the founder of Discs-n-Dabs®, disc golf tournaments designed to combine cannabis and disc golf in the great outdoors.Based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Coltin Calloway is a filmmaker, dedicated outdoorsman and avid disc golfer. Through 18 years of filmmaking, he’s taken on many subjects. All outdoor, all fun. Check out his YouTube channel here.Bill Flynn (PDGA #12313) lives in Warren, Ohio. He started playing disc golf in 1984 while attending the University of Cincinnati (Bachelor of Science, Engineering).Dee Leekha, author of Business Consciousness®, is the co-founder of Circular Productions, LLC and Houck Design. As an entrepreneur, her business operations focus on uplifting communities and lives through the sport and game of disc golf.Kristian Vernegaard, faculty in the Health and Sports Sciences department at the University of Agder, Norway, is first author of the study, “Students’ motivation in a disc golf-lesson and a soccer-lesson.” The complete article is available here.Kari Toivonen is a Turku-based advertising man who has been blogging about disc golf for over 10 years and has co-written the first disc golf guide book in Finland.When he’s not playing disc golf, writing and taking photographs, Kingsley Flett is a mild mannered biomechanist with twenty years of experience in coaching. You can check out more of his work at kingsleyflett.com.Brian Wells is a disc golf dad from Ocala, Florida. In October 2017, he began organizing an annual disc golf event to raise funding for ARC Marion, an organization that helps people with disabilities reach their full potential.Among her numerous accomplishments in disc golf, Valarie Jenkins is a four-time Professional World Champion. She is the founder of Disc Golf 4 Women, and serves as the Chairperson of the PDGA Women’s Committee. Check out her personal website for great disc golf tips.Hall of Famer Jim Palmeri (PDGA #23) has been a promoter of disc golf since the early 1970s. He has organized numerous competitive events, including the 1974 American Flying Disc Open and the 1984 PDGA World Championships. He is the coauthor, with Phil Kennedy, of A Chain of Events — The Origin & Evolution of Disc Golf.Adam Snavely is the founder of Discs Against Heroin. He works as a physician in New Hampshire with prior recognition for compassion and community service.Robert Hooker is a welder and a musician whose current passion is playing and promoting disc golf. A native North Carolinian, he currently lives near Zebulon, N.C.
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Parked is underwritten in part by a grant from the Professional Disc Golf Association.
Parked 