Tag: Justin Menickelli

Academic Publisher to Release Book about Disc Golf

by Parked, posted in Rise of An Unknown Sport

By Josh Woods, PhD ~

In the first two decades of the twenty-first century, several sports reached their fast-growth stages.

Skateboarding was headed to the Olympics and regularly appeared on television and in fashion magazines. Energy-drink-powered teens were pulling down big paychecks from esports megaevents. The Ultimate Fighting Championship was filling large arenas with fans and pouring mass-mediated adrenaline into mixed martial arts.

Even a few lesser-known sports were on the rise. Spikeball, the promoter of roundnet, landed deals with Shark Tank and ESPN. Cornhole was appearing on ESPN and courting moneyed sponsors like Johnsonville Sausage. Ax throwing and wood chopping were being nationally televised.

After decades of slow growth, disc golf was also on the rise.

Continue reading “Academic Publisher to Release Book about Disc Golf” →

Should Disc Golf Warm Up To Cannabis?

by Parked, posted in Cannabis, Opinion

By Ben Owens ~

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As the popularity of disc golf grows, the sport’s relationship with cannabis is also evolving. Historically, disc golfers were stereotyped as “pot heads,” a negative image that groups such as the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) have worked to overcome by legitimizing the sport. More recently, disc golf has developed to the level of other established sports, while cannabis has become legal in some form in more than half the country. Continue reading “Should Disc Golf Warm Up To Cannabis?” →

Risk of Brain Injury from Disc Strikes Is “Negligible,” New Research Finds

by Parked, posted in Public Health

By Josh Woods, PhD ~

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Photo Menickelli et al., 2019.

Life is inherently risky. And if you play sports, injury risk lurks around every corner. Even athletes of esports, who compete while sitting down, face significant health problems.

Though seen by some as a whimsical game, disc golf can be a menace to the flesh. Having dealt with several problems myself, I reviewed research on the prevalence of disc golf injuries in two previous posts in Parked—one with an early interview with Disc Golf Strong and the other on stretching. Simply throwing a disc repeatedly, sans ankle turns or catastrophic falls, can wreak havoc on the fibrous tissues that connect muscle to bone. Continue reading “Risk of Brain Injury from Disc Strikes Is “Negligible,” New Research Finds” →

Flying Discs in the Age of Legal Cannabis

by Parked, posted in Cannabis, Culture, Opinion

Should disc golf embrace the weed industry?

Josh Woods ~

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Image via sftravel and flydiscs.

Cannabis has finally arrived in disc golf land.

Wait … what?

Okay, weed has been here from the beginning, but in May 2019 the San Francisco Open (SFO) became the first premier disc golf tournament that had a major sponsor from the cannabis industry. Continue reading “Flying Discs in the Age of Legal Cannabis” →

Three Reasons to Care about Disc Golf Research

by Parked, posted in Environment, Grow the Sport, Public Health

By Josh Woods ~

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One of the questions you learn to answer in graduate school is, “Who cares?”

As you work through your research ideas, your teachers drum this question into you. For instance, after presenting your thesis proposal, someone in the audience might chirp: “Your project sounds interesting, but I’m not sure it passes the who-cares test.”

That’s as close as it gets to smack talk in academia.

As devilish as the question may be, it’s almost always worth answering. After all, if your research isn’t relevant to anyone, why carry it out? Continue reading “Three Reasons to Care about Disc Golf Research” →

31 Interesting Things about the 2018 PDGA Board Elections

by Parked, posted in Grow the Sport, Opinion

By Josh Woods ~

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I have a confession. It’s terrible. I’m not kidding. It’s really bad. But here goes: At times, I’m a lazy, uninformed voter.

For one reason or another, I almost always make it to the voting booth, even for most local elections. But I rarely feel optimally educated on the candidates before casting my votes. Yep, I’m that annoying guy who’s holding up the voting line, because he’s doing last-minute research on his cell phone.

But, with the 2018 PDGA board elections coming this July, I thought I’d part ways with habit and start my research early. Continue reading “31 Interesting Things about the 2018 PDGA Board Elections” →