Recognizing Best Local Finish

[EnigmaSquad]

Recently I was at a tourney where a local member of the hosting club finished just outside the trophies, but was the "best finish" for that club.
He was offended that the TD did not recognize him for "best local finish".
My questions are as follows:
1) Have you ever been to a tourney where the TD did this? "I just want to give a shout out to Bob for placing 8th place! That was the best finish for any of us locals!"

2) Do you think it would be appropriate to ever do this? (If it has never been done before does that necessarily mean it shouldn't be done?)

3) If you do feel it is appropriate, what criteria would you use?

[NWDiscer]

Originally Posted by EnigmaSquad

Recently I was at a tourney where a local member of the hosting club finished just outside the trophies, but was the "best finish" for that club.
He was offended that the TD did not recognize him for "best local finish".
My questions are as follows:
1) Have you ever been to a tourney where the TD did this? "I just want to give a shout out to Bob for placing 8th place! That was the best finish for any of us locals!"

2) Do you think it would be appropriate to ever do this? (If it has never been done before does that necessarily mean it shouldn't be done?)

3) If you do feel it is appropriate, what criteria would you use?

ummmmm really recognize for BLF.....



1) i have never heard this in 15 yrs of tourney play that i can remember

2) Trophy's/Awards for every child in school related activities...

3) N/A

[TYVEK]

i dont think it is necessary at all, local or not everybody is playing for the top of the leaderboard (well most of us are). if somebody doesnt place then they dont need to be recongnized just for being a local, UNLESS it is one of those super uber volunteer locals that went above and beyond in their efforts to make the course playable for the tournament or helped with the tournament.

no special treatment just for being a local. thats my opinion.

[General Scales]

What makes the best locals placement better then anyone else? They didn't finish in the trophies or cash and therefore they do not need to be recognized for their failure to achieve. Sounds harsh but that's just the way it is.

[LakeStevensBA]

I have given Todd Bates, Gawain Stern and Chris Gilberts "Participant" t-shirts because I knew they really had no chance of taking home any hardware. They were very appreciative and their moms were very proud of them. Other than that, I have never heard of giving a local an award.

[Jason Philips]

I thought that's what players packs were for.

[maco capo]

You could take him out for ice cream with your kids' soccer team after they lose!

[jeffmonty]

Maybe make a mention of it in the "minutes" from the next board meeting that gets e-mailed to club members. I don't think anything more than this is necessary, if even this.
I don't know who this was, but i'm glad for him that he had a good season,and a good showing in the final tourney. But to complain about it in this manner??

[PhilStomp]

Originally Posted by maco capo

You could take him out for ice cream with your kids' soccer team after they lose!

I'm not sure why this thread caught my attention but I have this strange scawl on my face. Your statement sums it up best.

[HarrisonH]

Refer your friend to this thread and allow him to see that everyone thinks he is a whiner. At this point, it's not even your opinion.

[Kenny B]

I'll add another question to the mix.

Does it matter what the name of the tournament is? For example, what if at the Oregon State Disc Golf Championships, the top 3 places (and trophey getters) were all from the State of Washington

Would/Should the TD recognize the best finishing Oregon player, even though they didn't get on the "podium".

[WestsoundBT]

Case study: Canadian Nationals 2011 (Kamloops) (ultraglide turned Nats for the year, also supertour event)

There was on the program that the highest finishing Canadians at the tournament were to receive a special trophy and (very sizable) cash bonus for finishing "highest Canadian player" in each division. The money was I believe fronted by a Canadian Oils Sands safety company with family ties to pro Carrie Neal (I believe).

It made sense to me at first read,as well as being impressed with the cash sponsor donor for their generosity...

..But then my second thought was that it was almost "concessional" in nature.

It almost conceded that it was expected that the Canadian players were not going to be getting the "regular" or "standard" trophy placings. (which for the large part, they didn't - at least in the main featured "open" divisions)

That second thought was a downer - kind of in a "Oh, that's so sad in a way"

[papatart]

OOOOH, interesting thread. This kind of strikes me two ways.

First, I am a true devotee of award for excellence. It kills me to see schools going away from awarding for the best but rather awarding all. In fact, a saying that has been heard coming from my lips many times is "Never mistake effort for results."

That being said, the question remains to how the tourney is organized and what is its purpose? This summer, the WSDGA really devoted their energy to making their events drive to excel in participation rather than cutthroat competition. End result, huge fields and many players experiencing a fun, semi-tourney feel for the first time.

My last thought is that of my old skateboarding days. We used to meet at random backyard pools and our competitive nature would come out and we would all throw down a couple of buck for best trick of the day as figured by the riders. I specifically remember the day that all of us were cranking hard, riding out of our minds and often way above the coping. This usually chased all of the lesser skilled riders out. But there was one kid who wanted to learn to ride better and would not give up. That day he hit his first grind ever. This was a trick that we all warmed up with and thought nothing of. But there was not a doubt in any of our minds that this was BY FAR the raddest trick of the day because not a one of us did anything for the first time that day. Not to mention, if you are not a skater, the first chirp you get from hitting that coping and coming back in and riding it out is a feeling you will never forget.

So yeah, sometimes noting what seems to be not a real big deal is worthy.

Papa

[Lund]

Originally Posted by EnigmaSquad

Recently I was at a tourney where a local member of the hosting club finished just outside the trophies, but was the "best finish" for that club.
He was offended that the TD did not recognize him for "best local finish".
My questions are as follows:
1) Have you ever been to a tourney where the TD did this? "I just want to give a shout out to Bob for placing 8th place! That was the best finish for any of us locals!"

This sounds like a bag tag challenge to me.

[Yardbird]

Bag Tags might have had something to do with the comments from player "Bob". There was a pool of Bag Tags in play this season that had no real value other than pride. Some players were more religious in their value and percieved them to have more value towards the season awards. The event and season awards were based on actual scores per event(s).

I'm all for rewarding the player that performed the best at an Event. Handicapped scoring will fit the bill for that (as long as there are adequate rounds in the player's handicap).

At the recent event with the vocal player "Bob" comments, there was a Handicap scoring division that all players were eligible for and trophies awarded for the top 5 finishes. Player "Bob" performed great for two rounds, but he was not in the top 5 player performances of the day. There were other players that performed better and was recognized acccordingly.

[jdinteg]

Dry your tears off, MAN UP! Better luck next year. Throw in the local field, putt in your back yard, get better. 2nd place is still the 1st loser.

I was 11th going into my local bag tag league with the lowest tag # that has every dangled from my bag at the end of the season (9), shot a crappy round, finished 13th, missed those cool blown glass trophies I wanted so bad, oh well. Gives me something to shoot for next season. Worst day of discgolf is still better than my best day at work!