The historic Frisbee Golf World Championships will be held in Tampere and Nokia next year. The recent World Cup success of Eveliina Salonen and Niklas Anttila creates a good foundation for it.
Finland had a great time at the frisbee golf world championships held in Lynchburg, USA over the weekend, when both the women’s and men’s competitions won medals. Eveliina Salonen achieved Finland’s first frisbee golf world championship.
Having achieved silver Niklas Anttilan the medal was the first medal on the men’s side. Frisbeegolf has been on a strong rise in Finland for a long time due to, among other things, the number of enthusiasts and the conditions.
The latest trend has been that success has come from high-level professional competitions. Both Salonen and Anttila have placed in the top positions in the sport’s Major competitions, which are mainly dominated by American throwers.
Executive director of the Frisbee Golf Association I met Aulu reminds of the overall development of the sport behind the success.
– There are more top players, that’s how success can come. This (World Championship success) was in itself an expected and natural growth curve. Ten years ago, we actually had one full-time professional, while now there are a dozen of them.
– When you can focus on frisbee golf professionally all year round, this kind of success is possible. This could not have happened before.
The basic level is enough for a medal fight
Finland was completely without a medal at the Summer Olympics in Paris. Even before the Games, it was pointed out that there is not a single athlete in Finland who would be ready to fight for medals at their basic level.
Salos and Anttila, on the other hand, have such a level. That’s why we can’t talk about any surprise medals.
For example, Anttila has already toured the USA’s high-level professional competitions for several years, where he has been able to constantly measure his fitness for the absolute world championships of his sport.
– There is that experience. When you get into a situation like that, you can handle it until the finish line. Eveliina Salonen is a good example of the fact that she has been in the top group in the last round of every Major tournament this year.
A large audience easily thinks that in any sport, the World Championships are the number one event in that sport. Aulu says that this was not the case in previous years.
The sport’s World Championships have so far only been contested in North America.
– The European Championship was a decent competition for us, because all the countries and all the best came there. Only a few foreigners went to the World Cup to play. It was more of a US championship.
– Today, however, they are the biggest competition. The meaning has opened somewhat beyond the sport as well. In recent years, many more live broadcasts have come to the attention of the general public.
High in the Athlete of the Year competition?
Finnish sporting success has been generally weak this year. Aulu throws an appropriate raise.
– I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Eveliina is high in the Athlete of the Year vote as well. Lukas Hradeckya can be hard to pass but can be in the top 10 or higher. However, the world championship is something that you don’t get in many sports, he reminds.
Tampere and Nokia will host the first ever Frisbee Golf World Championships held outside of North America next year. Several top-level competitions have been organized in Pirkanmaa in the past.
The World Championships could not come at a better time.
– We have a reigning champion throwing. It is certainly important for the growth of the whole species.
On the rise in Southeast Asia and Africa
On the professional side of the sport, the United States is swinging the pace strongly as Finland challenges. There are also individual peaks from other countries, such as Estonia Kristin Buckwheatwho was bronze in the women’s championships.
Frisbeegolf is on the rise in Southeast Asia and Europe, among others. There were more than 30 participating countries in this year’s European Championships. 23 countries are going to the frisbee golf team world championships held at the end of the year.
– In terms of professional sports, the United States is number one. They know how to do it. At the top level, the growth is not visible, but the sport is played very actively all over Europe and in Southeast Asia.
Most recently, the species has spread to Latin America and Africa.
– A month ago there was a competition in Uganda where more than 150 juniors played. Yes, it is spreading, Aulu states.