Gannon Buhr, representing the top of the USA, was surprised by the interest of Finnish youth in frisbee golf. He sees that the internationalizing sport has a bright future in Finland.
Frisbee golf’s popularity in Finland has surprised some of the American stars who traveled to Pirkanmaa. The elite are currently competing in the European Open in Nokia and Tampere.
For the first time, the European Open, played on two different tracks, arouses great interest and even excitement among the players.
For the Games, top names from the United States have arrived at Nokia from across the Atlantic Calvin Heimburg, Gannon Buhr and Missy Gannon.
Missy Gannon, 36, ranks sixth in the women’s rankings. Competing in Finland for the second time, Gannon seemed happy and confident on Wednesday afternoon, just before the opening match.
The female player from New York was especially looking forward to tournaments between the two circuits, a rare combination.
– The change of two tracks brings a lot of excitement to the event and can increase interest in next year’s world championships, he reflected.
On Wednesday, Calvin Heimburg, 29, who holds the second place in the men’s rankings, was also standing on Nokia’s frisbee golf course. He is playing in the open for the second time.
– The Nokia track is a great and good venue for the competition, he praised.
According to Heimburg from Florida, the presence of other players brings a good change to the individual-oriented sport.
Playing big tournaments abroad is always exciting. Heimburg is particularly interested in the track in Tampere, which he describes as merciless.
– The (Nokia and Tampere) tracks are always very well maintained. This year we are playing at the Tampere frisbeegolf center on a new course that I love. I think I like it even more than the Nokia circuit, which is also amazing, he enthused.
According to Heimburg, Nokian’s The Beast track is an open green track. The Monster track in Tampere, on the other hand, brings a special challenge due to the trees and water obstacles.
– You have to know how to throw from many different angles. The tracks balance each other really well. You have to be versatile to succeed in the game, Heimburg sums up.
– There are more places on the Tampere track that are difficult to get out of. If you throw badly on Nokia’s track, you can still recover with the next throw in the game, he describes.
The Tampere track “the world’s finest and most difficult”
Finnish top players were also present at Wednesday’s opening race Niklas Anttila and Eveliina Salonen and the Estonian women’s top Kristin Buckwheat.
Salonen, 25, from Pirkkala, was looking forward to competing in Nokia and Tampere.
He knows the frisbee golf courses in the area like the back of his hand. The head must still be kept cool because the resistance is strong.
– (The Tampere track) is the world’s finest and most difficult track at the same time, Salonen summarized.
In the video, Eveliina Salonen talks about Tampere’s frisbee golf course and what is the most important characteristic of a player who has advanced to the Games:
Finland is one of the big countries in the internationalizing sport
Although the United States has the largest number of frisbee golf courses, Iceland and Finland have the most courses per inhabitant.
Calvin Heimburg has been racing in Europe for a few years now. According to his assessment, Finns’ knowledge of the sport is top-notch.
He sees that the sport is also on the rise internationally.
– The sport is definitely becoming international. Entities like the Paul MacBeth Foundation spread the sport even beyond the United States and the Nordic countries, so the sport is growing and becoming more and more international, Heimburg says.
Gannon Buhr, 19, was also surprised by the great popularity of the sport in Finland.
Buhr, who hails from Iowa, is drawn especially by the number of young enthusiasts of the sport. Right after the interview, he ran to give his autograph to a young boy waving at the race fence.
– Finland is great. I just signed autographs at a frisbee golf store. An insane number of children arrived, most of them very young. You don’t see that often in the United States, Buhr said.
According to Buhr, almost every Finn he has met has at least been aware of frisbee golf as a sport.
– The future of the sport looks very bright in Finland, because the young people here are so interested in it.
The Beast (Nokia)
The Monster (Tampere)