BECKLEY, WV (WOAY) – “The Joust” was held at the Black Knight Country Club Saturday– an 18-hole disc golf tournament arranged by Raleigh County Parks and Rec. and Lake Stephens. The tournament was held to help raise money for the construction of a new 18-hole disc golf course at Lake Stephens, and simply to bring fellow disc-golfers together to have fun.
“With last year being so difficult and with a lot of people looking to move outdoors, disc golf has definitely been growing a lot,” says tournament director, Ryan Shumake. “It’s just a good opportunity to get people out this year just to have fun, and to raise money towards a good cause so we can keep people playing.”
This was the first tournament of its kind held at the historic country club, but with the rapidly growing popularity of the sport, it may very well not be the last. And it turned out to be a good opportunity for new players or people interested in the sport to see how it’s done.
“A lot of people have not had the opportunity to come out here, as Black Knight hasn’t always been accessible for everyone. So, it’s just a good opportunity for people to try it and get them a player’s pack with items to take with them. It can kind of be their start into the sport,” Shumake says.
And many long-time disc-golfers, as well as people just looking for something fun to do outdoors on a Saturday, all seemed quite happy to have the opportunity to play on the course at the country club.
“It’s pretty cool that they set up baskets here for us, and kind of, one-time-only play this course. I think everyone’s pretty excited. It’s laid out well, they did a great job setting it up. I think so far things are going good, it’s a little windy but that adds a certain element to it,” says one tournament participant, Chris Stapleton.
The winners of The Joust received some prizes while everyone received a free towel, bag, and shirt just for participating.
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