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Big changes coming to the FPO division
ON TODAY'S CARD 📃:
Tournament Recap (A-Tier)
Changes coming to the FPO division
Circle's edge
Estimated read time: 4 minutes and 40 seconds
🧠Tuesday Trivia:
Which FPO player has the most podiums at Major events in the FPO division?
See the end of the newsletter for the answer...
TOURNAMENT RECAP (A-Tier)
Paul McBeth claimed victory this past weekend, making 3 in a row. He maintained at least a 3-stroke thread throughout the tournament. Paul took home $1,151 for his 1st place finish, which pushes his 2022 season cash prize total to over $100k. Not bad for the reigning world champ.
Sarah Hokom pulled out the win after battling the Lynds twins. Sarah was 2-strokes behind Morgan Lynds going into round 3 but played a consistent round racking up six birdies and only one hole over par. Morgan started round 3 with two devastating bogeys and struggled to get into a rhythm for the rest of the round, finishing the day over par and paving the way for Sarah to cash out $655 for 1st place.
BULLSEYE
The PDGA (and DGPT) released a statement yesterday regarding their long-awaited response to the eligibility policy for gender-based divisions for the 2023 season.
The PDGA announced two main updates to their gender policy regarding transgender women competing in the gender-based FPO division. The DGPT said it would implement the same eligibility criteria for all Elite and Silver Series events for the 2023 season.
To compete in PDGA Majors (Champions Cup, USWDGC, European Open, and Pro Worlds), the medical transition must have begun during Tanner Stage 2 (puberty) or before age 12, whichever is later. The player also must maintain a testosterone level in serum of less than 2 nmol/L.
Players competing in PDGA Amateur Majors, Pro Master Majors, and all other PDGA events sanctioned at A-Tier and below must have testosterone levels lowered from under 10 nmol/L for one year to under 2 nmol/L for two years
"People lie. People lie on surveys. Some people lied on this survey." - PDGA
The PDGA Global Board of Directors was the group to make the final decision regarding the policy. In addition to the IOC framework, the board used the following information to reach its final decision.
The PDGA Medical Subcommittee report on Considerations for Women's Sex-Restricted Divisions in PDGA Events
The results of a survey of current PDGA members
A survey of transgender disc golfers
A statement from the Disc Golf Pro Tour, the official pro tour of the PDGA
Feedback from several cisgender and transgender women who are touring professionals
Eligibility policies from different National Governing Bodies of other sports
Other position papers, academic research, and additional studies on this topic
The survey of almost 36,000 current PDGA members showed the majority of respondents strongly disagreed with transgender women being allowed to compete against other women in almost any regard.
While this policy affects all transgender women wishing to compete in the FPO division, one name stands out the most, Natalie Ryan. Natalie Ryan was the FPO winner at two DGPT Elite Series events (DGLO and MVP Open) and finished 9th at the DGPT championship this year.
Following the PDGA announcement, Natalie took to Instagram, stating, "Time for the fight of my life to kick off, I will absolutely not take this sitting down. Stay tuned for what's to come.". Natalie also started a gofundme page to raise money to fight the updated policy. Currently it is at $2,828 of the $20,000 goal.
Another prominent transgender athlete is Chloe Alice. She stated on Instagram that aside from not being allowed to compete in the FPO division, she is choosing not to compete in the MPO division.
These updates will take effect starting January 1, 2023.
ITC WEEKLY PRO RANKINGS - TOP 5
Male
Female
updated 12/13/2022
CIRCLE'S EDGE
Anthony Barela announced his departure from Innova after a 9-year sponsorship. He just won the Arizona State Championship, shooting a 1100+ rated round for the first time
The PDGA approved 11 new discs from various manufacturers, including, Wingman, Innova, Doomsday, Finish Line, Latitude 64, Exel, and Perks and Re-creation
On Friday, Discraft released new Slipknot Limited Edition discs. The discs highlight Slipnot's nanogram symbolizing unity, loyalty, friendship, and remembrance, the same values Discraft recognizes amongst the disc golf community
RULE OF THE DAY
A. A player may choose to abandon their most recent throw by declaring their intention to the group. The abandoned throw and one penalty throw are counted in the player's score, and the player plays from the lie from which the abandonded throw was made. Penalty throws incurred by the abandonded throw are disregarded.
🧠Answer: Valarie Jenkins with 39 podiums at Major events. Paige Pierce is second with 28.
Thanks for reading!
Sending good vibes your way from In The Circle
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