Disc golfers invited to Rochester Ice Bowl

The 17th annual Disc Golf Ice Bowl will be held in Rochester on Sunday, January 25 at Basil Marella Park in Greece, between English and Vintage roads. Registration is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the disc golf kiosk near hole one, just off the main parking lot. All players are welcome regardless of ability. Participants may play for fun or in an 18-hole competition. There will be a players meeting at 11:45 a.m. for competitors; the round begins at noon; the format is random doubles. Casual players may start at any time. The entry fee is $13, which includes a commemorative disc and a $7.75 donation to the Greece Food Shelf, a local charity. Participants are encouraged to bring non-perishable foods for the Greece Food Shelf as well.

The first Disc Golf Ice Bowl was held in 1987 as a day of disc golf solidarity in the gloom of winter. It is promoted by Disc Golf World News, the sport's leading disc golf magazine, which is published in Kansas City. Official Ice Bowls are played at courses all over the United States, and in Canada and Europe in a corridor that runs from January 10 to February 16. Each event is asked to find a local charity to support. The Ice Bowl goal for 2004 is to raise over $75,000. In 2003, over $72,000 was raised in 152 cities. The worst weather Ice Bowl was in Winnipeg, where there was eight inches of snow on the ground with a temperature hovering near -8 degrees.

Last year in Rochester, 38 players showed up to play on a day when the temperatures stayed around 6 degrees with 18 inches of snow on the ground. The Rochester Disc Golf Club (then known as the Chili Disc Golf Club) collected 200 pounds of food items, which were donated to the Greece Food Shelf. According to the Ice Bowl director in Kansas City, Jack Lowe, "Last year was very cold, but we had more players than ever. Not knowing what the weather will be adds to the challenge of the event because dedicated disc golfers don't want to be called 'wimps.' Disc golf is a lot of fun, quite challenging, and relatively inexpensive to play."

The rules of the Ice Bowl are simple: 1) under no circumstances can an Ice Bowl be postponed or canceled; 2) no wimps or whiners are allowed; and 3) there are no excuses for not attending (either be there or be a wimp), according to organizers.