#and disc golf

[noneedtofearorhope]

i still think the hate against golf is just performative culture wars bs. while there are certainly many real problems with it, none of them are really inherit such that it necessitates it being abolished 'after the rev'.

'b-b-but it's a sport for the rich!' ok, so equalize it. make it available to everyone. each course could have its own equipment library. build apartments in the surrounding area with some well connected public transit. make it cheap and eliminate restrictions on who can join in on the fun.

'b-b-but the pesticides! the ecological damage!' there are already organic courses. additionally, early courses were built along sandy dunes or w/e with native grasses and 'mown' with sheep. they were minimally landscaped. i also doubt even half of the people who'd complain about the use of pesticides eat an exclusively organic diet.

'b-b-but it uses so much land! it should be a public sex forest garden!' i think this is a non-issue honestly. it's really such an incredibly small fraction of a fraction of land use. urban land use in general just pales in comparison to agriculture land use. and as state before, golf courses could be built on otherwise 'unhabitable' land such as dunes. meanwhile, agricultural use accounts for nearly half of all habitable land, around 80% of which goes to animal agriculture, despite farmed animals only accounting for about 17% of the world calories and 38% of its protein. also, no one ever seems to want apply the same critique of 'unproductive' land use to parks. because generally people recognize that parks are a social good.

it really, as far as im concerned, all just boils down to 'golf' being a fixed image of some 'snooty rich people' sport, a neat little prepackaged way to virtue signal in a way that, if it were to be abolished, wouldn't actually necessitate any change in lifestyle of those who advocate against it. curious.

[alphynix]

Trilobozoans (also known as triradialomorphs) are some of the more enigmatic members of the Ediacaran biota. In the past their unique three-way-symmetrical body plan was interpreted as linking them to groups like sponges, cnidarians, or echinoderms, but currently they're considered to be their own weird little phylum with uncertain evolutionary affinities, classified no more specifically than "probably some sort of early eumetazoan animal".

Lobodiscus tribrachialis is a newly-described member of this mysterious lineage. It lived in warm shallow marine waters covering what is now Southwestern China, and with an age of around 546 million years it's currently the youngest known trilobozoan, extending the group's time range by several million years.

About 3.7cm in diameter (~1.5"), it had the characteristic trilobozoan disc-shaped shield-like body, with a central depression surrounded by three triradially-symmetric lobes with branching ridges and grooves.

Its body would have been soft but fairly rigid, and it's not clear if it was capable of moving over the seafloor or if it had a more static lifestyle. Like its relative Tribrachidium it was probably a filter feeder, with the grooves on its surface directing water flow towards the central depression – and this surface ornamentation may also have been covered with cilia that actively caught and transported suspended food particles.

———

NixIllustration.com | Tumblr | Patreon

References:

Ivantsov, A. Yu, and M. A. Zakrevskaya. "Trilobozoa, Precambrian tri-radial organisms." Paleontological Journal 55 (2021): 727-741. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0031030121070066

Ivantsov, Andrey, Aleksey Nagovitsyn, and Maria Zakrevskaya. "Traces of locomotion of Ediacaran macroorganisms." Geosciences 9.9 (2019): 395. https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences9090395

Hall, C. M. S., et al. "The short-lived but successful tri-radial body plan: a view from the Ediacaran of Australia." Australian Journal of Earth Sciences 67.6 (2020): 885-895. https://doi.org/10.1080/08120099.2018.1472666

Rahman, Imran A., et al. "Suspension feeding in the enigmatic Ediacaran organism Tribrachidium demonstrates complexity of Neoproterozoic ecosystems." Science Advances 1.10 (2015): e1500800. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1500800

Zhao, Mingsheng, et al. "A putative triradial macrofossil from the Ediacaran Jiangchuan Biota." Iscience 27.2 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2024.108823

Wikipedia contributors. “Lobodiscus.” Wikipedia, 29 Mar. 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobodiscus

Wikipedia contributors. “Trilobozoa.” Wikipedia, 10 Mar. 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trilobozoa

[mapsontheweb]

Leading the world, 95% of Estonians are within 10 milesof a disc golf course.

[timemachineyeah]

A women’s disc golf tournament (Music City Open) was delayed this morning because of a mass shooting threat, saying people would be shot if Natalie Ryan was allowed to play.

Natalie is playing now, and she’s playing a good game. I cannot imagine having to go out there and do this thing you’re doing for love knowing that someone wants to kill you and all your competitors because they hate you (or what you represent) that much.

Natalie Ryan is a trans woman. The initial reaction to her was to bar her from women's matches entirely, and change men’s to “mixed”. They rewrote the rules of the entire sport because of one mid-level player. The change to main league to allow anyone to enter has remained, though of course it’s still mostly men, but trans women can now compete in women’s if they’re able and willing to provide proof of their ongoing hormone levels.

Anyway, I hope Natalie Ryan has a wonderful weekend and good things happen to her. And I hope the transphobe who threatened her and the event chokes on something and dies.

[groenendaze]

the unfortunate consequence of being obsessed with throwing plastic is that i cannot give myself a day off. i always want to throw a frisbee. it does not matter if the dog is there or not. i just want to Throw

[drbarty]

(my dad got me a gift!!)

[thequeenofcansandjars]

my dad and I dyed one of his disc-golf discs

[theygotlost]

i still dont know what the daylist feature is or how it works or why

[dapperenby13]

I think that instead of politicians arguing over peoples rights to live for votes, they should argue over if golf is a valid sport. I think it would be funny, they could keep themselves up in arms about that for at least twenty years. The rich old white guys would be defending golf with everything they have, rednecks would be talking about how stupid it is. Everyone else could just mind their own business and live in peace.

[piratedashmod]

I may not win Illinois Ams this weekend. But at least I got to stamp my own disc today, and that was pretty sweet.

[coochiequeens]

The PDGA is not financially or logistically in a position to take the lead in multi-state litigation on this topic,” wrote the organization in their statement. “For the first time in recent memory, the PDGA will end the year with a net operating loss, and it is not in the best interest of our members to continue to allocate resources to further litigation.”

There it is. Instead of using funds to create a third category open to anyone who identifies differently than their bio sex TRAs just wore down an organization to let men bully their way into women's sports.

By Reduxx Team December 23, 2023

The Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA) has been forced to drop their new regulations on men who want to participate in women’s competitions after being sued by a trans-identified male player. The lawsuit was launched earlier this year by Natalie Ryan, who had been dominating women’s competitions prior to the PDGA attempting to rein in male competitors.

Ryan first filed a suit against the PDGA in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California this past February. In his complaint, he argued that a recently-adopted PDGA policy prohibiting trans-identified males from competing with women if they had undergone a “male puberty” violated his civil rights and California laws against discrimination.

“The policy adopted by the PDGA and [Disc Golf Pro Tour] is arbitrary and capricious and in violation of Plaintiff’s right to be free from discrimination based on her gender,” the suit said, arguing that policies restricting widespread male participation in women’s sport “denied [Ryan] and other transgender women, who in the eyes of California law are women, full and equal access to the accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges, and/or services of [PDGA] organizations.”

Yesterday, a settlement between Ryan and PDGA was announced. While the full terms are not available for public consumption, part of the agreement included PDGA dropping the policy which banned males from competing with women unless they had begun transitioning prior to puberty. This change means that all males who had undergone at least two years of hormone therapy are able to compete with women once again.

In a statement, PDGA revealed that a lack of funds was part of the reason why they were unable to fight against Ryan’s litigation onslaught, with Ryan having filed suits against them in two separate states.

“The PDGA is not financially or logistically in a position to take the lead in multi-state litigation on this topic,” wrote the organization in their statement. “For the first time in recent memory, the PDGA will end the year with a net operating loss, and it is not in the best interest of our members to continue to allocate resources to further litigation.”

The rule revision is set to go into effect on January 1, 2024, and will be in place through at least the end of the 2025 season.

Following the settlement agreement, Ryan boasted of his victory on Instagram.

“All trans women will be equals at the elite level again. This is my victory. I had to be ruthless to get them to listen. I’m glad I can put that side of myself away,” he said.

Ryan has already signed up for a 2024 Tour Card and intends to play at most Disc Golf Pro Tour and Major events. 

The now-quashed PDGA policy is widely believed to have been proposed in response to Ryan’s performance in the female category, with the male athlete rapidly rising through the ranks and beating out elite female competitors.

In September of 2022 at the Disc Golf Pro Tour, Ryan easily defeated the world’s number 1 ranked female competitor, Kristin Tattar, taking home $9,000 in prize money. Months prior, at the Great Lakes Open in Milford, Michigan, Ryan walked away with $6,000 for a first-place performance, beating out the world’s current number 2 ranked female player.

Despite having only participated in women’s Disc Golf for a short few years, Ryan is currently ranked amongst the best “female” players in the world. Last year, after topping the Disc Golf Pro Tour, Ryan ranked into the top 5. Despite not participating in some major events this year due to his lawsuit, Ryan still ranks in the top 15.

Last year, two anonymous female disc golf players spoke with Quillette‘s Jon Kay and stated that Ryan’s biological sex was undoubtedly bolstering his success in the sport.

“I would say that one of the biggest advantages of the [male-bodied] players is their ability to scramble in tight situations when a disc goes off the fairway, to just stand there and blast a shot through the woods,” one of the women said. “I’ve seen both [trans player] Chloe [Alice] and Natalie [Ryan] do this. They’re just standing still and throw the kind of [forehand shot] that I’ve never seen a female throw even under perfect conditions.”

The other female player added: “What makes it worse is that Ryan’s form isn’t even that good. If it were, [he’d] be out-throwing us by even more. So while the rest of us spend years refining our form, trying to keep up and get more distance, [he’s] been in the sport only—what?—three years or something.”

Another female disc golf player, Jennifer Castro, revealed that she was aware of female athletes refusing to join tournaments where transgender players were enrolled due to the stark performance advantage.

“I personally know of women who refuse to sign up for events if a transgender is playing, not because we hate them but because we feel we have zero chance, so what is the point of wasting our money on registration fees?”

Speaking to Reduxx, Marshi Smith of the Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS) condemned the PDGA and DGPT for buckling under pressure.

“Rest assured the DGPT has not seen their last courtroom. We will fight back on this. Men like Ryan cannot threaten sports bodies with financial ruin so they capitulate to misogynistic entitled demands tossing women aside,” Smith said.

ICONS had previously thrown their support behind protecting women’s disc golf, and the organization had held an emergency press conference following the initial news of Ryan’s lawsuits last year.

A number of female disc golfers participated in the Save Female Disc Golf campaign, slamming a Minnesota court judge who ordered PDGA to allow Ryan to participate in a tournament he had been barred from.

“Organizations must have a backbone and stand on fairness and integrity for their athletes – women included,” Smith added, revealing that ICONS has now launched a fund with the intention of supporting female athletes who wish to challenge male-inclusive policies in court.

“Men like Ryan have the backing of activist pro bono lawyers but we are building our own war chest for female athletes now. We refuse to surrender the hard-earned achievements of women and are prepared to stand firm.”

[timemachineyeah]

If you could make a "sports" anime about any less popular game/sport/competition you want, which would you choose?

board game, card game, playground game, sport, whatever. if you could have an anime meticulously describe the rules and play of any game while making it look incredibly cool, which would you choose?

My brother and I always talk about how much we want a disc golf anime.

[groenendaze]

i don’t share my disc golf discs here because Not A Dog but like….. this disc is too pretty not to share. i love her

[girlwithfish]

anyway i had a really nice time. i went to a park and did disc golf w him lolol and then played celeste today. woke up at 8 wtf cuz hes a morning person and he made us coffee and did work on the puter and then i napped on the chair next to him w his cat LOL and then we played disc golf and etc etc. ystrdy was fun too listened to music and watched a show and went grocery shopping to get stuff to make for dinner itnwas kinda yummy idk... spinach pesto pasta w chicken onions garlic all the good stuff... played fortnite got fuckin stoned from one really strong pen hit. idk

[coupleofdays]

Hey Tron fans, do you know about Disc Golf? And do you know that it can be played at night, with the targets lit up by LED lights, and the discs also glowing?

I'm just sayin', this reminds me of something.