Who can run an Ace Race?
Anyone!
No previous experience as a disc golf Tournament Director is needed to run a successful Ace Race.
How it works:
Event window: Your event must be scheduled in August, September or October. The earlier you schedule, the sooner you can begin to promote your Ace Race and build your field of players.
TD package: We provide everything you need: player packs, a grand prize, promotional posters, scorecards, registration sheets, tee flags, pencils, and an event banner... all FREE except player packs and shipping costs. To get started, all you need to do is get registered and start promoting your event to bring the players out!
Make money: Ace Race is set up to allow you to make money for each player who attends... after all, you're doing much of the work! You can then use that profit for your club, a partner charity, course improvements, buy your players lunch... whatever you like.
Super Events: Wrangle yourself 150+ players and your grand prize becomes a Chainstar basket! See additional details in your TD info pack.
Please note that all TD information -- including TD pack contents, player pack contents and costs -- is subject to change without notice.
NEW for 2019
Not one, not two, but THREE classic Discraft discs will return for the 2019 Ace Race! Each Race month will be dedicated to a specific disc from that decade. August events will feature a disc from the 80’s, the Eclipse. September events will represent the 90’s with the Hawk, and October events will be about the 2000’s with the Wildcat. All of these discs are beginner friendly and are a tribute to 40 years of flying discs!
Past Ace Race Events
TD Step-By-Step Checklist
1) Choose your date.
It must be within August, September or October. Check the event map to make sure you won't conflict with a previously scheduled Ace Race in your area. We generally limit events to one per community, but exceptions are made in more heavily populated areas. It is also courteous to make sure you aren't scheduling over another local disc golf tournament, so check with the local club(s).
2) Register your event.
This will get you onto the event calendar and lock in your local area.If you have a web site to help promote your event, be prepared to give us the URL during registration and we will help you to promote it. Once registered you will receive the complete TD info kit via email.
3) Promote.
Getting the word out can help you grow a bigger field of players -- and bigger profits for yourself, your club or your charity. Spread the word via the Web. Get listed on your local, state and regional events calendars. Put up posters (we will send you several of these for free beginning in June or shortly after you register) at your local courses.
4) Pre-register your players.
By signing up and collecting player entry fees ahead of time, you will help yourself in two ways: it will give you a good idea of how many player packs to order as your event nears, and it will help defray any initial out-of-pocket costs to you before the event, since you can then order your player packs using player entry fees instead of your own funds. The easiest way to pre-reg your players is by using our partners at DiscGolfScene, where you'll get VIP treatment for your event listing and online player reg.
5) Order your player packs.
To ensure timely delivery, we strongly suggest you send your order two weeks before your event, or three weeks for events outside of the continental US. It is also a good idea to order 10 to 20 extra packs extra to accommodate players who show up to play but never pre-registered. You will need a valid credit card at the time of your order. Your player pack shipment will also include your grand prizes, banner, pencils and tee flags.
6) Event day!
Get to the course plenty early to shorten holes as needed and other set up chores. Bring a camera and video camera to share your event with us, and have a great time!
TD Step-By-Step Checklist
Tips for a
Bigger and Better Ace Race
Scott Papa of Olalla, Washington consistently runs one of the largest Ace Races, hosting over 200 players each year. In 2011 he set a new record of 309(!) players, making it the biggest Ace Race to that point and the biggest disc golf event in Northwest history. We asked how he draws such a big crowd:
"The thought of tournaments -- that is, competition -- scares off a ton of casual players. Ace Race is built for casuals, so I go to a lot of effort to let them know that it's NOT a tournament, but just for fun."
"We promote early and emphasize what a great deal it is. We make the holes really short to encourage a lot of aces. We also allow people to play during a larger time frame, so they can show up at 10am or 2pm or whenever and still play."
"Finally, we incorporate other fun stuff like putting contests, optional lunch, and a ton of prizes for wacky categories like youngest player, farthest traveled, tallest player, etc. It's always a blast!"
Professional disc golfer Scott Papa is the Instructional Editor
for Disc Golfer Magazine, and a longtime member of Team Discraft.