An avid player since 1997, Dion Eden has long felt the draw of disc golf. But after a car accident in 2009 left him with lasting pain and hampered his mobility, he had to approach the sport in a different way. His mind was still in peak condition for tackling courses of all types, but the game now took a physical toll he hadn't previously experienced.
"I had to teach my body to play again," Eden said.
That shift was the catalyst that would eventually lead to creating his design company, All Accessible Disc Golf, and the upcoming Playing In My Shoes, a region-wide event that takes place at 30 different courses in British Columbia, Canada, on May 26.
The events, which run in conjunction with Canada's National AccessAbility Week, will aim to help participants experience what it's like to play disc golf with a disability or limited mobility. Players will take to the course in a wheelchair, with a blindfold, with ear plugs, or by using their non-dominant hand to raise awareness, which aligns with AccessAbility Week's goals to "recognize and celebrate the contributions of Canadians with disabilities, as well as to promote accessibility and inclusion in all aspects of life."
Eden has partnered with companies like MeepMeep, which makes a disc tracking device for players who are blind or visually impaired, as well as the BC Disc Golf Association, the Village of Keremeos, and a number of local disc golf clubs to bring the event to life on a wider scale.
"Accessible for everybody"
Playing In My Shoes is one step toward Eden's greater vision, which is to build a disc golf courses that are "accessible for everybody."
And he means more than some of the conventional forms of access, like adding ramps or walkways.
"So if you’re deaf or blind, you'll be able to see or hear the discs in your world or within your ability level," Eden said. "A course can be wheelchair accessible and [include] all those other elements as well – a sound locator, a basket that lights up…that’s where I’d like to go.
"It makes it fun for everybody," he continued. "For us (the hearing community), we can hear the basket. But for someone who is deaf…let's make it light up when they hit it! That will give them the same reward as the sound of the chains."
While the universally accessible course concept is still in the planning stages, Eden has already designed his first truly wheelchair accessible course, Pine Park in Keremeos, Canada. The nine-hole course "has all the elements – trees, challenges, things to throw around – but is still wheelchair accessible," Eden said.
Eden has also created an "Accessibility Rating System" that buckets courses into one of three categories: wheelchair accessible, cane accessible, and not easily accessible. Each of the categories is designated with an easily identifiable green, yellow, or red icon, and Eden now assesses and certifies courses that fall under the scope of this system.
UDisc's Role in Accessible Courses
Eden's hope is that eventually all courses around the world will have an accessibility rating, which led him to reach out to UDisc. And since one of the company's core values is "include everybody," it made for a fitting collaboration.
As a result of several months of conversation and a series of design interviews, as well as input from touring pro Scott Stokely, UDisc recently added new tools for Course Ambassadors that let them indicate the level of accessibility players can expect to find at their course. These options mirror Eden's Accessibility Rating System in both language and iconography:
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Wheelchair accessible: Courses with this designation have been assessed and comply with wheelchair accessible standards for at least most or all holes.
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Limited mobility/cane accessible: This symbol indicates a course may have some accessibility features, but it is not fully wheelchair accessible.
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Not easily accessible for players with mobility limitations: This disc golf course is not recommended for individuals with limited mobility.
Course Ambassadors can find these designations under the Accessibility section of a course's details. Each category has information on how to determine the best selection for your course. Additionally, we have an overview of can what a wheelchair accessible disc golf course looks like.
Once a Course Ambassador assigns this attribute to their course, it makes the course searchable in new accessibility filters that are available in the app and on the web version of UDisc's course directory.
Since the release of these new indicators in March 2024, 2,370 UDisc courses have been updated with accessibility information. This means you can now filter for "Accessibility" in the Course Directory and find a course to suit your level of mobility.
Why are these distinctions important?
As Eden put it, elevating this information for Course Ambassadors aids in understanding and helps encourage them to reflect on what small changes can be made to their courses to make them welcome for all.
Combine that sentiment with the eyeballs of players who use UDisc, and it has a multiplying effect that can already be felt.
If you are in the BC province on May 26, we hope you can make it to one of Eden's events and experience what it might really be like to "play in someone else’s shoes."
