Earlier this year near the end of the long, dark, Estonian winter, the General Secretary of the Estonian Disc Golf Association or Eesti Discgolfi Liit (EDGL) Hristo Neiland, was mulling over a question: How could he get more young Estonians interested in disc golf?
It wasn't that he was concerned about the current state of the sport in his homeland. Its disc golf scene is vibrant, and it's among the world's top four countries in disc golf availability (i.e., people having a disc golf course nearby). His thoughts were on the future, on helping new generations of players fall in love with disc golf and build on the sport's national momentum.
"Every country who wants to tear it up at disc golf but isn't putting in effort with the youngsters will miss out," Neiland explained.
He searched for inspiration from past EDGL events and came across a competition format where youth tested their mettle in various disc golf skills and received points based on their performance in the different areas. Neiland, who's worked with many startups and adheres to the motto "fear makes us slow," liked the concept so much that, within just a few weeks, he'd organized a national contest based on it that hundreds of students at schools in 11 of Estonia's 15 counties eventually participated in.
Called Snäp!, the contest was a big success – especially considering how quickly it was organized – and it's happening again this school year. Neiland told us about what it was like putting together the first iteration of the multi-stage Snäp! last spring, how he plans to make the next one bigger and better, and the benefits he's seen students and teachers take away from it.
How Estonia's Snäp! Disc Golf Contest for Students Works
The format of Snäp! is fairly similar to a disc golf-focused Punt, Pass, and Kick contest (a well-known U.S. football skills competition for youth). Students try their hands at putting, approaches, distance, and a few traditional disc golf holes.
In putting, participants putt from set distances up to 11 meters/36 feet, with each made putt earning them points – the longer the putt, the more it's worth. For approaches, there are zones worth descending point totals as they get farther from a basket. When trying their distance, throwers get four attempts and their longest throws earn them the most points. Traditional disc golf works as you'd expect, with better scores earning more points.
Some may bristle at the idea of introducing disc golf to schoolkids in a way that could be seen as hyper-competitive. However, Neiland believes that the physical abilities needed to be successful at disc golf are different from the the average P.E. activity, and he hopes it'll help kids shine who may lurk in the shadows during other sports.
"It's very clear that disc golf gives very equal opportunities to kids with all sorts of body shapes or athleticism," Neiland said.
He heard feedback from teachers to this effect, too.
"They're taking to it very well because they see it's an opportunity for kids who aren't going to win running 400 meters," Neiland said. "And disc golf itself is popular in Estonia and even more popular in Finland. In this region it's a thing that can make you popular if you're good at it. There are many sports that less traditionally athletic kids can be good at, but usually these sports aren't popular. They don't give the same mental boost or sociological status at school."
Results from the First Year
Last year, Neiland contacted schools all over Estonia with the details of Snäp! to see if they were interested in participating. When they were, he connected them with a local disc golf club who could loan them discs and help set up the contest during the school day. In all, around 550 students from a majority of the country's counties participated.
As it was the contest's first big test, Neiland only offered it to students in sixth grade or above as it's easier to iron out kinks in something new with more mature participants. The three best girls and boys in grades six to nine and grades 10 and up (a total of six girls and six boys) from each county – plus some extra districts for the capital and largest city Tallinn – went on to a national final held in the central western town of Tartu, Estonia, at Roosi Discgolfi Park. There, 90 finalists competed for top spots.
The students worked with teachers, parents, and each other to arrange travel to the finals. Some came with a small schoolbus, others took a train, and some carpooled with parents or a teacher. Neiland said he liked this aspect of the final because coordinating with others in order to have a special disc golf experience helps kids get into "the disc golf spirit."
Winners at the finals received discs and disc golf bags. Quite a few prizes were donated and signed by Estonian pro disc golfers, which included multi-time women's Pro Disc Golf World Champion Kristin Tattar as well as Albert Tamm, Silver Lätt, and four others.
"They sent these for free just to support the movement as an answer to one Facebook post I did for the Estonian disc golf community Facebook group," Neiland said. "That was super cool and the kids were very happy to receive those prizes."
Another touring pro, Keiti Tätte, helped run the finals, which featured the same skills tests as the earlier stage just with more holes of traditional disc golf.
Improving & Expanding
In the 2024-2025 school year, Neiland hopes to build on the competition's initial success. One key to this is offering training to teachers so that they can feel more comfortable leading a disc golf unit in their classes that will prepare students for the Snäp! competition. This was a top request from educators whose students participated in the contest's first year.
The trainings will be built on programs developed in Finland by Jouni Kallio, a Finnish Disc Golf Association board member with a PhD in sports science who has created a rigorous training program for youth disc golf coaches.
"He's coming to Estonia to educate us and our coaches," Nieland said, referring to Kallio.
Neiland also hopes to see about 15% growth in participants this year and to have at least one school in each county take part. He sees these goals as fairly modest, but he's willing to take things slow in order to assure that the competition's reputation stays positive.
"Usually I'm not too patient with things I'm running, and I want to grow it fast," Neiland said. "But here I'm a bit more patient because it's more important that every kid has a very good experience."
