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“Tell Her to Put it Down Her Ass!”
A situation happened at the 2013 PDGA Disc Golf Amateur World Championships that I think embodies the Spirit of the Game, the funniest moment, the worst moment, and the best moment.
It was my first ever major disc golf tournament. I was there with my son, who had been encouraging me to participate in the World Disc Golf Championships for some time, because, as he put it, “At your age, you will easily qualify since there’s not so much competition.” I was 62 at the time and was pumped down to the younger, Women’s Grand Master’s age group since no other women registered to play in Senior Grand Masters.
We signed up in March of 2013, before I knew that in April, I would have surgery to remove one of my kidneys. My surgery went well, but I was left with a 16 inch scar from my breast bone to my waist on my left side. It required a lot of healing, and rehab to even be able to get back on a tee pad, but somehow I was determined to fulfill my promise to go with my son.
At the World Championships, in Emporia, KS, it was 105 in the middle of the afternoon with the sun blazing. A lot of water was needed to keep all of the players hydrated, and the TD and staff did a great job with that. For me it was even more essential to have plenty of water, to preserve my one remaining kidney. Things for the most part were going well.
However on the third day of the tournament, there was a moment, late in the day, when I began to feel somewhat dizzy and weak. One of the women on my card ran back to the group behind us where SueB Lande was playing. SueB had some experience with people who were experiencing medical emergencies, and she knew of my surgery a few months before.
She grabbed her handkerchief from around her neck, grabbed some ice from the water cooler, and thrust it into the hands of Kim McVicar, the person on my card who ran back for advice.
Kim came running back to me and said, “SueB says put this down your ass!” I stared dumbfounded for a while, as she repeated her command, and down the back of my shorts it went. “SueB said it’s the quickest way to cool down someone at their core.”
For the next few holes I walked with the icy cold, but oddly refreshing hunk of wet handkerchief filled with freezing water down my backside. With all the sweating everyone was doing, no one even noticed that water was dripping down my legs.
It did the trick, and I was able to finish the day. After that, I only had one more round to finish, and nothing was going to keep me from my goal at that point. SueB went on to become the eventual champion. She and the other women at the event went out of their way to help me; a gesture that is supremely humbling.
Looking back, it was so ridiculous, so funny, and also so kind for my competitors to help me out. I will never forget it.
A situation happened at the 2013 PDGA Disc Golf Amateur World Championships that I think embodies the Spirit of the Game, the funniest moment, the worst moment, and the best moment.
It was my first ever major disc golf tournament. I was there with my son, who had been encouraging me to participate in the World Disc Golf Championships for some time, because, as he put it, “At your age, you will easily qualify since there’s not so much competition.” I was 62 at the time and was pumped down to the younger, Women’s Grand Master’s age group since no other women registered to play in Senior Grand Masters.
We signed up in March of 2013, before I knew that in April, I would have surgery to remove one of my kidneys. My surgery went well, but I was left with a 16 inch scar from my breast bone to my waist on my left side. It required a lot of healing, and rehab to even be able to get back on a tee pad, but somehow I was determined to fulfill my promise to go with my son.
At the World Championships, in Emporia, KS, it was 105 in the middle of the afternoon with the sun blazing. A lot of water was needed to keep all of the players hydrated, and the TD and staff did a great job with that. For me it was even more essential to have plenty of water, to preserve my one remaining kidney. Things for the most part were going well.
However on the third day of the tournament, there was a moment, late in the day, when I began to feel somewhat dizzy and weak. One of the women on my card ran back to the group behind us where SueB Lande was playing. SueB had some experience with people who were experiencing medical emergencies, and she knew of my surgery a few months before.
She grabbed her handkerchief from around her neck, grabbed some ice from the water cooler, and thrust it into the hands of Kim McVicar, the person on my card who ran back for advice.
Kim came running back to me and said, “SueB says put this down your ass!” I stared dumbfounded for a while, as she repeated her command, and down the back of my shorts it went. “SueB said it’s the quickest way to cool down someone at their core.”
For the next few holes I walked with the icy cold, but oddly refreshing hunk of wet handkerchief filled with freezing water down my backside. With all the sweating everyone was doing, no one even noticed that water was dripping down my legs.
It did the trick, and I was able to finish the day. After that, I only had one more round to finish, and nothing was going to keep me from my goal at that point. SueB went on to become the eventual champion. She and the other women at the event went out of their way to help me; a gesture that is supremely humbling.
Looking back, it was so ridiculous, so funny, and also so kind for my competitors to help me out. I will never forget it.
