Is "Recreational" misleading?

[jjtwinnova]

I saw the thread about unrated/non-PDGA members playing the wrong division, and thought about the name Recreational.

Some people may not realize that the people in the Recreational Divison can actually ne pretty good, and decide to play up without knowledge of how the divisions work.

Definition of Recreation(al)
relating to or denoting activity done for enjoyment when one is not working

Is "Recreational" misleading?
Yes or No?

 

[DavidSauls]

Generally speaking, the PDGA division names are inaccurate, almost across the board. I'm not sure how many people are actually misled by them.

 

[jjtwinnova]

Generally speaking, the PDGA division names are inaccurate, almost across the board. I'm not sure how many people are actually misled by them.

You are mostly right, but I feel Recreational is the worst offender. Pro seems fine, Advanced is good, Intermediate is ehh. Rec just seems off, or too low.

 

[Doofenshmirtz]

It would be interesting to let recreational play for pride, not prize, and see if people don't start to move themselves up. Pride might be enough, in which case start taking a look at intermediate next.

 

[Cgkdisc]

Suggest a better set of names. Am1, Am2, Am3, Am4 already rejected.

 

[PBokor]

According to DGCR ratings, I am a solid 747 player. Where does that place me? I figure Rec and Intermediate are mutual terms, most times. Am I wrong?

 

[Halcón]

Recreational sounds like what it is. So does Intermediate, Advanced, and Pro.

 

[jjtwinnova]

Recreational sounds like what it is. So does Intermediate, Advanced, and Pro.

Hypothetically speaking
If I play everyday, direct tournaments, run leagues and do everything for the sport, does that still make me recreational? Sure, in play I might not be so great, but I am far from recreational.

 

[DavidSauls]

Recreational sounds like what it is. So does Intermediate, Advanced, and Pro.

I'm Rec-rated....and just as serious in competition as I was when I was an advanced player. Fortunately, I have age-protected divisions, but if I play in a tournament without them, I'm playing where my rating puts me---Recreational. It doesn't bother me, but it's a silly name. I just pronounce it "Wrecked", and it works a little better for me.

"Novice" probably wins the prize for inaccuracy, since it's not for beginning players---just for players below a certain rating.

"Intermediate" is probably defensible as being somewhere in the middle of the skill-level scale. "Juniors" are fine. The rest is a mess. I often joke about being an Advanced Grandmaster, since I'm not very advanced, am not grand, and haven't mastered anything.

When it comes to misleading, "Pro" and "Amateur" are worst. We're almost all semi-pros. But those names lead people to lots of assumptions.

 

[sjberry2017]

Personally, my favorite division splitting is the colored divisions; they use that for the PDGA leagues and it's honestly the most fun I've had from a competition standpoint while playing a sanctioned event because you know everyone you're playing against is mostly around the same skill level.

 

[DavidSauls]

Suggest a better set of names. Am1, Am2, Am3, Am4 already rejected.

I call for a re-vote.

We already have the codes---MA1, MA2, MA3, MA4, etc.---and I hear these used sometimes.

 

[DavidSauls]

At least if I live long enough, I'll be a "Legend", even if I'm an anonymous legend.

 

[JTdisc]

It needs to be called "Bagger" division. There's always that one dude.

 

[Broken Shoulder]

At least if I live long enough, I'll be a "Legend", even if I'm an anonymous legend.

Not to us, David.

Not to us.

 

[BrotherDave]

It needs to be called "Bagger" division. There's always that one dude.

And around here that guy is usually playing according to his rating. :\ For every bagger there are like 30 pretenders in these parts. Playing Rec is like a badge of dishonor and everybody guilt trips everybody into playing up into a division where they shouldn't.

 

[krupicka]

We use Am1, Am2, ... as much as possible. We say Am3 and spell it MA3.

 

[elmexdela]

change it to "mvp throwers division"?

should be pretty fair competition wise.

 

[sisyphus]

Personally, my favorite division splitting is the colored divisions; they use that for the PDGA leagues and it's honestly the most fun I've had from a competition standpoint while playing a sanctioned event because you know everyone you're playing against is mostly around the same skill level.

Agreed - I feel that color coded names (Green, Red, White, Blue & Gold/Open), as defined by rating, do make the most sense. No stigma for any of them (yet). If folks want to play within a gender or age-restricted group, there would be that option (juniors, women's, seniors, etc).

On a tangent regarding age groups, I think we could expand, not contract, the older age divisions (maybe 45-59=Bronze, 60-74=Silver, 75+=Diamond). Disclosure: I'm 56, and have enjoyed competition from Rec to Pro Grandmaster. I agree with the Senior Olympics having 5 year age bands for their events (to encourage the fun), while the pdga should maybe focus on helping us older players build larger divisions.

 

[philstine]

Personally, my favorite division splitting is the colored divisions;

"Colored"?

Really? "Colored"? :thmbdown:

Dude, that's SOOOO 1960s. :doh:

The term these days is "pigmentally gifted."

 

[prerube]

Recreational sounds like what it is. So does Intermediate, Advanced, and Pro.

Not when 899 rated players are shooting 920 rounds beating the real rec players by 20 strokes.