Lol... Guys. I am American, born and raised. Sadly I grew up in the murder and meth capital of the world. I left America and now reside in european disc golf paradise. If you identify with violent druggies that swarm disc golf courses, you probably wouldn't be on DGCR defending your years of hard work building and maintaining courses. If the shoe doesn't fit don't wear it. European disc golf is far above what I've experienced in the USA. We have ratings based divisions that provide extremely equitable pools for all player skill levels. Any given week, the rating protected division in our club weeklies can be won by a master's 50+ player, a junior, or a female player. We have amazing parity in our clubs.
Players packs are very small, usually some consumable goodies from sponsors and advertisers, and the only players to really win anything are the top three podium finishers. Bigger pools have deeper prizes but it's nothing like the ridiculous funny money structure used widely in USA. the motivation for people to play is the love of the game and well run tournaments. I'm totally fine with the extra money going to the TD, course maintenance, and the pro purse if the TD is so inclined.
As for being "forced to move up"... MA3 is usually the only amateur mixed division offered around here. If you're over 900 rated, you're expected to be competitive in Open. When you get accustomed to this format, you kinda learn to love it. It might not work in areas with deeper skill, but I think what should not be lost is that if you are signing up for a COMPETITION, you should expect to play competitively. The PDGA needs to do something to differentiate "just for fun" players and serious players who want to have fun and win without trying to make a career out of it. I guess it's tricky.
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