Invercargill disc golfer Alison Tweedy (12) picked up the sport around two years ago when her stepfather Geoff Lewis, also a keen player, started taking her along to social rounds with his workmates.
Over the school holidays, she has played all 18 hoops of the Queen’s Park short course at least once a day, and is now six under par, sometimes heading to the championship-level course after.
Mr Lewis said Alison learnt the sport quickly and often held her own against some of the veteran players, beating them frequently.
After being spotted by a fellow sponsored player during a disc golf tournament, Alison’s name was put forward at Throw Pink, an American non-profit that encourages women and girls to be more physically active while supporting the fight against breast cancer, which she then registered for and was subsequently accepted as a sponsored disc golfer.
The organisation now supplies Alison with sportswear and discs sent from the United States.
Alison said she had played in about five disc golf tournaments so far, including the Global Women’s Competition in Wellington, Moonbase in Twizel and Tucker Beach Rush in Queenstown. She will also be competing in the upcoming ILT Southern Smash 2023 New Zealand National Disc Golf Championships in Invercargill in March.
Playing in the under-15 mixed, she was one of few girls who competed in disc gold and wanted to see more join the sport in future.
A real all-rounder, Alison also plays softball, rugby and netball, but said disc golf was her favourite.
Alison’s mother Marene Tweedy said she was extremely proud of her daughter’s progress.
"[Geoff] being her stepfather, he’s taken her into a sports group, and they all have become her uncles in a way, and they all support and love Alison.
"They’ve been extremely good, and that’s sort of helped her enjoy the whole experience of becoming really, really good at what she does."
