USAGA INTERNATIONAL Championship Oct. 8-10 in Las Vegas: USAGA Establishes Ranking and Competition Standards for USA Disabled Golfers
The United States Adaptive Golf Alliance (USAGA), comprised of 37 national adaptive golf organizations, will hold its annual championship at Arcis Golf’s Desert Pines Golf Club in Las Vegas, Nevada, October 8 – 10. The USAGA INTERNATIONAL will include golfers with various physical and sensory challenges (para-golfers) from around the world and will be played in accordance with new national ranking and competition standards released earlier this year by USAGA.
The event has also been approved by the United States Golf Association (USGA) as a World Ranking for Golfers with Disability (WR4GD) event where para-golfers can earn points toward world ranking.
“This is a big step for USA disabled competitive golfers, to know where they stand against their competitive contemporaries, never known until today,” says EQ Sylvester, Chairman, USAGA. “It also adds excitement as each competitive player will reach for the bracket above, not to be outdone!”
In May 2019, USAGA published its first-ever national Ranking and Competition Standards for golfers with disabilities in the United States. The ranking system, called USAGR, and its accompanying standards, closely follows the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) eligibility criteria and their long-standing belief that para-athlete competitors should be classified in separate divisions, called ‘sport classes,’ based on the athlete’s level of impairment and relative challenge to play their particular sport.
The USAGA’s standards were a product of years of data analyses and conversations with the long-time stakeholders of the American disabled-golf industry. The standards classify para-golfers into 14 different sport classes, provide yardage allowances for some of the more-challenged sport classes (much like the game already provides for age and gender) and provide competitive pathways to the highest levels through multiple events run by its member organizations. The season culminates with the USAGA INTERNATIONAL, where a USA Para-Golf team is announced, comprised of the top-two ranked para-golfers from each sport class. Special awards are also given to the top-ranked male and female golfers for the season, as well as top performers for the week.
To register to play: https://www.usaga.org/usaga-international.html
About United States Adaptive Golf Alliance:
Founded in 2014, the USAGA is a national alliance of 37-member adaptive golf organizations with common goals and objectives, promoting and providing resources for athletes with disabilities nationwide. In 2018, its member organizations provided adaptive golf to 30,000+ individuals across the country, of which 24% are wounded veterans. USAGA is the only organization in the country that provides competitive pathways in disabled golf – from basic instruction, get out and play, through and including national and international competitions for golfers with disabilities.
For more information on the U.S. Adaptive Golf Alliance (USAGA), please visit: www.usaga.org
Follow the USAGA on Twitter: @USAGA3
Follow on Instagram: usadaptivegolfalliance
Like the USAGA on Facebook: www.facebook.com/USAGAGolf
CONTACTS:
Edmund Q. Sylvester
Chairman, USAGA
eqsylvester@USAGA.org
(630) 697-4345
Scott G. Schroeder
Executive Director, USAGA
sschroeder@usaga.org
630-570-0115
