The end of summer, the beginning of Kan Jam in Florida

Donnie Pence "slams" for 3 points in Sarasota.

With thousands of miles traveled between late July and Labor Day weekend, the Sun King Disc Sports crew has been on a roll.  The PDGA World Championships in Kansas City followed by the Kan Jam World Championships in Buffalo, NY with a working vacation to the Bahamas to wrap up preperations for the upcoming Disc Golf Cruise in January 2010 (www.DiscGolfCruise.com).  After arriving safely back from the Caribbean, it was “go time” on our local Labor Day Luau, which essentially wraps up the summer, even here in Florida.

But as the seasons switch gears to, what is in my opinion, the best time of the year, a new beginning has started.  Albert Camus stated “Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower”, but my “new spring” is the fantastic game of Kan Jam!  The first recognized Kan Jam tourney in Florida went down on Sunday, September 6th at Floral Park in Floral City as part of the official Labor Day Luau schedule.  (10) teams started the tournament, with The One Hits (Matt Monczka & James LeBaube) and Nice Guys Finish (Mike Barnett & Bryan Moore) finishing an astonshing 17-1 in opening round play, only losing to eachother!  But the drama had just begun, as the Killer Beez (Beckett Carduff & Bob Giese) from Ocala went a paltry 9-9 in opening round play to hit their stride in the playoffs and eliminate both Nice Guys Finish in the semi-finals and The One Hits in the finals!

The crowd cheered and jeered, especially the wives, girlfriends and family of the Jammers.  The event went on into the night, but was supported by stadium lighting and a few cold beverages.  When the dust all settled, hot new conversations had been started; who had qualified for the state championships? who’s playing next week in Sarasota?  do we have time for one more game?

And so it went.  The ensuing Luau party later that evening was all about Kan Jam and how it had “begun”.

Although completely drenched in rain, upto 6 inches in some parts, the Sarasota Kan Jam event this past weekend sported 6 teams, half of the expected turnout, but had all of the excitement of the previous weekend in Floral City.  More Kan Jam game sets saturated in amongst the primarily Disc Golf crowd and again talks of great jams and missed slams ruled the day.

Welcome to Florida, Kan Jam…

Wanna play?  Save $5.00 and use the KANJAM5BUCKS coupon code during checkout at www.SunKingDiscs.com

Keep Flyin’

Mike Barnett

Disc Golf Cruise Preparation

It’s a terrible job, but somebody has to do it.  My wife Cindy and I along with some friends (one of whom is somewhat of a Kan Jam celebrity) are heading out on a short 5-day cruise to the Bahamas with the main purpose of finalizing the course layout for the 2010 Disc Golf Cruise on Half Moon Cay (Pronounced “key”), which is a private island owned by Holland America/Carnival Cruise Lines.  We will meet with the island manager and go over the details on our group needs and make sure that the island is ready for our return come January.

I actually put down a basic design about a year ago and took a few photos, but a lot can change, even in a short time, as we found out with our 3rd Disc Golf Cruise in 2007.  The Royal Caribbean staff on Co Co Cay were rock stars for our first two trips in 2006, but when we arrived a year later, a new staff was in place and our notes about our group, along with our specific needs and what equipment that was made available to us went missing.  Luckily, we rolled with the punches and pulled it off, but it would’ve been a disaster.  This is what we hope to avoid by laying the ground work now.  Like I said, somebody has to go down to the white sandy beaches of the Bahamas and do the dirty work, it’s a terrible job, but somebody has to do it…;)

For more information about the Disc Golf Cruise, visit www.DiscGolfCruise.com.  We will be announcing details in early autumn about our newest Disc Golf Cruise, with a completely new itinerary!

Happily,

Mike Barnett

www.SunKingDiscs.com

Blah, Blah, Blog

This weblog is yet another step I’ve taken to embrace our ever changing available technology.  I actually registered the blog last year, but I have finally decided to get busy writing.  I’ll primarily be discussing the world of Disc Golf and other flying disc sports that pertain to my company, Sun King Disc Sports.  My conversations and writing style will more than likely evolve as time goes, but I will also be submitting “press releases” from time to time for our multiple disc sports projects such as the Disc Golf Cruise, The Players Cup, etc.  Here we go, stay tuned…

Mike Barnett

President – Sun King Disc Sports