The Slatington Parks and Recreation Commission played host to its ninth annual Victory Park Open Disc Golf Tournament on Saturday.

On the day of the event, commission member David Schnaars said 30 players had signed up, making it, as it has been in the past, one of the area's largest disc golf tournaments.Players were divided into both amateur and pro divisions, with amateurs who placed first, second and third awarded trophies while pros in the top three places received cash prizes.Modern disc golf started in the U.S. in the early 1960s and involves players throwing plastic discs uniquely designed to fly at different speeds at a target or into a basket. Similar to traditional golf, it follows much the same rules. The player with the fewest number of throws, rather than strokes, wins the game.And one need not bring an entire team in order to play in a tournament. Pro player Brian Gunkel, of Alburtis, who has been playing disc golf since 1995, said he came to the tournament himself, then joined in with three other players in order to fulfill the requirement of having four players per card.Built in 2005, Slatington's 18 tee-nine hole, permanent course is both moderately hilly and moderately wooded, with no hole longer than 300 feet."If you talk to the disc golfers that are really into it, they'll tell you we've got one of the best courses in the region," Schnaars said. "They like it. It's one of the more challenging ones."Indeed, Scott Snyder, of Slatington, said he and the three friends with whom he was attending the tournament play on the 54-par course regularly.Chris Harding, of Charleston, South Carolina, said, "I play every weekend. This is my favorite sport. It gets you out and it's practically free, all you have to do is buy Frisbees. That's it."Dave Schwoyer, of Ormrod, agreed, noting he, too, enjoys disc golf as a pastime because it gets him outdoors.Snyder added that, "(Plus,) it's very good supporting the community and nice to play a nice round of disc golf on a nice day."In addition to Schnaars, Commission Chairman Robert Stettner, Darin Handwerk of Palmerton, Reta Stein of Slatington, and four members of TeamSlam, the group of young bike, scooter, and skateboard riders who are hoping to establish a skateboard/bike park within the community, helped conduct the tournament.The event began with a moment of silence for Bill Stein, a commissioner member who recently passed away who Schnaars says was always "a big participant in this."Both before and after the tournament, free hot dogs and refreshments were served.Kendra Ritchie received the tournament's 2014 Sammy Frantz Memorial Award.