Merry Forester is a one-day tournament that will be played on Saturday, December 21st, consisting of two 14-hole rounds. The tournament is held in a festive atmosphere, featuring a closing reception and player gathering with a traditional "Secret Santa" gift exchange.
This will be the seventh edition of the tournament, and the previous 6th edition saw participation from 29 players who came from Austria, Croatia, and Slovenia.
 |  |  |
Registrations
The competition will take place in the following categories with the following participation conditions:
| Category | Additional Information | Awards for | Souvenir | Entry Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MPO | Mixed Pro Open | Top 3 | Included | 20 € |
| FPO | Women's Pro Open | Top 3 | Included | 20 € |
| Red | Players with a PDGA rating up to 900 | Winner | Included | 20 € |
| Green | Players with a PDGA rating up to 850 | Winner | Included | 20 € |
| Purple | Players with a PDGA rating up to 800 | Winner | With 10€ surcharge | 10 € |
| Juniors | Will open based on received registrations. For categories under 12 years, only rounds 1 and 3 are played. | Winner | With 10€ surcharge | Free |
The number of participants is limited to 56, meaning the competition will be played in a maximum of 14 groups of 4 players.
The entry fee for the MPO, FPO, Red, and Green categories includes a souvenir for players, tournament organization, a fee to the Croatian Flying Disc Federation, and prizes for the best players.
The entry fee for the Purple and Junior categories does not include a player souvenir, but participants can receive it for an additional 10€.
The participation fee should be paid to the following bank account before the tournament: Lagoda j.d.o.o., Varaždin, HR6323400091110550349
Exceptionally, if the fee is not paid in advance, payment in cash will be possible on the day of the tournament.
The competition results and live scores will be published on the PDGA page.
Results will be recorded in the PDGA live scorecard system.
Players who are not PDGA members and do not have a rating can play in the Purple category only if they have not played PDGA tournaments before, or if they have played PDGA tournaments and their last 6 rounds (or fewer if they haven't completed 6 rounds) average a rating of no more than 800. If their rounds average above 800, they can play in the Green, Red, or MPO/FPO categories. A player without a rating whose last 6 rounds (or fewer) average more than 850 rating points cannot play in the Green category but can play in the Red or MPO/FPO categories.
Schedule
Tournament working schedule (minor changes are possible in the upcoming days):
| Saturday, December 21st | |
|---|---|
| 8:00 | meet up at the course, practice |
| 8:45 | Players meeting, Arena (1st floor) |
| 9:05 | start of the 1st round (expected round duration is approximately 2 hours) |
| 11:30 | lunch (self-organized) |
| 12:30 | start of the 2nd round |
| 14:30 | Winners ceremony |
| - closing reception for the disc golf season (sweet and savory snacks, mulled wine, etc.) | |
| - Secret Santa gift exchange | |
In the evening, there is an option to continue socializing at Varaždin Advent.
Play Format
The competition will take place in the following format:
| Round | Group Formation |
|---|---|
| 1 | Groups will be formed by mixing categories and strength groups determined by PDGA ratings. Efforts will be made to avoid grouping players from the same clubs or countries in the first round, encouraging social interaction with new players. |
| 2 | Groups formed by results, without mixing categories. |
Course
The 14-hole course will be set up in the forest area near Arena Varaždin.
Temporary Disc Golf Park target baskets will be used for play.
Artificial turf mats will be used on tee pads on all holes.
A course map will be available on this page before the tournament. Currently, you can download the map from the 2023 tournament.
For 2024, only minor adjustments are planned due to changes in the terrain (fallen trees) or PDGA rule updates.
 |  |  |
Additional Information
Communication with Participants
A WhatsApp group will be created for communication with participants, and a link to join the group will be sent via email.
Joining the WhatsApp group is not mandatory, but during the tournament, all announcements (schedule changes, groups for the 1st and 2nd rounds, etc.) will only be communicated through this group.
Participants can use this group to inform if they are late for a players meeting, lost and found items on the course etc.
Parking
If you are arriving by car, you can park at the Arena Varaždin parking lot (Google Maps location).
Restrooms
Restrooms are available in several locations within the venue and tournament center.
Weather
You can track the weather forecast for Varaždin on the Yr.no website. Based on previous years, we hope for dry and cold weather but with temperatures above freezing, making it pleasant for play.
Photos and Social Media
All photos taken during the tournament will be added to a Google Photos Album at the end of each day and can be downloaded and used for social media.
When posting on Instagram, please use #merryforester #varazdin @lagoda_disc_golf @volim.varazdin if possible.
Side Events
Ace Pool
All players who wish to participate can pay 1€ in cash, which will be placed in a special donation box.
The player who hits an ace during the tournament will win the entire Ace Pool prize fund. If two or more players hit an ace during the same tournament, they will share the Ace Pool. If no player hits an ace, the Ace Pool will carry over to the next Lagoda tournament, and so on until it is won.
A player wishing to participate in the Ace Pool must pay the 1€ before the first round starts. If a player hits an ace but did not pay for the Ace Pool beforehand, they will not be eligible for the prize.
This donation box is filled at all Lagoda Disc Golf tournaments, but as an ace was hit at the last tournament, the current amount in the box is 35€.
Overachiever
The award is given to the player who performed the best relative to their rating (based on current ratings on the PDGA website).
All tournament participants who have a PDGA number and active membership and have at least 20 rounds played in their rating are eligible for this competition.
Secret Santa
Registered participants will be invited to join the Secret Santa gift exchange. Those who decide to participate will be "in the hat," and five days before the tournament, we will draw one person for whom they need to buy a gift worth around 7 to 10 €. More details will be sent to registered players via email.
This gift exchange was first introduced at Merry Forester 2021 and was well-received as a fun detail to end the disc golf season.
Prizes and Tournament Respect Raffle
The raffle will take place at the end of the tournament, after the winners are announced in all categories. The usual main prize for the raffle is a disc golf backpack.
To be eligible to claim a prize from the raffle, the player must:
1. Be present at the player meeting (when your name is called at the beginning of the meeting, you need to be present)
2. Pay the tournament entry fee in advance or during the tournament (no later than the start of the winner announcement)
3. Complete all rounds scheduled for their category
4. Check in on time (mandatory check-in) if specified in the tournament schedule
5. Be present at the winner announcement
If a player is drawn in the raffle but has not met all criteria, they cannot claim the prize, and another player will be drawn.
The same player cannot win a prize in the raffle in two consecutive tournaments.
Tournament History
This will be the seventh edition of the tournament.
We first organized Merry Forester as a series of two one-day tournaments held on December 23, 2017 and January 7, 2018, with 18 and 27 players participating, respectively.
The second series was played on December 8, 2018 and December 22, 2018, with 20 players in both tournaments.
The third and last time two Merry Forester tournaments were held as a series was on December 14, 2019, with world champion Paige Pierce participating, and December 28, 2019.
After a break due to COVID-19, the fourth edition of Merry Forester was held as a standalone one-day tournament on December 18, 2021, with 43 players from Croatia, Slovenia, and Austria.
The fifth edition took place on December 17, 2022, with 35 players from Croatia, Austria, and Slovenia.
At the last 6th edition, 29 players from Austria, Croatia, and Slovenia participated.
