WFDF

WFDF releases updated Disc Golf World Rankings

In Disc Golf, News, Press Release * Official Communication, Sports by WFDF

Finland tops ranking after dominant performance at the WFDF 2019 World Team Disc Golf Championships

The World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF), in cooperation with the Professional Disc Golf Association (PDGA), is releasing the third edition of its world rankings for Disc Golf by country. Finland has earned the position as the top ranked country in the world after a dominating performance at the 2019 World Team Disc Golf Championships (WTDGC), knocking the USA out of the top spot. The USA dropped to fifth place after a disappointing performance at the event. Canada is currently second followed by Estonia and New Zealand.

“This edition of the WFDF World Disc Golf Rankings has seen a major shift in the world order – and not only at the top. WFDF members and countries affiliated with PDGA, have made significant progress in expanding their player base, especially in recruiting and training women players,” said Charlie Mead, the WFDF Disc Golf Committee chair. “Countries from South East Asia have risen up the Rankings with Malaysia climbing 14 places, and Singapore and China have entered the Rankings for the first time at places 28 and 34 respectively. We should expect further growth from this region in the coming years.”

“The message sent from WFDF last year that countries could improve their ranking by having more women and juniors play and by joining the PDGA clearly made an impression,” he added. “There are a number of countries in the top 20 where the women players earn more points from their PDGA ratings than their male counterparts. The Juniors have also made progress and contributed to all the top 24 teams on the list of countries included in this Ranking.”

“The countries that have benefited most from competing at WTDGC as well as from promoting Women and Juniors are Austria, Slovakia, Latvia, Spain and Lithuania. In a highly competitive field, they have improved their rankings by at least 6 places and proven the value of support from national associations as well as wider sporting agencies. “

“We are pleased to see this expansion of the World Rankings for disc golf,” stated WFDF President Robert “Nob” Rauch. “Our rankings will become an ever increasingly important tool in deciding on the potential inclusion of countries in multi-sports games like the World Games or other Olympic Movement sanctioned events which demand a critical and objective means for selecting athletes for their events. We had a good discussion about disc golf during our Congress in August in Estonia at the WTDGC, and expect that we will develop a number of interesting ways to get showcase the sport in multi-sports events in the coming years.”

The criteria for ranking countries are a combination of performance at WFDF World Team Disc Golf Championships from 2016-2019 and the PDGA ratings for top male and female players. An explanation of the rankings process is available here. A revision of any or all criteria for generating a World Rankings list will also be reviewed every six-months based on feedback from WFDF members, PDGA, and affiliated countries. A total of 49 countries are now included in the ranking process, an increase of two from the January 2019 list (complete ranking).

The ranking can be found here