Greetings everyone in NEFA-Land. I wanted to take this opportunity to give you all an update on NEFA given all that has been transpiring in the world. COVID-19 has thrown all of us in the disc golf world a continuous string of challenges. With the early season shutdown and cancellation or postponement of many events, it has become clear that even as we start to open up events again, this season is like no other in recent memory.
The NEFA Board met recently to discuss a variety of issues, chief among them being the disposition of the NEFA 2020 Point series and Finals. We have come to the following conclusions: 1) The 2020 NEFA Point series will be combined with the 2021 series. Due to the truncated season with many events being cancelled or postponed, it is clear that there simply will not be enough events in the 2020 season that happen before what would have been Finals to have a full fledged point series. We want to make sure to include those couple of events that have already happened early in the season as well as those NEFA sanctioned events which will still take place later in the season to allow for those points to roll forward into the 2021 season series. This also allows events that run after finals due to postponement (like the popular Vineyard Social) to be included in the points series. 2) The 2020 New England Disc Golf Championship (NEFA Finals) originally scheduled for October 10th, 2020 will be open to everyone. Without the point series as a qualifier, there’ll be no points requirement as in previous years. The event, traditionally the culmination of the points series, will not mark the conclusion of the 2020 season or be an invite only event like it has historically been. We do intend to host an event on that day, however. The event will provide some preference for NEFA members, but will be open to all players who wish to register. More details on that will follow, but save the date! We expect that it will be a B-Tier event. As tournaments begin to open up, following all local regulations for distancing and other COVID-19 precautions, we will be continuing to monitor progress. As NEFA spans the whole of New England as well as NY and NJ, these local guidelines may differ. It is incumbent on all TDs and players alike to be as safe as possible as we start to play events again. While we are saddened that the 2020 season has turned out this way, we are looking ahead to the hopefully triumphant return to lots of disc golf in 2021. NEFA's mission, while most notably seen with tournament sanctioning and he points series, also includes growing the sport. To that end, the NEFA Board has been meeting and reviewing the several grant applications that have been submitted and we look forward to granting several of them in the coming months. Stay safe everyone! -Bob Kulchuk, NEFA President + Board