Subject: Paula Elsner and Marie Jackson relaxing between rounds.
Photographer: John Elsner
Location: Huntsville, Alabama
Use:
Date: 1983
Color: Color
Special Notes: Before the 1983 PDGA Disc Golf World Championships in Huntsville, Paula Elsner and Marie Jackson took a stand that would permanently change the sport.
When the tournament was announced, there was no plan for a separate women’s division. Women were expected to compete in a single open division under a policy supported by PDGA founder, Ed Headrick. Rather than accept the policy, Paula and Marie organized. They mailed postcards to women disc golfers across the country, encouraging them to write directly to Headrick in support of a women’s division. They also wrote to tournament directors, urging them to establish separate women’s divisions and to track and preserve the scores to demonstrate that women were actively competing and deserved recognition. Their advocacy worked. The result was the creation of a separate women’s division at the 1983 World Championships — and from that point forward, women’s divisions became standard at PDGA World Championships. Marie went on to win the title as the first PDGA women’s world champion and Paula placed 8th.
Their efforts and historic letter to tournament directors are documented in the film “No Girls Allowed the Untold History of Women’s Disc Golf”, which chronicles the struggles and achievements of early women in disc golf.
Contributor(s): John Elsner