Taking Disc Golf trophies to a new level
To take top 3 position at this highly competitive event, the players will need three things: passion, skill, and focus. We felt that it was only fitting to reward those qualities with trophies which required the same level of commitment. As a departure from the traditional trophies everyone is used to, at European Masters we are offering players a chance to win something that we hope they will truly cherish for the rest of their lives, not just as a token for an athletic achievement but as an object of beauty. Each trophy is an unique work of art, designed and hand made by glassblower Dylan Katz specially for this tournament. The trophies were designed to reflect the essence of the sport of disc golf, with their gracefully twisting forms they evoke the movement of a player launching a disc skilfully into the air. Who’s hands will they land in?
Each trophy starts out as molten glass, about 150 kg are melted at a time at approximately 1100 °C. The glass is gathered in successive layers on the end of a steel blowpipe, a small amount of coloured glass is added between the first and second clear gather. Once enough glass has been gathered out of the furnace it is then blown into a custom made steel mold. While most pieces would be nearly finished at this point, these are just getting started. After blowing into the mold the glass is then reheated to allow the artist to carefully twist the sculpture. At this point the glass is placed into an annealing oven to cool slowly over night. Once the glass has reached room temperature it is cut with a water cooled diamond saw, then ground and polished by hand using a series of abrasives. Finally the tournament information is engraved by hand onto one side of the trophies. From start to finish each piece takes about four hours of intense focus, plus a lifetime of passion and skill.
The trophies will be awarded to top 3 finishers in both FPO & MPO divisions. Each trophy winner will also get a chance to carve their own names to their respective trophies at the event site, so if you plan on making the top 3, please reserve some time after the trophy ceremony as well as room in your luggage.
