The qualifying competition for European Open, Nokia Open, was held last weekend at the test layout of the European Open course, nicknamed “the Beast”. For the most part of the weekend the weather was sunny and warm (hot even), but as you can see from the quick Saturday review below, the 2nd round of the competition was forced to discontinue due to a thunderstorm and overwhelming weather conditions.

Watch preview video by lcgm8 Disc Golf from YouTube - click here!

After a good night of sleep and some heavy drying of the gear Sunday rounds (1,5) were played in a partly cloudy and very warm conditions. The winner of the tournament was no surprise to anyone, as “Mr. Course Designer” Jussi Meresmaa was in the lead the whole weekend and took home the victory with a 13-stroke spread before Janne Lahtinen and Pasi Koivu, who tied for second place. Notable accomplishment was also Amateur Lassi Hakulinen’s total score of 192 (at PAR) which would have assured him the second place in Open division. Jussi’s thoughts of the -8 for 3 rounds were that to win the EO, one must be able to play a lot better than that. Full list of results here (PDGA results are not updated yet).

As mentioned before, the Nokia Open also served as a qualifying competition for the European Open and available 5 spots were awarded to the following players:

1. Ville Mannermaa (6th place)
2. Mikko Eskola (7th place)
3. Mikko Laihonen (8th place)
4. Leevi Liitti (10th place
5. Jussi Lentovaara (11th place)

The qualified players have been informed and they’ve already accepted their spots. Other new players in the competition are:

• Jeremy Koeling
• Sami Yli-Pihlaja
• Aleksi Ahtila (registration pending)
• David Berglund
• Markus Källström (registration pending)

These five players were awarded with a wild card.

A video introduction to the European Open Course coming soon, so stay tuned!

In English:

The official qualifying competition for European Open will be held 2 weeks before the European Open. The 2-day “warm up” competition is held at the official European Open Course at Nokia Sports Centre Park. The qualifying spots for the EO will be handed to those with the best final standings excluding the possible already confirmed EO2011 attendees. The amount of EO-spots handed out at the qualifier will be later disclosed, but will be at least 5.

The Tournament is titled Prodiscus Nokia Open and it is organized by Frisbeeclub Nokia. The 5 qualifier spots will be given to Pro-division attendees only. If you are awarded with the spot to European Open, you need to confirm your attendance immediately on qualifying site or the spot will be given to a person after you. The entry fee payment 100 EUR must be done in the following week or by Friday the 15th of July at latest.

You can register to the qualifying competition here. The registration opens on 16th of June.

Since the competition is for FFA members only, please contact us if you’re traveling to the qualifier from abroad. Best way to do this is by sending an email to the Tournament Director of the qualifying competition: jukka_leinonen[at]msn.com

Suomeksi:

European Openin karsintakilpailu pidetään 2 viikkoa ennen varsinaista kilpailua Nokialla Prodiscus Nokia Openin yhteydessä. Paikat ovat jaossa ainoastaan avoimeen sarjaan osallistuville pelaajille ja vähintään 5 parasta kilpailijaa ansaitsee paikan European Openiin. Jos viiden parhaan tuloksen pelanneen kilpailijan joukossa on sellaisia pelaajia joilla on jo paikka European Openiin, annetaan paikat seuraavaksi parhaan tulokseen pelanneille.

Mikäli saat karsintakilpailun kautta paikan kilpailuun, on sinun vahvistettava osallistumisesi heti paikan päällä, tai muuten paikkasi annetaan eteenpäin. Osallistumismaksun suorittamiseen aikaa on seuraava viikko, eli maksun pitää olla perillä perjantaina 15.7. mennessä.

Kilpailuun voit ilmoittautua kisakoneessa. Ilmoittautuminen aukeaa 16.6.