Junior Golf
| Junior Golf |
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The NBGA Junior Golf Program has evolved over the years into what is now an integrated program aimed at all categories of Junior Golfers. The program is successful because of the hard work performed by countless numbers of interested people working within different organizations. These include: Sport Governing Bodies of the Province of New Brunswick; professional golfers; the Royal Canadian Golf Association; the New Brunswick Golf Association; interested Amateur golfers; and parents. The program covers a variety of areas involving beginners to advanced golfers. The program is designed to promote fun in golf while attempting to explore and bring out the talents of good golfers. The end result is to promote golf for recreational purposes. The four main objectives of the program are:
1. Participation and Promotion This area is aimed at beginners of Junior age throughout the province with the objective of promoting the fundamentals of the game of golf. Junior Golf Week is the highlight of this section. The NBGA in conjunction with the CN Future Links Program will be working to introduce young people to golf and provide a program that grows with them from beginner to advanced golfer. The NBGA will be supporting introductory golf programs in schools around the province. The NB Family Classic, being held at the Miramichi Golf & Country Club in Miramichi, NB, is a fun tournament aimed at encouraging family members to get out and play together. Junior Golf Week is one week in July used to draw awareness to junior golf in our province. The Junior Golf Week Draw is used to raise funds for club junior programs.
2. Development and Training The objective of this section is to develop and continue the interest shown by the young golfer who has achieved a certain level of ability. Developmental Camps for Junior Girls will be held at member clubs within the eight regions. These camps will provide the opportunity for girls to enhance their golfing skills. Another important aspect of this section is to develop the Midget/Bantam golfers by offering them the opportunity to qualify for the Junior Championships. This opportunity provides them a chance to obtain added experience before becoming Junior age. Junior Development camps open to boys and girls will be held in different regions around the province. Four such camps will be offered in 2009. We will be conducting several CN Future Links Junior development camps in the various regions of the province beginning in June. Another event for average golfers is the NB Adult/Junior Championship. This event, introduced in 2007, replaced the Junior Net event. The event is aimed at encouraging participation from all member clubs, handicap categories, age levels and genders.
3. Advanced Athlete Development This section of the program is designed to improve the lower handicap golfers, usually the player who has worked hard and has become very dedicated to the game. It is from this group of golfers that New Brunswick Teams will probably arise. An Elite Training Camp will be held for New Brunswick Juniors, Juveniles and Midges, put on by the NBGA, and RCGA (location to be announced). Top male and female golfers will be selected based on their 2008 performances. The camp will deal with course management and the mental side of the game. Junior girls are participating in the Ladies Athlete Development Program during the season. As well, Junior girls and alternates making the national team will participate in an Athlete development pre-national camp, which will provide two three-hour sessions with a sports psychologist, range instruction, and course management instruction.
4. Tournaments and Competitions This is where the golfer competes and learns the true etiquette of the game, where winning is nice and sometimes important, but better, where losing becomes a lesson of life, where competition can breed fairness, dedication and exploring one's total being. The first provincial championship of the season is the East Coast Junior tournament. This tournament is aimed at attracting top junior aged golfers from the Eastern provinces and states for a competitive tournament. this event doubles as a CN Future Links Order of Merit event. Points earned from the Provincial Championship and the East Coast Tournament will go towards players point totals for the Provincial and National ranking. The Lounsbury/Cavendish Farms NB Midget/Bantam Championship at Magnetic Hill Golf & Country Club is a two-day tournament that will be used as a developmental experience for midget and bantam aged golfers. The New Brunswick Junior Championship is a three-day tournament whereby all golfers will compete for the NB Junior and Juvenile titles on the first two days, and a cut to the top 60 players will result after 36 holes. These top 60 male competitors will play a third round then the top 21 male players after 54 holes will advance to the last round to determine the New Brunswick Boys Team. For the junior ladies, all golfers compete in the 3 day tournament to determine the New Brunswick Girls Team. Certain junior invitational club tournaments are Player of the Year events where Juniors can earn points towards being recognized as New Brunswick's Junior Player of the Year. Top Juniors from this event will be invited to participate in the Junior Match Play Championship in August. The top male Junior, Juvenile and Midget competitors are selected to go to the Atlantic Championships in August to compete against the other provinces. The top female Juniors go to compete at their Atlantic Championships in July. Good luck and good golfing in whatever aspect of the program you choose to take part. Dick Sabourin NBGA Junior Programs Chair |