Mount Gambier well and truly lived up to its reputation as the “home of the Eruption” last weekend, hosting one of the largest disc golf tournaments in Australia.
Players from every corner of the country – and even across the ditch – descended on the Blue Lake city for the 2025 Eruption, turning the fairways into a showcase of skill, precision and passion.
For the fifth-consecutive year, Mount Gambier found itself at the heart of the national disc golf scene, with the Eruption cementing its place on the Australian calendar.
The city’s unique blend of natural beauty and competitive spirit once again proved the perfect backdrop for a weekend of flying discs and friendly rivalry.
The event almost 200 competitors across the four days along with a record total prize pool in the professional classes.
The tournament initially had over 200 registrations, however with the withdrawal of several competitors the total of 194 was equal to the amount of participants in last year’s event.
Assistant Tournament Director Ryan Nicholson said the event lived up to expectations.
“It was tremendously successful, the weather turned out fantastic for the whole event,” he said.
“It’s probably the best weather we have had for Eruption and all the feedback we have received from the visiting players has all been very positive.”
The majority of competitors were from Western Australia, Tasmania, Queensland, New South Wales, Canberra and a large number from Victoria, with only 14 local players taking part.
Along with the Aussie participants, there were also players from New Zealand and Estonia.
Nicholson said this year’s Eruption was the biggest turnout for a disc golf event in Australia, attracting more participants than the Australian National Championships which will be held later this month in Perth.
“We have nearly doubled the registrations for the national championships which is a bit of an indication into the high quality reputation that our event has across the country,” he said.
The professional classes featured a record breaking cash prize of $10,000 which was split between the three pro classes.
Blake Houston from Western Australia won the men’s professional open class, taking home a cash prize of $2000.
Geelong’s Clare Hussey took out the female professional open class, winning the smaller class and receiving a $500 prize.
Despite only a small number of locals competing in the tournament, they still made a big splash with three finishing first in their classes.
Club President Justin Clarke took out the Masters 40+ amateur division, with Kate Eldridge winning the FA2 division and Miley Nicholson claiming the top spot in the FJ15 junior division.
Nicholson said he was thankful for the support from the Gambier City Lions across the weekend.
“The Gambier City Lions were a tremendous support for the event and were greatly appreciated by the players,” he said.
“To have access to the Lions for egg and bacon rolls for brekkie or steak sandwiches for lunch, it’s the little things like that which makes visiting players want to come back again.”
Both Nicholson and his partner and tournament director Michelle Schulz dedicated countless hours to organising and running the huge event.
“We pretty much live and breathe the Eruption 12 months of the year,” Nicholson said.
“I have got to give a real big shout out to a number of volunteers from the local disc golf community and the Mount Gambier disc golf club who really stepped up and put in a lot of time and effort in supporting this year’s Eruption and making it such a successful event.”
