Soaring Ambition : A Frisbee Enthusiast With Lofty Dreams Threw Away Job and Conquered the World

What is just a flip of the wrist on the beach to some is a career for others. Take Peter Bowie. He has turned what was a weekend hobby of Frisbee throwing into what could become a lucrative occupation.

For 5 1/2 years, the 23-year-old World Frisbee Champion worked two jobs as a clothing salesman and waiter in New Zealand, his native country, to earn enough money to stop working and travel to professional Frisbee competitions.

“It’s the only way you can afford to compete and travel. You have to save. Now I’m starting to win prize money and sponsors are coming to me now,” Bowie said.

After nine years of training and $40,000 spent on traveling, training and equipment, Bowie’s love affair with a sport often reserved for family picnics is beginning to pay off. He has clothing and flying disc sponsorships with Cantebury of New Zealand and Kiwi Flying Discs in Australia.

Bowie plans to enter at least six major competitions next year, each with prizes of more than $10,000.

Winning the world title meant a trip for two to Hawaii and made pursuing the U.S. Open, worth $40,000, irresistible. He also is a four-time New Zealand champion and won Australia’s championship.

He practices six hours a day at La Mirada Regional Park, which has a disc golf course, and lives in Buena Park.

Fellow Frisbee enthusiast Jeanine Lewis, 30, of Buena Park said of Bowie, “I think what’s respected about Peter is that he works hard and has discipline. Everybody wants to be number one, but not everybody will work to go after their goal the way he has.”

Bowie simply says of his dedication, “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t worth it.

“Every sportsman’s dream is to be the world champion of their sport. I have reached that. It’s worth every cent I’ve spent,” he said.

Now, Bowie said he would like to see disc events become part of the Olympics by the year 2000.

“A lot of people think it’s just something you throw on the beach, but it’s worthy of being in the Olympics,” he said. “More people are becoming aware of the sport, though. There are over 300 Frisbee golf courses in the U.S. The sport is getting larger and more money and sponsors are coming into it.

“The world record for throwing is over two football fields, and we use highly aerodynamic discs. They’re different from the ones you buy on the shelf,” he said.

An average disc costs about $8, but Bowie said the good ones can cost up to $50, depending on how specialized they are. He takes 50 to 65 discs with him to each tournament for the different events.

Frisbee competitions involve tests of distance and accuracy. There are also team events and disc golf, which involves throwing a disc around a course into specially designed holes.

“I get a tremendous amount of satisfaction out of competing,” Bowie said. “It’s satisfying to achieve my goals, and I’ll quit when I’m not improving anymore. It’s just so much fun, and there are so many ways to be challenged because of the different events.”

His interest in the development of the sport, not just the rewards, prompts him to assist with Frisbee clinics at La Mirada Regional Park, he said.

“Players will ask you how to do things and for help. You can give back to the sport and help tomorrow’s champions,” he said.

U.S. Open tournament director Dan Mongone said that although Bowie has had a successful year, he is not getting rich. “The sport can be lucrative, but we don’t have people making tens of thousands of dollars,” he said.