Valerie Jenkins - World Champion
Valarie Jenkins is a World Champion - Multiple times and in multiple ways. The ODSA is looking forward to watching her improve the path for Woman in our sport .
In her actions we see a leader with great promise to improve our sport .
At the beginning of the 2016 season, I informed Innova that it would be my last year as a sponsored player for their company. So, after 12 years on the team, 2017 is truly a fresh start for me.
I’m not leaving to join another team or to chase down a higher paying contract. I am leaving because of the countless honors I have been denied, because I am a woman. If we want things to change the future landscape of women’s disc golf, we need these leading companies to support and promote their best female athletes with the same respect as they give the men on their team.
Ultimately, I am grateful for all the incredible opportunities that Innova and their affiliates have given me throughout my career. I am also thankful of how they welcomed me on their team as a rookie and enabled me to blossom into the champion I am today. Innova has created a very strong base of female players over the past couple of seasons and I truly wish the best for them as they continue to build on their careers and I hope that they receive everything that they deserve.
There comes a point where you sit on top of the mountain and realize the view from up there isn’t what you dreamed. Ironically, those low points have brought out the best in me to focus on supporting the women around me by creating DiscGolf4Women.com and leading as Chair of the PDGA Women’s Committee.
It is important for women in this male-dominated sport to stand up for what they believe in and make a difference for the women who follow in our footsteps. In the end, as a women’s disc golf ambassador, I need to live like I preach, and I can no longer represent a company that won’t go out on a limb for one of their team’s best players.
Thank you to my family, my friends and my fans that have supported me from the very beginning. I would also like to thank my current sponsors for their continued support. I am looking forward to starting this new chapter by continuing to be myself, focusing on my personal goals, and representing the sport that has given me so much.
Cheers,