Ken Westerfield

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Ken Westerfield is an American pioneer in disc sports who helped turn Frisbee from a toy into a wide‑reach sport. Born in 1947 in Detroit, Michigan, he grew up in a sporty family and teamed up with Jim Kenner, who would later co‑found the disc company Discraft. Together they started performing and practicing freestyle Frisbee in the 1960s, even doing shows at Woodstock.

In 1970 Westerfield moved with Kenner to Toronto, Canada, and made Queen’s Park their base. They began touring across Canada to promote Frisbee and soon became Canada’s first full‑time touring Frisbee stars. They organized and co‑directed major events, including the Canadian Open Frisbee Championships (1972–1985) and the Vancouver Open Frisbee Championships (1974–1977). These events helped establish disc sports as serious competitions, not just a playful pastime. They also worked with Molson to bring Frisbee shows to universities and other venues.

Westerfield was a driving force behind freestyle Frisbee. He helped introduce the first freestyle competition at the Canadian Open in 1974, which he and Kenner won. He also helped popularize the body‑roll move and other advanced tricks, and he set notable distance records, including a 552‑foot sidearm throw in 1978, which was a world distance record for a Wham‑O disc for many years. He and Kenner were pivotal in shaping freestyle as a major disc sport, and their work led to lasting recognition in freestyle halls of fame.

In disc golf, Westerfield helped develop early Canadian courses and played a key role in promoting the sport in Canada. He and others organized the World Disc Golf Championships in Toronto in 1987, the only time the event was held outside the United States. He earned high honors in the sport’s halls of fame, including induction into the World Disc Golf Hall of Fame in 2013.

Westerfield also helped grow Ultimate Frisbee in Canada. He helped launch the Toronto Ultimate League, which evolved into the Toronto Ultimate Club (TUC), one of the world’s oldest and largest Ultimate organizations. He played with Santa Cruz’s Good Times team and contributed to Canada’s first national Ultimate Championship win in 1987. He was inducted into the Toronto Ultimate Club Hall of Fame (2010) and Ultimate Canada Hall of Fame (2011). In 2013, Canada’s semi‑professional team Toronto Rush joined the American Ultimate Disc League, a milestone tied to his early work in building organized Ultimate in Toronto.

After retiring from competition in 1979, Westerfield continued to promote disc sports and organized events in Toronto. He later pursued various ventures, including promoting animal rescue work, and he now spends much of his time in Bisbee, Arizona.

Key achievements:
- Helped found and promote major disc events in Canada (Canadian Open and Vancouver Open).
- Co‑created and won the first freestyle competition at the Canadian Open (1974); introduced the body‑roll.
- Set a 552‑foot sidearm distance throw in 1978, a long‑standing record for Wham‑O discs.
- Pioneered disc golf in Canada and organized Canada’s first World Disc Golf Championships outside the U.S. (1987).
- Founded and promoted the Toronto Ultimate League, precursor to the Toronto Ultimate Club; helped launch Canada’s top Ultimate programs.
- Inducted into multiple halls of fame (World Disc Golf Hall of Fame, Ultimate Canada Hall of Fame, Toronto Ultimate Club Hall of Fame, and the FPA Freestyle Hall of Fame).

Ken Westerfield’s work helped turn disc sports into a global set of organized activities, influencing freestyle, Ultimate, and disc golf long after his performing days.