What Is the SFL Competition Licence and How Do You Get It?

The SFL competition licence is an annual licence issued by the Finnish Disc Golf Association, allowing players to participate in PDGA events under the federation. Players permanently living in Finland must have a valid licence to take part in these sanctioned events. Getting the licence happens in two steps: first you join an SFL member club, then you buy the licence through Suomisport. For licensed players, more than 500 federation-sanctioned competitions open up across Finland every year.

What does the SFL competition licence include?

The licence includes the right to compete in PDGA events under the Finnish federation, as well as PDGA membership for the licence season. PDGA is the international governing body of the sport, and membership gives you your own PDGA number, which identifies you in competitions and the results database.

Important note: you should not buy PDGA membership separately directly from the PDGA. Membership is automatically included in the competition licence, and buying a separate PDGA membership does not give you a discount on the licence. Going forward, the licence season runs from 1 December to 30 November, meaning one licence covers a full competition season.

How do you get a competition licence?

Getting the licence happens in three steps, and everything is done through Suomisport, either in the mobile app or on the website.

• 1. Join a member club. Choose an SFL member club, create a Sportti account in Suomisport and pay the club’s membership fee. You can only get a licence as a member of an affiliated club.
• 2. Buy the competition licence in Suomisport. After joining a club, you can buy the licence. The club you select becomes your representative club, meaning the club you represent in competitions.
• 3. Wait for your PDGA number. A new PDGA number will arrive by email within 0–7 days of purchase and will update automatically to your Suomisport profile.

Note that a player can represent only one club at a time in competitions, even if they belong to several clubs. Licence purchases are also not refunded afterwards, so make sure you select the correct representative club before buying.

How much does the competition licence cost?

The licence price depends on the player’s age, and pricing is divided into adults and juniors. The current season prices are:

• Adult competition licence: €70 + €1.50 transaction fee
• Junior competition licence: €36 + €1.50 transaction fee

The price always includes PDGA membership for the full season. The club membership fee is paid separately and varies depending on the club, from a few euros to around twenty euros. If you want, you can also add separate Sporttiturva insurance to your licence, but it is not required for getting the licence.

Why does my licence not work yet when registering for an event?

The licence does not appear in the competition system immediately after purchase, because activation requires a few technical steps. Registration and live scoring are handled in Disc Golf Metrix, which only recognises the licence once the details are correct.

Activate it like this: make sure your PDGA number is visible in your Suomisport profile, create an account in Disc Golf Metrix and add your Sportti-ID, PDGA number and birth year there. Once all details are correct, Metrix recognises the licence with roughly a one-night delay. The most common reason for a “licence not valid” message is missing or incorrect information in one of these fields.

Some events also require passing the officials test, meaning the PDGA Certified Official rules exam. The test is required for Finnish Championship players and competitors on the Pro Tour and Masters Tour, and it is recommended for everyone else as well. It is a short multiple-choice test where the rulebook may be used as support. If the competition rules are not yet familiar, it is worth reviewing the basic rules before taking the test.

The licence opens the door to competition, but a good result also requires reliable discs that fit different situations. Build your tournament bag from the disc golf disc selection at DiscKing.eu.