But this week — this whole summer — Severy and several other Maine women have carved extra time into their schedules to dicker with their drives, putter with their putts and polish their games in advance of the 2016 Professional Disc Golf Association U.S. Women’s Championship, being held this year at Sabattus Disc Golf.

“There was no doubt at all in my mind,” Severy said. “This is a major event in the state of Maine, and I want to be a part of it. To have it be a women’s-only event makes it even better.”

Severy’s schedule has allowed her to practice a bit more than usual, though she does play in a league, and even on a travel team.

“I’ve been playing there almost every night for the past three weeks, trying to get ready,” Severy said. “Last year, it was more getting out there and having fun. This year has been more of knowing which drivers to use on which types of shots, and how the disc is going to fly, and using the percentage of my strength to get it to do what I want it to do. It’s been a little more technical this year, learning that. It’s been fun.”

Severy, of Durham, plays out of the Bittersweet Ridge course in North Yarmouth, and has been since she took up the game two years ago.

Angela Edwards of Poland, and originally from Gardiner, has a bit more time under her belt, having played for eight years.

Even so, an event of this magnitude, she said, gets the nerves jumping.

“I’m always nervous going to an event,” Edwards said. “I don’t have the chance to play and practice the three times a week I used to.”

Still, she said, there was no way she was missing out on this weekend’s tourney.

“I found out about the event a little over a year ago, and I thought, ‘I have to be a part of this somehow,'” Edwards said. “When I found out it was open registration and I didn’t even have to qualify, I signed up immediately.”

Open registration doesn’t mean a lack of competition, even in the “Intermediate” division in which both Edwards and Severy will play.

“There are a few familiar names,” Edwards said. “It helped with registration, and which division I should play in.”

In all, 16 of the 96 officially registered women are from Maine, spread out across 13 divisions. Zoey Rackler-Enman of Orrington is among the youngest, competing in the 15-and-under division. Catherine McDevitt of Gardiner will be the oldest Maine participant when she throws in the Advanced Senior Grandmaster division for women over 60.

The largest of the divisions is the Intermediate division, in which both Severy and Edwards will compete.

“I think some women might have been a little intimidated,” Severy said, “but I’m hoping that a lot of the women who do play will come out and see us play and see that there are all of these different levels, and that it’s OK for them to play in tournaments, too.”

With the deepest field in the tourney, both women said they are about as ready as they can be.

“You never really can prepare I guess, there are so many factors,” Edwards said. “Conditions, especially. I feel like it’s like riding a bike. You’re like, ‘Oh, yeah, that’s how it’s done.’ I have four rounds to find my stride.”

And regardless of the outcome, Severy said she hopes all of the competitors come away from the weekend with the same feeling.

“I’m hoping the turnout is just fantastic,” she said, “and I’m hoping that players from out of state see Maine for what it is as far as the disc golf community goes, and they see what a great place it is to hold major tournaments like this.”

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