By meadowlakeNOW

KidSport golf tourney hopes for another ‘ace’ year in fundraising

May 27, 2017 | 2:45 PM

A love of golf, plus some celebrity athletes equals a great formula to raise funds for youth in need of financial support to participate in their favourite sport.

The 12 annual KidSport Charity Golf Tournament was underway Saturday with over 100 participants on the greens to support the cause.

This year’s event was a bustling one, and local KidSport chair Brian Gislason said support for the event has continued to grow over the years.

“It’s been well received in the community,” he said. “I think awareness has really picked up, and the level of need in our community is substantial. We’re really fortunate that this tournament raises about half of what we budget in a given year. We hope to make anywhere from twelve to fifteen thousand this year.”

The local chapter receives funding from the provincial organization, but the funds raised at this particular event stay in the community.

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“I think that’s why people buy into it because the money is staying right here in Meadow Lake,” he said. “We have a wide variety of sports we sponsor like hockey, volleyball to basketball, swimming skating, and the list goes on. We can fund registration fees and equipment.” 

The celebrity factor is always a nice feature, according to Gislason. This year, several Roughrider alumni were in town. This included Wes Cates, Dan Rashovich, Kennedy Nkeyasen, Robert Mimbs, and Andrew Greene. Blind golf champion Gerry Nelson and caddy Chris Villeneuve were back for another year too.

“They are all so personable and down to earth and we just really appreciate them coming,” Gislason said. “It gives people in the community the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the former Roughrider greats. And also [Gerry and Chris] show the epitome of teamwork, it’s really inspirational to watch them golf, with Gerry not being able to see and Chris being his eyes.”

Nelson said he always appreciated the support he received from Meadow Lakers’ throughout his golfing career, and said KidSport is a wonderful cause.

“It played a big role in my life growing up,” he noted. “I lost my mother very early, and my dad passed away when I was 23. There was never a lot of money in the family, and KidSport was around to help me.

“The golf course for me was just a place to hang out. That’s why KidSport is so very important, it gives kids a safe environment, a chance to play, a chance to develop role models, and chance to build friendships – just an awesome organization.”

He and his caddy have been a team since 1997, and friends for much longer.

“We clicked together right from the start almost like magic,” noted Villeneuve. “I could line him up to read the greens fairly well, and he had such a great swing from there it was just successful right from the beginning.”

Cates played for the Roughriders from 2007 to 2011 and this year is the first time he participated in this event.

“I’m hoping to get a couple of impressive shots in,” he said with a laugh. “But also, just have some fun and just raise as much as we can to support the kids and families.”

kathy.gallant@jpbg.ca  

On Twitter @ReporterKath