Sports

Headwaters Racquet Club tourney helped take the edge off cancer

February 27, 2017   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart
The tennis courts were full and so were the squash courts at the Take the Edge Off Cancer fun tournament held at the Headwaters Racquet Club Jan. 21.
A full slate of racquet sports was on tap in an effort to raise funds in support of the Headwaters Health Care Centre Oncology Department. Funds will be channeled through the Headwaters Health Care Foundation.
The event was created by Sean Coulter, owner of The Edge Wine Bar and Grille, a restaurant located in the Racquet Club.
Coulter was himself suffering from cancer and he started this event to help direct funds for cancer care. Unfortunately he did not see the actual tournament take place, as he passed away just two weeks prior to the event.
It was an open tournament — anyone could attend, have some fun and play some racquet sports.
On the tennis courts, teams of 10 rotated in mini-matches with all four courts filled with 40 players.
“We plan on running a charity event every year,” Headwaters Racquet Club League Director and Tennis Pro JoAnn Pilkey said. “This year we met with Sean and said we would like to do it for his cause. It is his registered charity.”
“Unfortunately, he passed away before the event, so this is his legacy,” she added. “We will continue it every year as an annual memorial event. The money will all go to the Headwaters Healthcare Foundation. Today, we have members from the Club and others from outside of the area. We advertised it through the internet to all the local clubs. It’s open to everyone, not just our members.”
“It’s just a fun tournament,” she said. “We’ve got a lot of support and a lot of generous donations. We’ve had a very good response.”
In addition to play on the courts, there was a raffle and silent auction.
A lot of local businesses also helped out to make the day a success.
“A lot of these people here knew Sean very well,” Pilkey said. “A lot of them are tennis players and then go up to The Edge afterward. It gives a lot more meaning to do this now.”

         

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