Paddle for a Cause Raises $1,325 in Memory of Paul Jimenez

On March 3rd, Scarsdale Golf Club hosted a new paddle tournament event, "Paddle for a Cause". In response to the significant growth of the ladies paddle tennis program, Ian Longua, SGC's Director of Racquet Sports, and the club's MIPTL flight 9 team captains have had to be creative to provide a variety of paddle tennis opportunities for their newest team players.

The Scarsdale Golf Club ladies paddle team program has recently seen an increase in its number of players. New players have nearly doubled in number, in each of the last three years. In addition to Ian, Bill Minard, General Manager, and Connie Mintzer, Director of Sales and Catering, were key supporters in getting this new tournament idea implemented in a short six week time frame.

Paddle for a Cause was envisioned as an opportunity for players new to paddle tennis to participate in a tournament venue. There are several tournament opportunities for the more experienced paddle players throughout the season. Players new to paddle are also interested in participating in more match opportunities, but don't necessarily want to join venues where they are significantly out played.

Paddle for a Cause was available only to flight 9 players - the beginning team level in MIPTL. Players signed up in pairs and identified which charity they were supporting. A portion of the registration fees went to a tournament pot to be donated to the winning pair's charity of choice The tournament was fully subscribed in two weeks after opening for registration. For this year, the registration was limited to 12 pairs, although the hope is to expand for next year and include more levels of play.

Players came from many Westchester County Clubs including Scarsdale Golf Club, Fox Meadow Tennis Club, New York Athletic Club and Coveleigh Club. Charities Identified by players before the tournament began included: Happy Hearts, Memorial Sloan Kettering, My Sister's Place, NY Pet Rescue, Friends of Pelham Public Library, GoFundMe: Help Laverne Sharon Kick Cancer (a Fox Meadow teacher), PaulieStrong (Pediatric Cancers at Memorial Sloan Kettering), SoulRyders, and Autism Speaks. Players were encouraged to dress in support of their charity. SGC's Charlotte Byers and Carol Wolfe were best dressed in support of NY Pet Rescue.

The championship round was played by Tammy Fine/Debbie Holstein of FMTC playing for Memorial Sloan Kettering and Claudia Uribe-Galeano/Leslie Andersen of SGC playing for PaulieStrong. Tammy and Debbie were the winners of the finals. In the true spirit of charity before the championship round began both pairs agreed that regardless of the result the tournament pot would be donated to PaulieStrong. The PaulieStrong Foundation was developed to support research for pediatric cancers in memory of Paul Ulysses Jimenez, a Greenacres School student who lost his battle with cancer this year. A total of $1325 was raised.

Congratulations to all tournament participants. It was a fun day, built a great sense of community among neighbors and raised money for a worthy cause.