Charity kickball tournament looks for teams
For those of you in search of a little fun under the sun this weekend, look no further than Hurley Field in South Marquette.
Starting Friday, teams of ten will compete in the Olivia LeMoine Memorial Charity Kickball Tournament. The South Marquette Athletic Club event used to be help raise money for softball. But when a close friend’s daughter passed away during her senior year at Marquette Senior High School, Rick Schwemin made the switch to rename the tournament and its mission in her honor.
“Olivia was a young girl that was very gracious, very kind and very giving, and in order to keep that spirit of hers going, we decided to name the kickball tournament after her and give the money to a worthy cause,” he said.
This year that cause is the Wounded Warrior Project. In the past, they’ve donated computers to Sandy Knoll Elementary School and helped fund events at Bay Cliff’s Camp STAR.
The ultimate goal of the two-day tournament is to create a scholarship for a senior Redman or Redette named after Olivia.
“We take a new charity every year; we’re happy to give back to the community,” Schwemin said. “We’re looking at having 20 teams. We have 50/50 raffles, prizes; it’s a whole lot of fun. It’s co-ed. We have an older division, a younger division, and we’re going to take teams right up until tomorrow. I think we have 16 or 17 now and we’re shooting for 20.”
The registration fee is $125 and each team will consist of at least five males and five females, with an unlimited roster size. To register a team, you can contact Schwemin at (906) 360-1747 or email him at rschwemi@nmu.edu.
The tournament begins at 5:00 p.m. on Friday.