CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Friends of the Kadena-Okinawa Special Olympics will tee off at the Awase Meadows Golf Course on June 3 to raise money for the 6th annual games on Kadena Air Base.
The tournament is one of several fund-raisers this spring in preparation for the June 18 games at Kadena High School.
This year, organizers expect more than 850 special-needs athletes, 160 artists and more than 2,000 volunteers to take part, said Chip Steitz, the group’s fund development director.
The golf action starts at 7 a.m. with a “Four Person Team Scramble Start,” Steitz said.
Entry fees, $35 for enlisted personnel and $45 for all others, includes green fees and carts. Prizes will be given for persons getting closest to the pin and for the longest drives.
Participants must sign up by noon Wednesday by calling 632-6982 or 634-4466, organizers said. Fees must be paid by June 1.
“This is the first time we’re holding a fund-raising golf event at Awase Meadows,” Steitz said Monday. “In the past we’ve held similar events at the Banyan Tree Golf Course on Kadena Air Base to great success.”
Steitz said the golf tournament is among several Special Olympics benefit events on Okinawa.
Earlier this spring, $7,000 was raised in the annual Banyan Tree tournament, $2,500 was raised in a “Fun Run” on Kadena Air Base, and island Harley-Davidson enthusiasts donated $2,000 from the annual Poker Run, Steitz said.
“The Special Olympics has blossomed into a major summertime event,” he said. “Last year we had over 700 athletes; this year, 830 have signed up already.”
This year also was the first time the Friends of the Special Olympics sent a team to the world games.
In February, the Okinawa floor hockey team brought home a silver medal from the international games in Nagano.
The golf tournament is to be followed by a Special Olympics Torch Run set for June 11, Steitz said.
“We’ll have soldiers, sailors and Marines running for their respective bases to join airmen on Kadena for a run to raise money and awareness for the Special Olympics,” he said.
“Everybody’s responding in an amazing way. So much generosity has been shown.”
