Article submitted by Marjorie Hodson from Paddlepro.com. Pictures also courtesy of Paddlepro.com
“A monster storm comes and destroys NJ and we are going to back out because of a little snow forecast?”
Mother Nature has not been kind to New Jersey recently! A group plans a fundraiser to benefit those impacted by Hurricane Sandy… recruits pros from NJ, NY and CT to play with (mostly) club-level women… plans some after-paddle fun games… and she decides she will see how hardy a group it is!
Snow began falling right around the time play began and was so heavy at times that the heaters simple could not keep up. This didn’t dampen the fun that was had, although it did impact the basketball and golf contests that followed paddle!
All funds raised will be go directly to our targeted charities because of donations from the following: Beacon Hill Club – donation of lunch; Canoe Brook Country Club – donation of facilities; NJMPTA – donation of beverages; Paddlepro.com – donation of balls; and David Kjeldsen – donation of paddle for raffle. Thanks to our hostesses Liz Adams, Pam Kern and Diane Tolkowsky and to Heidi Calderone for contributing desserts! Other individuals made monetary contributions which will go to the charities. Beneficiaries are United Way Sandy Recovery and Sea Bright Rising.
Special thanks to the pros who volunteered their time – especially those who had to travel to get there! Guga Goncalves, Marco Grangeiro, Patricio Misitrano and John Dehler all traveled from out of state to help out. Locals Todd Anderson, David Broderick, Drew Broderick, Lauren Cash, Ray Crosta, Bobo Delaney, Steve DeRose, Terry Doran, Scott Estes, Jill Feher, Patty Hogan, Patrick Kelly, Bill Kloss, Nathan LeFevre, Jon Lubow, Maria Manley, Darlene McGlone, Guy Moore and Kendall Osbourne lent their on-court expertise.
There were 84 women entered in the event, and most were able to enjoy a morning of paddle followed by lunch and fun at Canoe Brook. (Some had to rush home due to early school dismissals.) They had the opportunity to be on the court with players who can do things with the ball they never thought possible!
The “point of the day” is not something you are likely to see in tournament play – or maybe ever again: Steve DeRose, in the middle of a point where he had been covering about 95% of the court, decided to hit a drop shot. When the two ladies across the net made no effort to reach the ball, he ran around the netpost and hit his own shot back for a winner! Does he both win and lose the point? (No, he wasn’t able to run back around the net and hit the ball for the 3rd time in a row!)
At the end of the day, entry fees and donations totalled a little more than $8600!
