The CRAB Tournament and its accompanying auction are scheduled for November 16 and November 17, 2018, respectively. This tournament/auction is one of the most significant and important fundraising events for the SunBird Golf Club. Historically, the tournament started out as the Sand Trap Tournament in 2008 as a fundraiser for the upgrading on the course sand traps. The concept of adding an auction and renaming the tournament to the Team Championship Tournament came about in 2013. Why is this event important for the golf course? Since its inception, including the Sand Trap Tournament, the event has raised, including entry fees and auction results, approximately $115,000 with about 56% of this total coming from the auction sales. The high-water mark was set in 2017 with a total, including entry fees and auction results, of $30,000. The tournament has also become one of the most popular golfing events of the season.
Why is it called the CRAB Tournament? For those who are not familiar with it, this event is team competition among the Canadian Club, the Roadrunners Club, the Americans (players not belonging to one of the clubs) and the Bandits Club. Thirty foursomes each with a player from one of the clubs, tee off. Points are awarded, depending on scores, to the players in each foursome. At the end, the team with the most points wins the bragging rights for the coming year. There are no monetary prizes awarded. All proceeds go to the golf course.
The pretournament auction, as mentioned, will be held on the clubhouse patio on Friday, November 16. All items auctioned off are donated by the SunBird golfers, the community as a whole and local businesses, and include used and new golf equipment and supplies, gift certificates, gift baskets, baked goods and you name it.
More tournament and auction details will be forthcoming in the November issue of the Sunbird News and also on the club bulletin boards. In the meantime, team captains, let’s get the word out to your folks about donations, and let’s fill the rosters for this fun and important event.