Cancer is never anyone’s best friend. However, when you’ve got some great friends, it makes beating cancer so much easier. Friends of Sheila Matthiesen have been proving just that. Kari Nielsen and Waylon Schave have been helping by organizing a co-ed softball tournament, Smash it for Sheila.
Now in their second year, Smash it for Sheila will be held this Saturday, October 5 at the Jaycee Sports Complex in Garretson, with games starting at 9:00 am.
“I would like to get 12 teams and right now we are at 9 with registration closing on Wednesday, October 2nd, so we can get the bracket out,” said organizer Kari Nielsen. She is excited about how the events will go, as all teams will bring a pumpkin they have carved or designed. That pumpkin will then be judged for which is the most creative, with the winner receiving a gift certificate to The Gulch Bar & Grill.
After the tournament is complete, the teams that lost get to watch their pumpkin be smashed by the team that beat them.
“Kind of a fun little twist to it,” said Nielsen. There will also be concessions, and entertainment by DJ Dynamix Entertainment, which will continue with karaoke at The Gulch after the tournament is complete.
The best part is that Kari was able to give the news that Matthiesen has beat her cancer.
“We started the co-ed softball tournament last year after [she] was diagnosed with Lymphoma and Leukemia, and needed help with living costs when she had to quit her job to take on the nasty cancer. Our goal [this year] is to raise money for her to catch up now that she has beat the disease and wants to go back to her normal life and live it like she should.”
However, this won’t be the last year of the tournament. Nielsen plans to continue this.
“I hope to continue this for as long as I can to be able to donate to others that are in need of help that are local.”
For questions or to register a last-minute team before deadline, contact Nielsen at 521-3630 or Schave at 370-8556.
