Field hockey fundraiser nets $19,000

The Second Annual Field Hockey Golf Tournament has netted approximately $19,000 for the Fallbrook High School field hockey team and its club affiliate.

The April 22 golf tournament at Pala Mesa Resort included 79 golfers, 95 tee sponsors, a raffle, an auction and other major sponsors. The money raised will be used both to fund expenses for the fall 2005 high school season and to send the Guac Girls to the National Field Hockey Festival.

The fundraiser provided most of the estimated $23,000 cost for the season and tournament. “Many of them [the players] did their job nicely,” said Kathy Waite, who coaches both the school varsity squad and the Guac Girls. “Some of the kids went well beyond what they needed.”

Because the National Field Hockey Festival takes place after the end of the CIF field hockey season, the team cannot officially represent Fallbrook High School. Without the ability to call themselves the Warriors, the team adopted the name Guac Girls. The Guac Girls consist primarily of varsity and junior varsity players from Fallbrook High School, although occasionally the team is joined by one or two players from school teams not participating in the tournament.

The estimated cost for the National Field Hockey Festival is $800 per player, which multiplied by 20 players creates an estimated expense of $16,000. The cost per player for the high school season is estimated at $200 per player, or $7,000 for 35 varsity and junior varsity players.

Because Waite hasn’t yet chosen her 2005 teams, the April fundraiser did not involve any eighth-graders who would be freshmen in fall 2005, although the field hockey team has a program for home games and the 2005-06 ninth-graders will have opportunities to seek advertisements for the programs.

This year’s golf tournament had one Platinum Sponsor, which means a contribution of at least $2,500. Terry and Louise Small, whose two daughters both played field hockey for Fallbrook High School, donated a car for last year’s fundraiser. The money from that donation, which will pay for the National Field Hockey Festival expenses of Waite and a chaperone, was split over two years and the Small family was given Platinum Sponsor status for 2005.

Eleven Western Builders was a Gold Sponsor, which means a donation of at least $1,000. Eight Silver Sponsors provided at least $500: Bardeen Insurance, Coldwell Banker, Dr. Brian Harney, K&D Mechanical, Pacific Sons, Quality Nissan of Temecula, Shea Homes and Western Constructions Auctions, Inc. Double D Pipeline, Inc., was a Bronze Sponsor, which requires at least a $250 contribution.

Three families stood out in obtaining tee sponsors and golfers. Rachel Maxwell’s family was responsible for eight golfers and ten tee sponsors, Amber Bowman and her family obtained ten tee sponsors and Roslyn Reynoso’s family added three tee sponsors and 11 golfers.

Waite is thankful to the families who helped with the fundraiser. “Without them doing it, I couldn’t do it,” she said.