The 2009 Hammond Skyhawk Girls Tennis Team (l-r): Front Row - Grace Graham, Anne Elise Goudelock, and Madelon Kneece; Second Row - Grace Cobbs, Caroline Besley, Lilie Jane Hudson, Elizabeth Stuckey, Alexandra Little, and Callie Beal; Back Row - Head Coach Bernie McGuire, Layna Plyler, Rachel Hanna, Caroline Harris, Brooks Burnside, Lizzie Seabrook, and Assist. Coach Bob Crabb. With tennis racquets in hand, Hammond School is ready to rally for a cure for breast cancer.

On October 25 from 2–6 pm, Hammond’s tennis teams are holding a fundraiser to benefit the Susan G. Komen fund, a silent auction and roundrobin tournament for both adults and juniors.

“Rally for the Cure is a grassroots program designed to generate awareness of breast health and breast cancer through volunteer organized tennis activities,” said Hammond coach Bern McGuire. “In partnership with Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the USPTA, rally provides a unique platform to generate support for the cause and benefit women and their families in our community.”

Susan G. Komen for the Cure is an organization supporting breast cancer research. Since its inception in 1982, Komen has raised more than $1.3 billion for research, education and health services.

Komen was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 33 and died three years later in 1980, according to the online source Wikipedia.

Komen's younger sister, Nancy Goodman Brinker, who felt that Susan’s outcome might have been better if patients knew more about cancer and its treatment, and remembering a promise to her sister that she would find a way to speed up breast cancer research, founded the organization.

“We have come a long way in our fight,” said Brinker, in a message on the Komen website. “When we started, the five–year survival rate was just 74 percent when breast cancer was diagnosed before it spread beyond the breast. Today, that survival rate is 98 percent.”

In addition, Brinker said that nearly 75 percent of women over the age of 40 now receive regular mammograms compared to just 30 percent in 1982.

The event, to be held on the school’s south campus tennis courts at 1211 Veterans Road, will cost $20 per player. The groups will be separated by advanced (4.0 & above) and intermediate (3.5 & below) play abilities. There’s no need to have a partner, as this is a mix–and–match round robin.

Non–players can also participate in several other games including one– point tournaments, service targets, fast serve, beat the pros, and beat the ball machine.

Please make check payable to Rally for the Cure and mail to:
Bernie McGuire
6 South Fork Place
Columbia, SC 29223.

For more information contact Bernie McGuire at 348-8643 (mcguireb@bellsouth.net), Marjan Lucas at 414-444, or Bob Crabb at 738-5104; or sign up at the school’s athletic office.

The round robin will start at 2 pm. The silent auction closes at 5:30 pm.

In case of rain, the raffle, silent auction, goodie bags, and food will be served in one of the gyms.