Field hockey fundraiser March 23

The Pala Mesa Resort will host a March 23 golf tournament and dinner which will be a fundraiser for the Fallbrook High School field hockey team and its club affiliate.

Proceeds will be used to fund both expenses for the high school season and to send the Guac Girls to the National Field Hockey Festival in November.

“Hopefully it will be as rewarding financially as it has been the last couple of years,” said Kathy Waite, who coaches both the school varsity squad and the Guac Girls. “The support in town has always been wonderful.”

Because the National Field Hockey Festival occurs 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, who also participate in the indoor league and spring tournaments, 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 annual golf tournament began in 2004 and was modeled after the tournament initiated by the high school’s baseball booster club. Pete Bardeen, whose son was on Fallbrook High School’s baseball team and daughter on the field hockey team, helped set up the field hockey fundraiser.

Bardeen’s daughter graduated from Fallbrook High School in 2006. Robin Badillo is the current president of the field hockey booster club, Brenda Cisneros is the booster club’s treasurer, and Laura Stevens holds the recorder position.

Waite is in charge of reservations for the golf tournament and can be reached on her cell phone at (949) 285-7409. Waite is also the contact for tee sponsorship and for donations to the live auction and silent auction.

The golf tournament will have a 1:30 p.m. shotgun start and will have a four-person best ball format. Registration will begin at 12:30 p.m. and a putting contest is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.

In addition to the putting contest and the low 18-hole score, the tournament also includes longest drive and closest to the pin prizes. It will also include a tee-off with field hockey sticks.

Many of the field hockey players are also on Fallbrook High School’s soccer team, and last year’s tournament had a soccer ball tee-off. “I think we’ll repeat that. That was too good,” Waite said.

Greg Coppock, who was the master of ceremonies at last year’s dinner banquet, will return as this year’s emcee. “He did a great job last year,” Waite said.

In addition to the dinner and awards presentations, the dinner banquet will also have the live and silent auction and a raffle of gift baskets collected by the field hockey players. The banquet will begin at 6:30 p.m.

The registration fee for the golf tournament is $125, a fee which includes the banquet, range balls, and golf cart rental as well as 18 holes of golf. The cost for the dinner only is $30.