June 27, 2007 — The stakes have been raised for the UVI Foundation's Celebrity Golf Classic coming up Thursday through Sunday at Carambola Golf Course: First person to ace the 17th hole wins a new Ford F-150 pickup truck.
More than 20 actors, professional athletes and television personalities will come to St. Croix for the third annual Celebrity Golf fund raiser.
The proceeds from the FUVI Golf Classic will strengthen the university endowment, which provides funding for projects and initiatives on an annual basis.
"The UVI Foundation Celebrity Golf Classic is an excellent opportunity to bring visitors to the territory in support of education, " said Joseph Boschulte, UVI president for Institutional Advancement. "Support for the tournament helps support the future of the territory indirectly and directly supports scholarships in the very near future."
The tournament will begin at 8 a.m. Saturday at the golf course. Local golfers are invited to join celebrities on the green at a cost of $135 for individuals and $350 for threesomes.
One of the highlights of the FUVI Celebrity Golf Classic will be the youth sports clinic scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday on UVI's St. Croix campus and the golf course. At the clinics, professional athletes from the NFL, NBA and PGA will give St. Croix children ages 9 to 15 basic tips and training in football, basketball and golf. The youngsters will get to interact one on one with current and former professional athletes. Leading the golf clinic will be Yale graduate Andia Winslow, the first African-American woman to play in the LPGA.
John David of the Minority Golf Association will help with the golf clinic. George "Iceman" Gerwin, rated as one of the 50 greatest basketball players in history and now with the San Antonio Spurs organization, will lead the basketball clinic. Retired San Francisco 49er Dwight Hicks will lead the football clinic. Assisting Hicks will be Jason Campbell of the Washington Redskins and Keyron Fox of the Kansas City Chiefs.
The basketball clinic will take place at the outdoor courts behind the UVI bookstore. The golf clinic is at Carambola and the football clinic will be at the west intramural field near the campus entrance. There will be room for 30 entrants for basketball, 40 for the golf clinic and 80 for football. Registrations for the free clinics begins at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, with no early sign ups. Parents or guardians must sign a participation waiver.
"The St. Croix community can expect a chance to mingle with celebrities across the entertainment and sports industries at the tournament," Boschulte said.
One of those celebrities is actress Regina King, most famous for her role as Margie Hendricks in the Academy Award-winning Ray Charles biography "Ray." King played in the tournament last year, and said she is returning to support the foundation and because she enjoys St. Croix.
The kickoff event takes place Thursday evening with a welcome reception at Government House. Friday morning the clinics for children begin.
At 1 p.m. there will be golf practice at Carambola. At 6 p.m., the Golf Classic pairing party will take place at the Buccaneer Resort. This is a chance for local golfers to make their choice of whom to pair up with for the tournament. The Golf Classic begins at 8 a.m. Saturday. An award reception will immediately follow the tournament.
"Usually in the last few days we expect a great rush for entries," said Mitchell Neaves, director of annual giving at UVI. "We anticipate a good crowd, but there are opportunities still to sign up." He added, "The tournament is a great way to engage the community and to share information on the foundation."
To sign up for the tournament or for sponsorship, call UVI's Institutional Advancement office at 340-693-1040 or visit UVI's website at uvi.edu.
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