University golfers out of the rough and back in the game
Four months ago, the UBC Okanagan varsity golf team was cut because of a lack of funding.
Multiple fundraisers and $40,000 later, the team has been resurrected and is busy preparing for the upcoming season.
“It’s a huge relief,” said McKenna Lesiuk, one of the golf team’s 11 members. “We couldn’t have done it without the community support.”
For Lesiuk, who recently completed her first year at UBC Okanagan, the opportunity to play on a university golf team was a big part of her decision to attend UBCO, she said.
“It’s a great sport because I can play it for the rest of my life, and I’ve made so many friends and met so many people,” she said. “We really see the value in playing golf, especially as a university sport, and our team has done really well in the past couple of years, and we didn’t want to stop.”
In its nine-year history, the UBCO golf team has won multiple medals at the provincial and national levels.
Their golfers have also won several honours, including national tournaments allstars, national scholar athletes, provincial all-stars, provincial academic excellence and an individual gold medal champion.
To save the team for one year, they were told they had to raise $40,000.
In partnership with the Kelowna Golf and Country Club and Michaelbrook Ranch Golf Course, the team held two wine-tasting nights and silent auctions to raise the money needed to play in the upcoming season.
“We raised about $30,000 that way, and a silent donor helped us out with the rest,” said Lesiuk. “It was quite a bit of work, but it was totally worth it and it was a good experience. It was great to meet new people and to realize that the community is really here to help us and support us.”
The golfing community is a great one to be part of, especially in the Okanagan, she said.
“There are so many golfers in the community, and they’re just so helpful and kind and really willing to do anything they can to help us,” said Lesiuk.
“We were so grateful for their support.”