A 25-year-plus tradition carries on, as the Chilliwack Optimist Club’s annual Fred Wellsby Divot Tour is set to tee-off. The Optimist Club of Chilliwack is looking for junior golfers ages 16-and-under to participate in the annual tournament which gets underway on July 2. "Kids love this tournament,” said Glenda Standeven, Optimist Club member and tournament organizer.
“It’s a great introduction to competitive play yet it is still fun and comes without the pressure of higher-level competitions." The tournament was first organized by avid local golfer Fred “The Wedge” Wellsby, who passed away back in July of 2002. "He was an Optimist who had a mission to instill the love of golf at an early age in kids and he recruited me to help him at our local courses," said Standeven, who admitted she knew nothing about golf early on.
“I still don’t know a lot, but I know the kids love the game and they love winning prizes, trophies and medals too.” When the tournament first began, many of the participating courses donated their green fees to the cause, keeping the entry fee for golfers to just $15 per course. These funds went towards snacks, trophies and the various other prizes given out at the courses.
Like most things, prices have gone up in recent years, but two of the participating courses – Kinkora Golf Course and Cheam Mountain Golf Course – still donate green fees keeping the entry fee to $25 per course. Early renditions of the tournament saw over 70 junior go.