Oct. 22 disc golf tournament to fund research for heart defects
Central Michigan University’s Graduate Sport Event Management class will host a disc golf tournament to raise money for child heart research Oct. 22.
The "Harvest Classic for Heart" disc golf tournament 9:30 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 22 at the CMU Disc Golf Course, located in the Center for Applied Research and Technology southeast of campus.
Check-in for the event starts at 8 a.m. Participants will be split into divisions based on their level of skill and experience. Registration fees range from $25 to $55 based on the participant’s level of difficulty.
The event, which is sanctioned by the Professional Disc Golf Association, was first held last year to raise money for Sawyer’s Light. The group is a nonprofit organization created by the parents of Sawyer Bruursema, who was born with the heart defect Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome.
Sawyer’s Light is dedicated to helping families who have children suffering from congenital heart defects.
All of the proceeds from the event will go from Sawyer’s Light to the Save a Heart Foundation at Mott Children’s Hospital, who treated Sawyer while he was suffering with the disease.
Sawyer’s father, CMU faculty member Jordan Bruursema of the department of recreation, parks and leisure services, said he is happy to be able to give back.
“We wanted to give back to a place that gave so much to us," Bruursema said. "We spent nearly seven weeks at Mott Children’s Hospital. The care the hospital gave our family, not just Sawyer, but my other two children and my wife and I while we were there, was amazing."
Bruursema also hopes the event will help its participants become more aware of heart disease.
“The biggest thing is awareness of congenital heart defects,” Bruursema said. “One in 100 children are born with a congenital heart defect, yet we don’t really hear much about it.”
Registration for the event is now open on the Mount Pleasant Disc Golf club’s website.
