Pink tutus, visors galore and other inventive attire will fill Carpentaria Golf Club when Weipa swings into action in support of cancer care. Let’s see if the players can top last year’s outfits. Photo: Lyndon Keane.
The greens at Carpentaria Golf Club are set to be flooded in pink when the Weipa community again takes to the course for the Pink Ribbon Charity Golf Day.
After raising more than $10,500 for the McGrath Foundation last year and being invited to attend the organisation’s coveted annual high tea in Sydney, the committee is preparing for its biggest and best day of nine-hole, four-person Ambrose on 18 October.
Co-organiser Melanie Turner said the yearly fundraiser was a testament to the community’s support for a good cause and everyone had always been incredibly generous with their donations.
She said the committee team had this year increased the maximum number of players from 80 to 96 to keep up with demand.
“We’ve actually got people on a waiting list and [the tickets] went very quickly,” she said.
“The teams filled up in about a week. That was pretty impressive.
“Even if they can’t come and play golf, everyone is very welcome to come down at 12:30 pm for the DJ and raffle.”
While the event has been mostly focused on women and breast cancer, Ms Turner said this year’s event was relevant to everyone after the McGrath Foundation announced at its 20th anniversary high tea in January that it was transitioning to support all forms of cancer.
She said it was a privilege to be present at the announcement when the foundation president, former Test cricketer Glenn McGrath, honoured his late wife Jane, whose vision for every family experiencing cancer to have access to a nurse for free started the charity organisation.
“I think everybody has a story, whether it’s themselves or someone they know. We know breast cancer affects men and women,” Ms Turner said.
“Especially now that it’s all cancers, I don’t think there’s one person I know who hasn’t been affected by cancer. And we know it doesn’t just affect the person, it affects the entire family.”
She said this year’s attendees would be treated to a speech by Jane McGrath nurse Vicki Rutten – a meaningful way for golfers to hear first-hand about the cause they’re supporting.
The team was also boosted this year by a $5000 grant from Rio Tinto to cover event costs, leaving more to be donated to the McGrath Foundation.
Fresh energy and additional support has provided even more excitement.
“It doesn’t happen without everybody, the Pink Ribbon committee giving up its time and going around and asking for donations,” Ms Turner said.
“I call them the Ambrose Angels/Army. They were angels, but this year I added `army’ because we’ve got a few new people on board and they’ve been really gung-ho at getting donations.”
