By Sarah Brenden,
sbrenden@covingtonreporter.com
Come Saturday, Lake Wilderness Park will be bustling with people bumping, setting and spiking a volleyball.
For the second year in a row, the Digs for Denise volleyball tournament will begin at 9 a.m. Aug. 1 and ends around 4 p.m.
The tournament is in honor of Denise Thom, a Fairwood resident, who died in September 2014.
Thom was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer in October 2012.
Erinn Cassidy, Thom’s friend, said friends and family hosted the first tournament last year “in an effort to lift her spirits and bring all of her loved ones together for a day of fun and opportunity to visit with her.”
A volleyball tournament seemed the best fit because one of Thom’s daughter plays volleyball and Thom and her husband also played on a rec team, Cassidy said.
“Volleyball is also a great activity for people of all ages to participate in,” she added.
Last year’s inaugural Digs for Denise raised around $7,000.
Cassidy said they hope to meet or exceed that number this time around.
“But ultimately, it is also a day about remembering and celebrating Denise as well as bringing awareness to breast cancer,” Cassidy said.
So far, 100 participants are registered and she anticipates there will be roughly 200 spectators.
The tournament is broken up into six age divisions.
There are four junior age brackets along with an adult rec and an adult competitive division.
Cassidy said the tourney will begin with pool play in each age group.
Once pool play is over, single elimination play will begin until a winner from each age division is determined.
The volleyball tournament itself is not the only activity people can participate in on Saturday.
Cassidy said there will be a KidsZone that includes a bouncy house, face painting and other games hosted by the Phoenix Montessori.
Thom was co-owner of the Montessori that is located in Fairwood.
Food will also be available, Cassidy added, along with a raffle and auction.
From restaurant gift certificates to sports memorabilia will be available in the raffle and auction.
One hundred percent of the proceeds from the tournament, Cassidy said, is donated to Wings of Karen, a nonprofit in Maple Valley.
In turn, Cassidy added, Wings of Karen then donates proceeds to breast cancer research at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, UW Medicine and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research.
This year, Wings of Karen donated to triple negative breast cancer research in Thom’s name, Cassidy said.
Digs for Denise doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, anytime soon.
Cassidy said Thom helped plan last year’s tournament and was “adamant that this become an annual event.”
When asked to share a little about Thom, Cassidy said it was the hardest question to answer.
“It is so hard to encapsulate who she was,” Cassidy said.
She did say that Thom was “the most likable and generous person you could ever meet, not a mean bone in her body.”
Registration for the volleyball tournament ended at midnight Thursday but there are other ways for the public to participate, Cassidy said.
People can attend the event and participate in the raffle and auction or donations are accepted via EventBrite (http://www.eventbrite.com/e/digs-for-denise-grass-volleyball-tournament-tickets-16552721636) or by contacting the Digs for Denise group via Facebook (www.facebook.com/digsfordenise).
