Foxcroft Academy golf tournament raises money for protective equipment for students

DOVER-FOXCROFT — Foxcroft Academy administrators said in June that COVID-19 would cancel the annual Dover-Foxcroft Shiretown Homecoming/Alumni Weekend festivities usually held at the end of July or early August.

But Toby Nelson, the chief of communications and varsity boys basketball coach at the school, said Head of School Arnold Shorey suggested three weeks ago that they try to at least salvage the fundraising golf tournament.

And they were able to pull it off, raising approximately $8,000-$9,000 for the school this past Saturday at the Foxcroft Golf Club, according to Nelson. He said the total was in line with what they raised at last year’s tournament.

Photo courtesy of Jacob Ireland
FA GOLF TOURNEY — Peter Chase, Class of 1979, putts for birdie in the Foxcroft Academy fundraising golf tournament held Saturday during Homecoming weekend.

The money will be used to obtain items like face shields, cleaning supplies and plexiglass partitions to keep the students, faculty and other workers safe at the Academy. 

The homecoming/alumni weekend usually includes a tennis tournament, a road race and a bunch of other events like basketball and field hockey games.

All of those events were canceled.

Photo courtesy of Bobbie Nickerson
WINNING TEAM — From left, Peter Chase, Ty Fair, Anthony Phillips made up the winning team with six below par in the Foxcroft Academy fundraising golf tournament held Saturday at the Foxcroft Golf Club.

Foxcroft Academy contacted Cory Campbell, the golf pro at the Foxcroft Golf Club, about squeezing in the tournament at short notice and he didn’t hesitate to make the course available to them.

“We had to make it work because it was for the safety of the kids this fall. I want the kids to be able to go back to school safely. I don’t want to see a generation of people who didn’t get to go to school a whole lot,” said Campbell, who closed the golf course to the public while the tournament was held.

There were 17 foursomes who played a scramble nine-hole tournament. Nine foursomes teed off in the morning and the other eight in the afternoon. There were other friends and family members in attendance who didn’t play.

“We sanitized the carts and everything between [sessions],” said Campbell.

Photo courtesy of Jacob Ireland HEAD OF SCHOOL’S SHOT — Foxcroft Academy Head of School Arnold Shorey tees off on the first hole in the Foxcroft Academy fundraising golf tournament, with $8,000-plus raised for the school’s COVID-19 response.

“We needed to get sponsorships to make it work and Cathy Hall, our director of alumni affairs, did a nice job getting sponsors for us,” said Nelson.

“We couldn’t be happier with the tournament,” Nelson added. “Thanks to the Foxcroft Golf Club, everything went very easily. It was seamless.”

Once the decision was made to hold the tournament, Nelson said they advertised and posted it on social media, email and the school newsletter.

Nelson said it wasn’t just for alumni, it was also for friends of the Academy and anyone interested.

“It worked out very well. Everyone did what they were supposed to do by following the [pandemic] guidelines,” said Nelson. 

“It was nice to get back to a little bit of normalcy,” said Tim Smith, the Foxcroft Academy athletic administrator who played in the tournament.

“We’ve been doing this for a very long time. [The golf tournament] has always been a big part of the alumni weekend, which we weren’t able to have this year,” Smith said. “A lot of people vacation at the lake during this time of year and we only see them once a year. So it was nice.”

The winning team was composed of Don Cynewski, Peter Chase, Ty Fair and Anthony Phillips and they shot six-under-par.