Written By Jan Sims
SPORTS - They’re getting ready to tee off for the annual Optimist Club of Komoka-Kilworth Junior Golf tournament.
The tournament takes place Monday July 14th, at the Twin Streams Golf Course in Delaware.
Advance registration is currently underway, and will be open until July 10th. Details can be found on the Komoka-Kilworth Optimist Club website.
It’s a long-standing local tradition, with the Komoka-Kilworth Optimists having organized a tournament for junior golfers for the past 40 years. “Optimist Junior Golf is one of the core Optimist youth programs that stretches beyond the local community or districts. It was started in cooperation with the World Junior Golf organization many years ago. With the huge participation of junior golf by Optimist Clubs around the globe it moved to a separate World Junior Golf program to allow for more flexible age categories,” says organizer Paul Mylemans.
Boys and girls are organized into different divisions based on age. The youngest players are in the 10–11-year-old category, and it goes up to foursomes with a maximum age of eighteen. “As a local Club offering opportunities for kids, we have added a beginner classification for both Boys and Girls ages 10 to 12. These beginners play 9 holes, and is geared to give a tournament atmosphere to those young golfers not yet to the level of some others. An adult walks along with the beginner groups to encourage and assist with ongoing play,” says Mylemans.
Fun is the name of the game, but there’s also a lot on the line for the winners. “Golfers in each age classification with qualifying scores are eligible to advance to the Optimist District tournament – i.e., Southwestern, Midwestern, and Central Ontario. Winners at the District tournament, with qualifying score, are then eligible to compete at the Optimist International tournament next year. This is an event where the top junior golfers from around the world compete,” says Mylemans.
