Softball teams from across the Lower Mainland and beyond will gather at Cloverdale Athletic Park this weekend (June 20 to 22 for the third annual Kassandra Kaulius Memorial Softball Tournament Hosted by the Kaulius family and the Surrey Storm Softball Association, the event has grown to become the largest senior women's tournament in the province with 26 teams participating.
The tournament honours the memory of Kassandra Kaulius, who was killed by an impaired driver in May, 2011. Kaulius had coached a girls' team that night and then played a game herself. She was coming home when she was struck and killed.
Kaulius was all about giving back to the community in her short life, and her friends and the community will be assisting in making these dreams come true. The tournament has two special ways of keeping her spirit alive:. Each player in the tourney donates a new toy, which is then delivered to the Surrey Memorial Hospital for sick children who stay at the hospital.
. Kaulius was studying to become a teacher at the time of her death. A part of her legacy is now trying to make other girls dreams come true. The tournament hosts a raffle at the tournament to raise funds for the Kassandra Kaulius Scholarship Fund.
In the past two years the foundation has been able to give out eight scholarships worth $9,500 to deserving young women who want to pursue their post-secondary education. These scholarships have been given out through the Surrey Storm Softball Association, Softball BC and through her old school, Clayton Heights Secondary.
Donations will be accepted throughout the tournament or through the Kassandra Kaulius Scholarship Fund at any branch of the G&F Financial Group.