In only its second year The Duke’s Invitational was a resounding success.
The fourth event in the Fit II Fight Armsports League held an arm wrestling event at Bugsy’s on Feb. 2 and raised $1,500 for the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation.
“For a small little tournament with a bunch of guys coming together to arm wrestle, we’re pretty happy with that,” said Kayne Hemsing from the Fit II Fight Armsports League. “We raised some money through the 50-50s and some raffles that we had donated. We even had a couple of guys donate their winnings back.”
Garett Teriann, owner of Rockport Carrier Co. Ltd., which is the Fit II Fight Armsport League’s title sponsor, and Hemsing were pleased that they were able to do something that would benefit sick children in the province.
Hemsing was ice fishing with Teriann when they decided to partner to create the league. Rockport came on as the title sponsors and helped pay for the championship belts as the league kicked off a year ago with the first The Duke Invitational event in Moose Jaw at Bugsy’s.
“If it wasn’t for Garett coming on board with me, we wouldn’t be able to do nice stuff like this,” Hemsing said.
The Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital will be located in Saskatoon on the University of Saskatchewan campus. The 176-bed facility will mean that Saskatchewan children won’t need to leave the province to receive specialized care.
“This donation is fantastic,” said Stacie Lawson, manager, development & engagement for the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation. “It’s the first time that we’ve been associated with something like this and it’s opening year, so it’s a great time to be involved.”
Lawson reports that the Children’s Hospital is 87 per cent complete and they are looking to be on target with the doors opening in October or November.
