CAMANCHE, Iowa — UPDATE (March 29): According to the Camanche Muscular Dystrophy Association, the 2022 event set a record for fundraising. The weekend-long basketball tournament brought in over $60,000 dollars.
The funds bring the grand total raised throughout the tournament's three-decade history to over $824,000.
This year's tournament winners were as follows:
- Men's Open Basketball - AEGIS Credit Union
- Men's B Division - East Scott Elite
- Bagboard - Logan Riley and Jacob Shaw
- Scotch Doubles Bowling - Nathan Schroeder and Norm Weets
- Kiss the Pig Contest - Sheriff Bill Greenwalt
ORIGINAL (March 27): The buzzer has rung, the clock finally hits 00:00, and just like that a 33-year tradition has come to an end.
Each spring, Camanche hosts a weekend long fundraiser for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. It includes a bags and bowling tournament, live music, a hog roast, a cake auction and a "Kiss the Pig" contest, as well as the basketball tournament.
It was 33 years ago that the basketball tournament fundraiser began in honor of Cheryl Passch and her twin sons Jason and Joshua, who were diagnosed with Becker Muscular Dystrophy when they were 9 years old. Passch decided to donate the money to the MDA instead.
During the first year, the basketball tournament raised $3,000. Over the last three decades, while the weekend long event grew, so did the donations, totaling over $764,000.
"Camanche has always been outstanding to our event," said Passch, who's also the chairperson of the event. "It really warms out heart, and it helps us put a positive spin on something that has been life changing for our family."
This year, she expects a record breaking donation. The popular cake auction alone raised $26,000.
Funds raised go to help MDA's research efforts and helps send kids ages 8-17 to MDA summer camp at Camp Courageous.
"They have made huge developments since Jason and Joshua were diagnosed," Passch said. "They didn't know how to track it, how to fix this … Now they are as far as doing trials and treatments on people, which is huge progress over the last 30 years."
However, this year marks the end of the 33 year tradition. Jason passed away four years ago and Joshua's health has started to change recently, Passch said. She's ready to take a step back, but is sad to see it end.
"I just think about the lifespans that this tournament has covered," she said. "I've had some of the young gentlemen come up to me and say it's hard to believe that this isn't gonna be anymore, because it's always been a part of their life growing up, whether they came with their parents and their dads play, or now that they're partaking in it."
A total of 18 teams participated in the tournament.