STORY AND VIDEO: Record haul at Firemen's Scramble

The numbers are in, and this year’s Firemen’s Scramble charity golf tournament set a new record for money raised for the BC Burn Fund.

As the final cheques rolled in the total had passed more than $7,000. This represented a more than 50 per cent jump from last year’s haul of $4,500.

“It went better than expected. We had the largest turnout since I’ve been at the firehall,” Tim Dopko, firefighter and one of the organizers of the event, said.

“It’s pretty special what this town does when called upon. The gratitude I have towards everyone in this community is huge.”

(Alex Kurial / The Northern View)

The seventh edition of the event featured 104 participants on 26 teams. There was also strong support from local businesses which added to the record mark.

“They always come to bat for the different organizations in town,” Dopko said of the sponsors support. In addition to donations to the fund, dozens of prizes were donated and given away at the dinner held after the event.

Dopko added that the results bode well for the future of the scramble. “Hopefully we can keep this up from here on out, and make this a yearly event that keeps getting stronger and better.”

The prize table featuring items donated by local businesses and individuals for the event. (Alex Kurial / The Northern View)

Prince Rupert Golf Club pro Tyler Stene was also encouraged by the support, and hopes it will translate into even more charity events.

“The more charity tournaments the better. The fact that this one was really popular this year, hopefully we’ll be able to generate some more buzz to have more tournaments like that.”

This already looks to be the case, as there will be a charity tournament involving Prince Rupert’s various emergency services departments later this year.

Alex Kurial | Sports Reporter

Alex Kurial