By Skip Leon
sports@themexianews.com
The third annual Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) Golf Tournament will be Saturday, Feb. 17, at the Tri-County Golf Club at the Vineyards in Teague.
The event is a fundraiser for the FCA chapters at the six high schools in Limestone and Freestone counties -- Mexia, Groesbeck and Coolidge in Limestone and Fairfield, Teague and Wortham in Freestone.
The tournament will be a four-person scramble with a shotgun start. Lunch and registration will be at noon Feb. 17 and golfers will tee off at 1 p.m.
The registration fee is $200 per team or $50 per person.
Jackie Dillon, general manager at Tri-County Golf Club, said 80 golfers played in the tournament last year and at least that many are expected this year.
To register or for more information, contact the Tri-County Golf Club Pro Shop at 254-739-5600, Dillon at 254-625-1830 or Joey Worley at 903-388-6464.
Worley, the FCA ambassador for Freestone and Limestone counties, said there is strong community support for the tournament.
"We go to our local businesses and churches and they help us with support," said Worley, a former basketball and golf coach at Fairfield High School. "We also have coaches from all six of our schools. We try to get a sponsor and have a coaches' team paid for to get the coaches from all our schools in the tri-county area to come play."
Worley said the connection between the FCA and coaches and athletes is important.
"We minister to, and through, the high school coaches. They help us with the athletes," he said.
The area schools are in the Heart of Texas chapter of FCA, which is based in Waco and organizes the Victory Bowl events in a variety of sports each year. In May for the second straight year, the boys and girls basketball games will be played at Fairfield.
Worley said the funds that are raised from the tourament will help with a number of programs the Heart of Texas FCA organizes. There are camps in the summer. And on a recent Saturday, 200 junior high school students took part in a Junior Captains Camp in Waco.
Worley said the junior high camp included huddles for the students which were led by Baylor athletes. Students also played games, ate lunch and were given camp t-shirts.