By Ames Bettis
Staff Writer
On September 21st, two seniors at R.J. Reynolds High School, Alona Rauton and Kate Yarborough, are hosting a charity pickleball tournament at Westwood Swim and Tennis Club. The tournament will operate as a March Madness-style bracket, with participants being eliminated each round and a consolidation bracket for those who lose earlier in the games. The tournament is doubles, meaning everyone has a partner.
“Alonna and I got really into pickleball in the spring of our sophomore year,” Yarborough said. “It was a good way to spend time with our friends and the community. So we thought we would host a charity pickleball game.”
The donations from the tournament are going to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Leinberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, a program that conducts research for potential treatment for different types of cancer.
“We picked UNC’s Leinberger Cancer Center specifically because we wanted to lean in on more of the research side of cancer, specifically breast cancer, ” Yarborough said. “Cancer was especially meaningful to me since my ninth-grade year, when my youth minister died suddenly of cancer. It was really heartbreaking for me since I was so close to her. We want to honor her memory since she was such a strong role model to me.”
Along with community role models that inspired Yarborough, she also wanted to honor a teacher at RJR who faced cancer head-on.
“The tournament was our way to recognize everyone who has dealt with cancer, including our biology teacher, Miss Eldridge,” Yarborough said.
Last year, Rauton and Yarborough ran this same event, with James Edmundson and Ward Suttle winning the tournament. Sixteen teams participated, earning around $1,500 towards their cause. This year, their goal is to raise $2,000 and have even more teams participate.
“We were motivated by the success we had last year, and this year we have more time to plan and reach a greater audience for the cause, ” Yarborough said. “We were also motivated by the connection we were able to make with the UNC Linberger Foundation and how grateful they were for all the work we were able to do,” Yarborough said.
The sponsors for the event will be Cugino Forno, Juice Shop, State Farm, Yarborough Transfer, and the Carving Board. If you would like to donate, you can also go to the Instagram account “Serving for Support,” and in the bio, you can click the link, which takes you to a page where you can donate.