UNITY — The big draw for UCHS alumni to come home for Thanksgiving is not always the big turkey supper, it’s also the annual volleyball tournament.
For the past six years, alumni have organized the Tyler Zunti Memorial Volleyball Tournament held in the Unity Composite High School gymnasiums. The tournament has seen some changes over the years, one of which is the name of the event.
Five years ago, the organizers lost friend and teammate Tyler Zunti suddenly. Organizer Cody Belliveau said the group felt they wanted to honour their friend the following year at the annual event. The tournament name was changed to the Tyler Zunti Memorial Volleyball Tournament.
“Tyler was a happy-go-lucky guy. Very social and talented in whatever he did. He was a leader in sports and would go out of his way to make sure you were having a good time. Always had a smile on his face and liked by everyone around him,” said Belliveau.
He adds, “He was passionate in his farm work and volleyball. After learning about our tournament, he was excited to help and participate. So much so that he started a weekly volleyball game at the high school.”
A noticeable change this year was a division in level of play. Teams could enter as competitive and non-competitive. With this being the first year of this change, 10 teams played at full speed while six teams had a less competitive take to the weekend. According to Belliveau, the two pools were well received and will divide up again in the future. This year’s winners were the Thompsons for the competitive pool and the Keifers for the non-competitive.
Along with silent auction items, T-shirts were available to purchase along with burgers and hot dogs. The shirts were designed by Hometown Designs and are still available for purchase, with all proceeds going back to mental health initiatives in Unity.
This was the tournament’s best year to date. More than $9,000 was raised, bringing the overall amount raised to over $35,000. These funds are donated back to the high school as well as to two scholarships available to Unity graduates.
Last May, the alumni were able to sponsor keynote speaker Mark Black to speak to all UCHS students before speaking to Grade 11 and 12 students in break-out sessions. Black spoke on his life journey as a double lung and heart transplant recipient.
The alumni group grew from last year, welcoming Kelsey Belliveau, Kyle Parker, Robin Belliveau and Carleen Neumeier. With growth in the tournament and the people organizing the weekend, Belliveau says the group is continually looking into options for future presenters or events to fund.
Keep your news a touch away by bookmarking The Unity-Wilkie Press-Herald homepage at this link.
