A grand, Cochrane-based tournament is returning with the 16th annual Monumental Tournament of Aces (MTA), ready to tee-off on Sept. 30.
As with previous years, the tournament will take place at The Link of GlenEagles starting at noon and will feature an exciting day for participants.
MTA Chairman, Glen Gryzko, said the event was started by the Kimmett family after the unfortunate passing of Lindsay Leigh Kimmett in a motor vehicle accident that took place in 2008, to honour her legacy.
“It’s primarily fun and competition is secondary, [but] everyone is out simply to raise money for the community,” Gyzko said.
This year’s tournament aims to support BGC Cochrane, Big Hill Lodge, and two long-term playground projects for Glenbow Elementary School and Westbrook School.
Gryzko said the tournament is different from conventional golf tournaments and outlines it is more of a carnival-style event.
This year’s lineup features a variety of skill-based golf from their staples including landing a shot into a hockey net, hitting gongs, a bunker busting challenge, the “innocent bystander” event, and the unconquered hole-in-one challenge on Hole 3, which features a special prize by Cochrane Toyota for a $10,000 voucher towards any version of any vehicle at their dealership.
“So, it’s just everyone out there trying to do their best and having fun,” he said.
With 10 years under Gryzko’s belt as the MTA chair, he said that this will be his final year in the role, as he said it is time for new blood to bring new ideas to the timeless event in the community.
“It’s somewhat bitter-sweet because, to me, this was always a project that I was engaged in because of the family,” he said. “It wasn’t a Rotary initiative in my opinion, it wasn’t just raising funds to support the Kimmett family, and what they’ve done in that situation of losing their child.
“To me, that’s something that’s so hard to fathom, and how they went forward it gave me the initiative to help as much as possible.”
Moving forward, Gryzko said Samson Marcus, a Rotarian who is newly-moved in the community will be championing the event in the future.
“I wish him all the luck with that, and also to the remaining tournament organizers,” he said.
