CT Breast Health Initiative

The 2009 Cathy D’Apice Memorial Volleyball Tournament was held on Saturday, April 11th, 2009 at Conard High School in West Hartford, CT. This was the 13th year of the memorial tournament held in memory of Cathy D’Apice, a New England volleyball player who lost her battle with breast cancer the week of her thirtieth birthday in 1992. We remember Cathy each year by holding this event in her honor. This year, we will also remember and honor Cathy’s teammate Val Dickinson who passed away this fall. Val played and officiated volleyball in CT for many years and she will be inducted into the CT Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2009.

This is a fifteen team women’s tournament and a fundraiser for breast cancer research with all proceeds going to the CT Breast Health Initiative, Inc. (CT BHI). Entry fee is $400 (minimum) per team or $50 (min.) per player. If you’re interested in entering a team, please reply to Fran Vandermeer at email Frances.D.Vandermeer@williams.edu deadline April 1st).

College teams that have participated over the years: Univ. of New Haven, Bentley, Univ. of Hartford, Western CT, AIC, Smith, Springfield, Swarthmore, Clark, Coast Guard, Mt. Holyoke, St. Joseph (CT), WNEC, UCONN/CCSU alums and several Division III “combo” teams from the NESCAC conference and others who do not have an official spring season.

New England region (NERVA) women’s adult teams entered in past years: the Fossils (many of Cathy’s former teammates…and a few younger recruits), Farm Animals, Gargoyles, Sideout, Power Zone, Set Me, Supply Guys, Pups, LA Scrubs, J Crew, Bean Counters, Pachyderms, Dig Balls, Ephnomenon, Northern Heights, C4, Blockbuster, Team 45.5, Steelies, Out-of-Towners, CT.T, Slamjak, Champlion’s, Attic Treasures, Pink Ladies, Steelies, and Team Splat.

All proceeds from the tournament (entry fees, donations, tee shirt sales, etc.) are donated to the CT Breast Health Initiative, Inc.

If your team is interested in participating OR if you are interested in playing even if you don’t have a full team, please contact Fran Vandermeer at email Frances.D.Vandermeer@williams.edu We have put together some very strong teams in past years by matching up players of similar ages and abilities and we have put together teams made up of players from 2 or more college teams. All teams entered in this event have walked away with the feeling of contributing to a worthwhile cause while competing at a high level. A highlight of the tournament each year is a break in the day set aside to pay tribute to Cathy and honor her memory, celebrate her life, and to educate all in attendance about the disease and what progress is being made in the fight against breast cancer.

The entry fee is a minimum of $400 with the hope that teams entering will solicit sponsors to contribute even more money to the fight against breast cancer. In 2007, we raised over $15,000 (highest total in tournament history) and we have raised over $58,000 in 12 years. Please remember- the $400 entry fee is a MINIMUM AMOUNT requested from each team- Clark, University of New Haven, Bentley, Smith, and Swarthmore are examples of teams who have raised money by securing $2 here and $5 there and before long their team members had collected a large amount in donations. UNH raised over $500 in three consecutive years, Smith raised over $700 in 2002, Swarthmore raised over $1300 in 2003, Bentley collected $800 in 2004, and Clark collected $1800 in 2005! My hope is that other teams will follow suit this year to make the tournament an overwhelming success.

If your team is interested or if you are an official who is interested in volunteering, contact Fran Vandermeer at email Frances.D.Vandermeer@williams.edu

IF YOU CANNOT ATTEND THE TOURNAMENT BUT YOU ARE INTERESTED IN MAKING A DONATION, please make a check payable to CT BHI and send it to the following:

Fran Vandermeer
Head Volleyball Coach
Co-Head Women’s Golf Coach
Williams College
22 Spring Street
Williamstown, MA 01267

Let’s make this year’s tournament a day to remember and take advantage of the opportunity to do something special in Cathy’s memory. It will be one of those rare days when players call their own touches even in the heat of battle! You’ll have a great day of volleyball and also come together in the battle against breast cancer. We hope to see you there!

Download a printer-ready version of the D’Apice Tournament Sponsor Sheet (Acrobat reader required)

Learn more about the history of the Cathy D’Apice Memorial Volleyball Tournament (PDF).