Kids Kicking Cancer: Heroes Circle
Spending weeks, months, or years in a children’s hospital can take the play out of childhood. While other kids join soccer teams, take guitar lessons, and learn martial arts, children suffering from severe illness are often in and out of the hospital, missing school and sports.
Kids Kicking Cancer: Heroes Circle brings martial arts into the hospital. This program keeps kids active, but it’s so much more than that. Martial arts training encourages participants to focus their frustration and attack their fears, all while learning a life-long skill.
Kiara practices with Kids Kicking Cancer instructor, Joel Ender]
As a branch of the American Program Kids Kicking Cancer, the London Children’s Hospital was the first Canadian children’s hospital to introduce the program. Additional funding from the Prusty4Kids golf tournament has allowed the program to evolve into Heroes Circle which is open to any child suffering from illness, offering free classes twice a week, as well as uniforms and equipment.
In addition to regular classes, martial arts instructors can also come in and work one-on-one with a child work on breathing exercises and pain management techniques before a difficult treatment.
News and Events
Dalla Costa: Lots on line in London
Come for the golf, everything else is just a bonus. While that isn’t the selling point for the Freedom 55 Financial Championship taking place Sept. 15-18 at Highland Country Club in London, it should be. The tournament will be held for the third year in succession in London. Every year the centrepiece has been exceptional golf. That’s what a championship is supposed to be all about. It’s been down-to-the-last-putt type of golf. The season-ending event on the Mackenzie Tour is more than just who wins, although the big-money purse is a huge incentive to many golfers that go week-to-week to earn a paycheque. Part of the attraction is the game within a game. Only the top 60 golfers play in the championship tournament. The Mackenzie Tour heads to Niagara for the penultimate tournament this weekend. Things can still change but Dan McCarthy, Taylor Moore and Brock Mackenzie look comfortable in the top three spots. But with $200,000 in prize money available in the final tournament, a win by any one of nine players and they can make the jump into the top five. This is the 12th event on the Mackenzie Tour and the battle is to finish the Order of Merit in the top five, who are assured of a spot on the Web.com Tour, one step away from the PGA. Players finishing six through 10 earn an exemption into Web.com Tour qualifying. Whether they are leading in the tournament or not, there’s reason for the golfers to continue to compete. Since 2013, when the tournament was first held in London at Sunningdale Golf Club, 10 players who...