EVERY year, shipping industry figures gather at the Mona Vale Golf Club to take up clubs and battle it out on the links for the Shipping Industry Golf Challenge. The fearsome competition is not just for glory, it is also to raise money for the Oncology Research Unit at Westmead Children’s Hospital.
The event didn’t go ahead last year, for reasons we’re all familiar with, so this year players were particularly eager to conquer those formidable 18 holes.
Post-play, contenders repaired to the clubhouse for refreshments – many of which were in schooners – and to celebrate the winners.
The function is first and foremost a fundraiser. At the time of writing it is too early to tell how much the 2021 event made, the last one, in 2019, raised $38,500, bringing the total funds brought in by all the Shipping Industry Golf Challenges to more than $700,000.
During the post-play luncheon, Westmead Children’s Hospital senior paediatric oncologist Geoffrey McCowage described some of the work the Shipping Industry Golf Challenge funds.
Dr McCowage described a series of drug trials that found a more effective treatment for a certain kind of pelvic cancer in children and teenagers.
He told the story of one patient, Riley, who benefited from the knowledge gained from these trials, and who was a contender in the day’s golf challenge.
“Riley’s golf game was excellent,” Dr McCowage said.
Riley then gave a short speech describing his experience with cancer.
“I’m happy to be here today playing golf on a perfect day,” he said.
See the forthcoming June edition of the DCN magazine for more pictures of the day.
