Community invited to indoor soccer tournament benefit

Lace ‘em up for a great cause

Three years ago, the soccer community and beyond came together to take part in the Battle for Stephen Gardner indoor soccer tournament.
Gardner; father of two, husband and soccer enthusiast, was in the midst of a battle with cancer, and his teammates, friends and the local business community pulled together to put on an indoor soccer tournament to raise money to help cover medical bills and to help Gardner’s family, who he unfortunately left behind.
Last winter, the call was put out again for Steve Lawlor, who was also in the midst of a battle with cancer.
That time, the community and Lawlor won! An incredible cross-section of the community came out, from former collegiate soccer players to high school all-stars and even Mark Cram in a red tutu, for the tournament.
The record now stands at 1-1.
This year tournament organizers are hoping to improve to 2-1 in their latest endeavor, the third annual Stephen Gardner Memorial Indoor Soccer Tournament, The Battle for Kathy Joyce, on Sunday, March 3.
Kathy Joyce moved to Crested Butte in the fall of 1972 and was “hooked” immediately. In her words “Crested Butte spoke to my soul, I stayed, I worked, I learned to make a life… I knew this was a special place.”
In her time here she has worked shoveling coal, refinishing old furniture, stacking wood, cleaning, waitressing, bartending, cooking, hanging wallpaper, and writing/assembling the newspaper. She also spent much time recreating and “learning the ways of the land,” as we all do, through Nordic and alpine skiing, camping, hiking, etc. Kathy also attended school at Western State College and eventually went to barber school to pursue the profession that she is most known for in the valley—barber and hair stylist extraordinaire.
“Tony [Kathy’s husband] and I opened my barber shop “Buzz” in 1999 and I’ve clipped along ever since. That is until…. everything changed.”
In 2007 Kathy was diagnosed with lung cancer and eventually had a successful surgery in which the doctors were able to remove the affected tissue. It seemed that Kathy had beaten the disease for the time being, and was cancer-free for five years. Back in October however, doctors discovered that the cancer had returned and had metastasized. She has already undergone multiple radiation and chemotherapy treatments, and will undoubtedly have many future, monthly treatments. She needs our help and she needs this community that she loves so much, to step up for her.
It does not matter if you’ve played soccer all of your life, or never played before—the tournament is partly about the competition but mostly about supporting those in the community that are involved in their own battle.
But—there is a plucky team from Gunnison that won the first two tournaments, so it’s time for a new champion to rise up.
This year organizers are looking to double the amount of participation from last year, double the number of prizes and thus double the amount of money raised. Teams must be registered by Saturday, March 2. Games will start at 9 a.m. on Sunday, March 3 and if you can’t play you are invited to join the after-party at the Brick Oven that evening.
For more information, to register or to sign up a team contact Andrew Butterfield [email protected]; (970) 275-8804 or Andrew Canale [email protected]; (970) 366-1807.