By Christine Jinbo
Beach volleyball tournament aids scholarships and honors the memory of All-American volleyball player Kim Blankinship.
The KB Memorial, a 4-Woman tournament hosted by the Kim Blankinship Memorial Foundation, features an array of activities and engagements. The event includes a silent-auction/raffle, a pre-event
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| | Bill Jinbo |
| | Kim and me, hanging out at a club tournament, waiting for the next wave of matches. |
party and a 4-woman tournament with a $500 prize for first place.
In order to more closely honor Blankinship's life the tournament changed its original format. The format will now host two divisions: a women's division and a high school division, where athletes enter along with high school teammates to compete at the event.
The event aims to reflect Blankinship's fun loving personality, her amazing athleticism in high school and pursuit of excellence in college and in her career.
The foundation brings together the community to honor the memory of Kim Blankinship and pays tribute to her by giving scholarships to athletes who live the gift, which she did throughout her short life.
The foundation, supported by friends, family and the Torrance community raises funds for four scholarships given to multi-sport high school athletes at area schools, selected from applicants by a scholarship committee.
If you would like to participate, donate or register for the event:
Phone or email:
310.791.1142 xt. 4440 or John@StudentSports.com
Tournament:
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Torrance Beach, Calif.
Limited entries, $25/per player
Tournament Check-in:
Friday, July 10
6:00-8:00pm
Party:
Friday July 10, 8:00 pm
Redondo Beach, Calif.
HT Grill
Kim Blankinship held 12 varsity letters at Torrance High School. She played volleyball, soccer and track and went to Loyola Marymount University (LMU) on a full athletic scholarship for volleyball.
The multi-sport star played volleyball for the Lions from 1993-1996 and led them to three West Coast Conference titles and three NCAA postseason appearances. As a junior, Blankinship was named WCC Defensive Player of the Year. In her senior year, Blankinship earned All-America honors, only the third athlete in LMU history to do so. She also earned LMU Female Athlete of the Year and WCC Co-Player of the Year honors that year.
Kim Blankinship was not just a great athlete, she was my friend, my teammate and I miss her dearly.
H
