Fort Macleod’s charity volleyball tournament set a fund-raising record last month.
The STARS coed tournament raised a record $28,000 for the air ambulance.
“It was a great tournament,” said Mike Bourassa, tournament founder and president of the Fort Macleod Volleyball Club.
Bourassa said Thursday STARS will receive a $25,000 donation on Wednesday, May 21, enough to fund four missions by the air ambulance.
That’s the same amount as last year, with the remaining $3,000 being kept as seed money for the 2026 STARS Charity Volleyball Tournament on April 17-19.
Sixty teams competed in the 21st STARS tournament in April.
The teams played in competitive, intermediate, recreation and beer league divisions on the courts at Fort Macleod and District Sports Centre and W.A. Day and F.P. Walshe schools.
Each of the 60 teams paid a $550 registration fee, with fund-raising totals boosted by a beer garden, live and silent auctions, tournament admission and a 50-50 draw.
The business community was also generous with cash and other donations, with some money coming in after the tournament was over.
“People were not afraid to donate,” Bourassa said of Fort Macleod and district’s generosity.
STARS air ambulances have flown more than 60,000 missions across western Canada since 1985.
In 2023-’24, STARS flew 3,927 missions from its six bases in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
That total included 1,720 in Alberta.
STARS helicopters average eight or nine missions a year in Fort Macleod.
STARS committee members are Mike Bourassa, Chelsie Wolff, Paige Knauf, Lindsey Zielinski, Lauren Roelofsen, Abby Bourassa, Tom Lyon, Landon Schneider, Angela Martin, Brandy Sharma, Zach Grant and Breanne Van Herk.
The committee has met to begin planning for 2026.
“We’re always trying to improve,” Mike Bourassa said. “We had lots of good ideas, and lots of good feedback. Hopefully it will be better than ever.”
