Today, we are excited to announce a new partnership with the DP Open!
The DP Open golf tournament was started in 2017 by a group of University of Washington soccer alumni after they lost one of their teammates, Daniel Phelps, to sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in December 2015. Funds from the tournament are donated to the Nick of Time Foundation and to their Soccership program to keep more kids in the beautiful game.
For those unfamiliar with SCA, it occurs abruptly without warning and can affect people of all ages. It is often triggered by an electrical malfunction in the heart that causes an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia). With its pumping action disrupted, the heart cannot pump blood to the brain, lungs and other organs and just seconds later, a person loses consciousness and has no pulse. The CDC estimates about 350,000 cardiac arrests happen outside of hospitals each year - and about 7 in 10 of these happen at home, with a survival rate of just 10%. On top of that, it is the number 1 killer of student athletes and affects over 7000 youth annually in the United States.
Studies show that the immediate use of an AED combined with CPR can increase the likelihood of survival by 75% or more.
The mission of the DP Open is to create experiences that save and support young lives. According to Adam Lang, they do this in two ways:
We save young lives by donating the majority of funds from our annual golf tournament to the Nick of Time Foundation to help them expand their heart screening program at local high schools, build awareness for SCA and teach kids CPR and how to use an AED. These are all highly effective measures that are proven to save lives.
We support young lives through a program that we launched last year called Soccership, where we donate the remainder of the funds from our golf tournament to local clubs in the Greater Seattle Area to help make soccer more affordable to keep more kids in the beautiful game.
“I knew this partnership was a no brainer for us, from the moment I met Adam and heard the story behind the DP Open. This partnership will help us support the families in our association, build awareness for SCA and start more conversations with coaches and families on the importance of youth heart screenings and CPR training. Many of us have been touched by Daniel’s story and together, through his memory, we will save lives in our community.“
- David Griffiths, SYSA Executive Director
Mark your calendars!
The DP Open (4-person scramble) is scheduled for August 14th at The Golf Club at Redmond Ridge. Tee off is at 1:30pm, followed by dinner, assuming they can host one due to the pandemic (fingers crossed). Registration is not open yet, but we’ll make sure to keep all families in the loop when they flip it on.
Lastly, the DP Open team is always looking for donors, hole sponsors, auction items and volunteers. If you want to get involved or just want to learn more, please email: adam@dpopen.com
