SANDPOINT GOLF SCRAMBLE

On August 4, 2022, the Sylvia Kappen Memorial Classic, formerly known as the Sandpoint Golf Scramble, was held at the Idaho Club to raise funds through the Football Foundation for Sandpoint Football Leagues. The event was a huge success, raising approximately $15,000 in funds for local programs. “This year we had so much participation that I had to turn people away, which I never like to do. But there’s only so much space,” says Coach Ryan Knowles of the Sandpoint Bulldogs. Invites are sent on a relatively closed loop, with past participants invited first and new participants invited as space allows. All in all, there were 120 participants in this year’s scramble.

This year the Golf Scramble was held in Memoriam for Sylvia Kappen, who served the football program as a dedicated team mom. Even after her boys graduated from football, she continued to show up for the boys of the community for the following five years until she passed away in March. When Coach Knowles decided that feeding the teams was a vital part of making sure the kids were healthy and strong, Sylvia poured herself into preparing and organizing team meals five days a week. With a hectic football schedule, Sylvia knew from experience the difficulty of getting a square meal into the boys who played football. She and the other team moms fed upward of 80 people every evening. “She headed all of that up. Sometimes she didn’t turn in receipts, absorbing some of the costs and dedicating her time. She really took care of all the boys,” says Knowles. Sylvia was dedicated to mothering her boys. Much of her opportunities for caring for the community were a natural result of that care.

It goes without saying that Sylvia was well loved by her team and her community. So when the Golf Scramble was named in her honor (Sylvia loved golf), and the dinner and celebration at Dover Bay that followed was to be held in memory of her, 175 people attended to show their support. At the dinner, Sylvia’s husband and children were in attendance as honored guests. Kraig Kappen, Sylvia’s husband, said a few words in honor of her name and legacy. It was an incredible opportunity to bring everyone together in support of a program that Sylvia loved and supported wholeheartedly.

The funds, raised through the Football Foundation, were made possible in large by The Idaho Club. The Idaho Club donated the golf course and amenities for the attendees. The funds were raised, however, by the enthusiasm of the community. All funds go directly toward the kids participating in Sandpoint football programs of all levels. Funds will be used to buy equipment for the first- through sixth-grade programs. The middle school programs will be provided with new shoulder pads, safety equipment and jerseys. The safety equipment for the kids who play in Sandpoint is state-of-the-art due to the success of the this yearly golf scramble, for which some of the largest parts of the funds are dedicated. A large part also goes to travel and food for the teams, which are especially important in the high school league, who require charter buses and food. The teams eat after every practice and on the road. The price of safety, health and travel adds up over time.

Instead of the costs being absorbed by individual families, the Sandpoint community has a yearly opportunity to come together to directly support the children who participate. A community coming together to support families large and small is exactly the kind of thing that Sylvia Kappen inspired on a daily basis. It seems fitting that a gathering such as the yearly golf scramble was named in her honor.