Proceeds from last weekend's (Mar 15 - Mar 17) Hirepool Charity Golf Classic Trilogy tournament held at Wānaka Golf Club will support the community work of local charity Food For Love.

A combination of auctions, raffles and other fundraising activities during the three day event has raised $39,000 for the charity which provides meals for families and individuals facing challenges in their lives.

“We were blown away by the support of local businesses, with over 90 businesses donating prizes to us for our raffles and auctions,” Food For Love general manager Jodie Stuart said.

"The support from our volunteers, the community and the golfers in the tournament was phenomenal also. The immense support we received is reflected in the amount of funds raised."

Winners of the men's division one (from left) Tony O’Regan, Ray Grubb, Bill Hunter and Marc Simmonds with Brendon Ross from Hirepool.

Jodie said the funds raised will allow Food For Love to continue to provide meals to support people living in our community when they need it most.

Fifty-eight teams consisting of four members (232 players) contested the tournament playing a different format on each day. Scores were then tallied to determine the winners.

“We are very pleased with how it went,” organising committee member Marc Simmonds said.

He said Food For Love did a ‘fantastic job’ and even a freezing southerly front that interrupted the tournament on Friday didn’t dampen spirits.

The annual charity tournament has been running since 2004, raising close to $500,000 for community organisations.

Previous organisations that have benefitted from the tournament include the M!NT Charitable Trust, the Upper Clutha Hospice Trust, the Wānaka Fire Brigade’s Road Crash Rescue team and the Upper Clutha Children’s Medical Trust.

Food For Love is a charitable organisation which provides a free home cooked meal to people in need in the Upper Clutha. In 2023 Food For Love prepared and delivered more than 8,000 meals. Recipients are generally going through a challenging time, such as an illness, bereavement, relationship or financial difficulties and are nominated by someone in the community.

Find out more about Food For Love here.

Results from the Hirepool Charity Golf Classic three-day tournament March 15-17, 2024:

Ladies’ Division winners

Tania Waghorn, Donella Fleming, Felicity Clark and Margot Hewitt

Mens’ Division 1 winners

Marc Simmons, Ray Grubb, Bill Hunter and Tony O’Regan

Mens’ Division 2 winners

Mike Bylsma, Huw Davies, Glen Clarke and Ross Hammond.

PHOTOS: Kaye Brake