Information Beans: Kickball Charity Event Helps Fight Disease

Kicking balls and taking names is on the agenda this weekend for participants in Kickballapalooza.

The tournament will take place Saturday at Attucks Park, according to co-director Annie Karayiannis, an SIUC alumnus with a bachelors in industrial design.

Co-director Ron Perry, a West Frankfort native, played in kickball leagues with Annie, which is where they came up with the idea for the event.

“We just had so much fun playing in St. Louis that we had to bring it to the Carbondale area,” he said.

Karayiannis said all proceeds will go to the Cure Tay-Sachs Foundation.

“We decided to put out a tournament to see if people are interested,” she said. “We want to give back to the community and do something for a charity.”

Tim Rochman, a board member of the foundation, said he knows Perry through kickball leagues in St. Louis and was approached about participating in the charity event.

“It’s was nice that everybody came together to help out with it,” Rochman said.

Rochman said his four-year-old daughter Elise has the Tay-sachs disease. He said the disease is a rare and fatal neurological disorder and his daughter has it because she is missing an important enzyme.

James Rochman, Tim’s brother, is part of Blue Sky Vineyards’ team in the event. He said he is always happy to help the fight against Tay-sachs.

“Anytime there’s a fundraiser for (the foundation) we try to show up and support it,” he said. “That’s one of the main reasons I got a team together.”

Karayiannis said other charities have contacted her about hosting benefits. She said she plans to make the event annual and host a different charity each year. She said she also hopes to start a kickball league in the spring.

Perry said the event has drawn many sponsors and support, most notably from Pinch Penny Pub and the Heartland Pediatric Clinic.

Jimmy Karayiannis, manager of Pinch Penny Pub and Copper Dragon Brewing Company, said both bars will have teams in the tournament.

“It just sounds fun and different and out-of-the-normal of regular everyday co-ed softball,” he said. “We’re glad to be part of it.”

Perry said the tournament will start at 9 a.m. and end around 6 p.m. He said there are twelve teams and are split into three pools. He said the top teams from each pool will advance to a single-elimination round. The winning team will receive a trophy, he said.

James Rochman said he has 18 members on his team with ages ranging from 17 to 43. He expects the event to be competitive but fun as well.

“I know there’s going to be two or three teams taking it a little more seriously than probably the rest of the teams,” he said.

Annie Karayiannis said she has been to many kickball tournaments in St. Louis and it is very competitive. She said the atmosphere in Carbondale should be less aggressive.

“I think it will be a good time overall, just playing kickball, having fun and hanging out with friends,” she said.

For more information about the spring kickball league, visit www.sikickball.com.