The Students for Alzheimer’s club at Oxford High School has hosted a tennis tournament for the last two years, as a fundraiser benefiting the disease.

The third-annual Students for Alzheimer’s Tennis Tournament will take place on Aug. 17 at the John Leslie Tennis Complex. Event founder Jack Ligon graduated in May, but he left the tournament in the hands of Downing Koestler, Brown Turner and Carter Young. All three students are involved with the Students for Alzheimer’s club, which Ligon founded at OHS in 2017.

“We hoped to have the same success (with the tournament) that we did with Jack,” Koestler said. “Last year (Ligon) said, ‘That was my last time, so I’ve got to choose some of y’all to step up and do it.’ We were ready for it.”

Koestler said the group is sticking with the same tournament format that Ligon used the previous two years. The tournament will be mixed-doubles and round robin-style. Brackets will not be used, and teams can play for as long or as short of a time as they so choose.

As has been the case in the previous two years, the Oxford Park Commission is helping oversee the tournament, providing use of the tennis courts and anything else Koestler and the other organizers may need.

The money raised will once again go to Memory Makers, a group in Oxford that provides a respite day program for people with dementia and their caregivers. Last year, the tournament raised around $25,000 for the organization.

“I give these young men, the group, Students for Alzheimer’s, a lot of credit for their efforts,” John Davis, community relations director for the Oxford Park Commission, said. “They could be on a beach this summer, but instead they have spent many hours preparing a tournament to help someone else. They’re passionate about it. Memory Makers serves an important role in this community, and the OPC, the OPC Board, we were glad to help their efforts to raise money and awareness for something so vital. I wish them great luck and hope they set a new fundraising record this year.”

The cost for the tournament is $20 per person and $40 per team. There are no age requirements. To register or get more information people interested can contact Koestler (wdk242@att.net), Turner (brownturner02@gmail.com) or Young (carter25charger@gmail.com). People can also contact Jo Ann O’Quin with Memory Makers at joannoquin@gmail.com.