Our annual charity tournament known as ‘Katie’s Cup’ has become the highlight of the golfing calendar here at Kingsfield Golf and Leisure. It attracts teams from far and wide and since its inception in 2010, has raised over £200,000 for many amazing charities.

An Arkley family tragedy was the inspiration for the inaugural event in 2010, as Jane Allan (nee Arkley) explained: – “I had a stillborn baby , Katie, in 2002 and it was quite a taboo subject. Nobody would mention her name. A friend of ours said that we needed to celebrate the baby and he bought a cup. I wanted to do something for SANDS – the stillbirth and neonatal death charity – and a tournament involving the Golf Society members seemed like a good idea. It started really small in 2009 and coincided with my son’s tenth birthday. We had a barbeque, and it was a real family affair.”

Andrew Corr was a founder member of the Kingsfield Golf Society in 2009 and ‘Katie’s Cup’ was a fitting way to mark their first season of competitions. He told me: – “This was our first charity fundraiser, and it was such a success that it has followed on year after year. I think the second year, it got a bit bigger, with more people involved and then in year three, we decided to take the big step and have an evening event down at the Barn. That’s when it went up a notch or five, because it allowed us to take more players during the day and then invite people at night. We had games, a disco, and an auction that raised thousands and thousands of pounds. The evening celebration is now firmly established as a huge event and friends have described it as the best barn dance, they have ever been to.”

Since its inception, ‘Katie’s Cup’ has always raised funds for causes close to the hearts of the Arkley family and the Kingsfield members. These include the Beatson Cancer Centre, the British Liver Trust, the Children’s Liver Disease Foundation, the On Course Foundation, Pancreatic Cancer Scotland and the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation. In 2019, the Chris Mitchell Foundation and the agricultural charity, RSABI, shared a fantastic total of £20,000.

As well as money raised on the day, including the spectacular auction at the night-time event, other fundraisers take place throughout the year, as Andrew Corr explained: – “We have forum nights at Kingsfield, where one of our members, Brian McLaughlin of the BBC, will set up a panel of famous sports people and members and friends are invited to take part in a question-and-answer session.

We raise money at our annual AGM and through various initiatives, which have included a sponsored chest wax and a bungee jump. Local businesses are also very generous, in terms of donating prizes and sponsorship.”

2022 saw the biggest Katie’s Cup to date with £42,000 raised for the chosen charities CHAS, My Name’5 Doddie, Ronald McDonald House, CrossReach, The Moira Fund and Riding for the Disabled.