“We are hoping to get at least the same number of boats this year and hopefully, by moving it to a Saturday, we will have more participation in boats and in the crowd at the weigh-in,” said Shelly Page, mother of Kyle Page, the now-17-year-old for whom the tournament is named.

The first “Kyle Page Open Team Bass Tournament” was held in 1997 to benefit the Page family, which faced mounting medical bills after Kyle was born with spina bifida, a birth defect of the spine. The tournament was a huge success raising over $10,000 for Kyle’s family.

After seeing the success of the tournament and the outpouring of the community, Kyle’s dad, the late Joel Page, a local bass tournament fisherman, asked to continue the tournament to raise money for other families in need of assistance to care for children with special medical needs. For nearly two decades the tournament has been a staple of the springtime tournament scene at Lake Murray.

“Over the years we have given away about $500,000 to close to 80 families,” Shelly Page said.

During good economic times the tournament assisted three or more families every year, but it lost some major sponsors during the economic downturn in recent years and for now will support two families, she said.

Teams pay a $150 entry fee, which includes two big fish and first place is guaranteed $5,000. While the anglers are the primary source of money for the Kyle Page Foundation, other supporters, fishing fans and participants are also needed, and Shelly Page said there will be a lot going on for the entire family. “We are going to have a Bouncy House for the kids and the same two bands we had last year will be performing, The Part Timers and Dixieland Crossroads. The Mid-Carolina Branch of the Quality Deer Management Association, which has been great to us, donated some money to the effort and they will be cooking hamburgers.”

Meanwhile, Shelly Page said she hoped her son, Kyle, who has served as the inspiration for the charitable effort, will be healthy enough to attend the weigh-in.

“We held the first tournament when he was three months old and he turned 17 last month, but he is in a hospital bed right now. He’s had five surgeries, including major back surgery, since the tournament last year. Hopefully, by the day of the tournament he will be good enough to go.”

Tournament registration forms for the 18^th Annual MSKP Kyle Page Tournament are now available at Boland’s True Value in Chapin and Wilson’s II in Little Mountain.

 

MSKP Kyle Page Foundation Bass Tournament

Sat, May 3, 2014

Lake Murray

Dreher Island State Park

Call 803-917-9318

www.facebook.com/MSKPFoundation