The tennis tournament remembers Rita McGoff

RAISING ADVERTISEMENT: Friends of the deceased Rita McGoff held a tournament with each other to honor her memory. They also used the Aug. 10 event to raise funds for the Beach Haven Compassion Café. (Photos submitted)

On Aug. 10, a bunch of friends had fun playing tennis on the Pearl Street courts in Beach Haven, but Rita McGoff was on their minds and hearts.

One of the players, Kathy Slezak, said McGoff died of a glioblastoma brain tumor in June 2019 at the age of 65.

He started playing tennis at LBI in 2010, and his enthusiasm for learning the game was contagious when he recruited friends to join him, Slezak said. He became an avid tennis player, and under his leadership and love of the game, a small group of beginners turned into a large and organized group of regular players who often lived on Pearl Street or Acme (Long Beach Township Market) on summer mornings.

Slezak said a bench has been placed in the Pearl Street gazebo in memory of McGoffs, and his tennis team continues to celebrate their lives with the annual round Robin tournament.

Sixteen of his LBI buddies gathered to play three rounds of the kind of fun and competitive tennis that was Rita’s passion, he said.

Slezak said the tournaments have also included proposed donations for fundraising.

This year, we turned the annual round of Robin into a fundraiser for Compassion Caf, a nonprofit organization in the LBI that symbolizes Ritas (a second-grade teacher), a joy to help others through love and kindness, he said. Sue Sharkey and Erin Sharkey launched Compassion Cafe this summer, whose mission is to provide meaningful work and educate young people and adults with disabilities.

Slezak added: We have developed into a cohesive and thriving group of active adult tennis players and friends on an island that was so close to the heart of Ritas. We are forever grateful to Rita McGoff and we know she encourages us every time we step on the tennis court.AND AND