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Only a few spots left for golf and dinner at Robby Brisco Open

From left, Kevin Cunningham, Todd Hellyar, Brain Cuddeback and Steve Hahn won the Robby Brisco Open last year with a tournament record score of 14-under-par at the Golf Club of Avon. Time is running out to join this year’s event on August 6. (Photo courtesy Robby Brisco Open)

AVON, July 26 – In September, it will be three years since Robby Brisco left us. To those close to him, it was just a little while ago.

Brisco, a soccer player and swimmer at Avon High School, was just weeks shy of his 20th birthday when he passed away after battling cancer for several years.

A group of nearly 30 volunteers are determined that Robby’s memory will never fade and no other family will have to go through what the Briscos went through as Robby battled cancer.

The third annual Robby Brisco Open, to raise money for pediatric cancer clinical trials, research and treatment at the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford, is set for Monday, August 6 at the Golf Club of Avon.

There are still 35 spots left to golf and another five spots for the dinner with just a few days left to sign up. Registration closes at midnight on Sunday, July 29.

More 175 golfers have participated the first two years. Winners of this shotgun tournament get to wear the famous Robby Brisco Open (RBO) Red Jacket. Every participant gets their own limited edition RBO coin, the official ballmarker of the tournament.

Dinner begins at 4:30 p.m. but guests are encouraged to arrive at 3:30 p.m. for the tournament “Happy Hour” with live music from local Avon musicians on the patio along with a raffle and silent auction that end at 4:30 p.m.

Money raised by the tournament make a difference in the battle to treat cancer.

Dr. Michael Isakoff, who heads the clinical trials program, said private donations are imperative for an academic non-profit hospital like Connecticut Children’s.

“Due to the low reimbursement combined with the many staff required to care for a patient on a clinical trial, including research staff, nurses, child life experts and social workers, we must rely on private donations,” he explained in statement on the RBO website. “In fact, now more than ever, as we expand our research, we need more staff and more financial support.”

Robby Brisco in October 2012

Robby graduated from Avon High in 2013. He was co-captain of the boys soccer team in 2012 that advanced to the Class L championship game and he swam on the high school swim team as a senior.

The RBO will be a day to remember Robby and to help others find a solution to this terrible disease — cancer.

3rd annual Robby Brisco Open

Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of The Collinsville Press. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 40 years. He was inducted into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.

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