Nationwide — The Seventh Annual Spades Tournament is scheduled for February 21-25, 2024 on the Beautiful Island of Hilton Head, South Carolina. This year’s tournament will take place at the Hilton Head Beach & Tennis Resort at 40 Folly Field Road inside the Crystal Ballroom. The host hotel is the Palmera Inn & Suites located at 12 Park Lane.The 7th Annual Spades Tournament, which is produced by the World Association of Spades and benefits the Coach William DeBarr, Jr. Scholarship Endowment (Fund), was founded in 2016 by Coach William DeBarr, the eldest son of Matthew DeBarr who knew he had to do something to keep his dad dreams alive and that was playing cards.
So 7 years ago, DeBarr started putting small teams with a small pool of money in local community centers, and over the past three years, the tournament jackpot has grown into awarding a 1st place take-home prize of $5,000. In addition, the tournament is now being held in a ballroom which allows more space and more room for more teams to participate.
Regarding last year’s tournament, DeBarr comments, “We had teams come from Virginia, North Carolina, and Jacksonville, Florida, so this year we just want to continue to grow the event and have teams come and enjoy the island as well as play the hand that you are dealt with.”
The World Association of Spades has its handbook of rules. Players should not come to the tournament and play the card game like they would with family members at a family reunion. The event also has a Tournament Director.
Early registration is only $400 if you submit payment by December 31, 2023 (4 players max) and the regular entry is only $500 with the deadline of February 9, 2024 (4 players max). The first-place winner will take home $5,000. 2nd place is $1,500, 3rd place is $1,100, 4th place is $750, 5th place is $600, 6th place is $500, and the last and final 7th place is $400.
The game is played in the following way: Double elimination, best 2 out of 3. And each team is guaranteed 4 games. In addition, the proceeds from the event will be used to provide annual scholarship awards to assist qualified students who are in pursuit of a post-secondary education.
How to Attend:
To register for the 7th Annual Spades Tournament, visit https://7thannualspades2024.eventbrite.com
About the Founder
Coach William DeBarr was born and raised in Charleston, SC, where he attended high school and also graduated from Denmark Tech majoring in Hospitality Management in Denmark, SC. Instead of returning home, he decided to stay in Hilton Head and marry the love of his life. Coach spent 30 years coaching football at all levels in the Beaufort County School District. After work and on the weekends, he found time to play a hand of spades with his neighbors. As a child, he developed a love and passion for playing cards underneath an oak tree which helped him to meditate.
He is now the founder of the Coach William DeBarr, Jr. Scholarship Fund, a 501(c)3 organization managed by the Community Foundation of the LowCountry in Hilton Head Island, SC. Thanks to many contributions from local businesses and individuals in the past, the scholarship fund has been able to provide financial support to many post-high school students in the community at large seeking to further their education. All sponsorships and contributions are 100% tax-deductible.
Business owners who would like to make a donation, become a table sponsor, or make a contribution product to the event’s swag bags should contact 843-540-0603.
For press inquiries, contact Andrea Murray, AMES at atmurray125@yahoo.com or 888-981-7469 (SHOW)