Kate Amato Foundation to host KATE KUP tennis tournament April 5-6 at Oak Bridge Club

Proceeds to benefit pediatric cancer research

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On April 5 and 6, the Kate Amato Foundation will host the second annual KATE KUP Triples Tennis Tournament at the Oak Bridge Club at Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach.

Money raised by the KATE KUP will benefit the Kate Amato Foundation’s focus on cutting-edge pediatric cancer research projects around the country. 

 “Everyone is welcome,” said Dr. Lisa Amato, co-founder of the foundation. “Bring beach chairs, follow and watch teams compete. We’ll also have a kids zone, bounce house, face paint and students from Ponte Vedra High School who will work with kids on how to play.” 

During the tournament, players will dress up in costumes, compete and rotate around the courts while spectators follow along with their favorite teams. Event attendees can also enjoy one of the many activities set up at the event, such as yoga sessions organized by Big Fish Yoga and retail therapy thanks to Lilly Pulitzer.

 “The TacoLu food truck and local breweries will be setting up, along with a champagne tent,” Amato added. “Hand & Stone will be there for free chair massages.”

The VIP Kickoff Party will be held on Friday, April 5, the evening before the tournament, from 6 to 10 p.m. at 3 Palms Grille. The event will feature live music by The Band Be Easy. The KATE KUP is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 6. Admission is free and opportunities to donate will be available throughout the event. 

The first KATE KUP Triples Tournament was hosted in 2018. Approximately 100 players signed up and the foundation raised over $50,000.

“The community response was fantastic,” Amato said. “Everyone had a good time and raised lots of funding. Enthusiasm has increased this year. There are over 100 players. The energy and excitement are unlike anything I’ve experienced before.” 

Story of the foundation

Kate Amato, a local Jacksonville Beach girl who died in November 2016 after a long battle with cancer, is the inspiration for the foundation.

Kate suffered from metastatic alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, a lethal cancer that attacked the skeletal muscles. Knowing that only 4 percent of federal funding supports pediatric cancer, Dr. Lisa Amato and her husband, Jeff Amato, started the Kate Amato Foundation. They are determined to see an increase in funding for pediatric cancer research and a decrease in pain and suffering among children and families. 

“Through her illness, we realized how little research there was,” Amato said. “I think people assume because we have such great national foundations, that it’s all being taken care of, that there’s enough money and there’s not.”

Pediatric cancers are also often ignored by pharmaceutical companies because they see the investment as a financial risk and the revenue does not outweigh the investment, Amato noted. 

“It is the most excruciating pain imaginable,” Amato said referring to the loss of her daughter. “Through grief, we knew that we were going to do something. We learned too much to turn our backs. We felt responsible that we had to do something with this information. Educate, fundraise and advocate for change.”

The Kate Amato Foundation is making a difference with its three current research projects at UCLA, Baylor University and the University of Colorado. Each project was carefully selected by the foundation’s scientific advisory board, which includes pediatric oncologists from around the country. 

“We give money directly to scientists doing the work,” Amato said. “We are directly having an impact on advancing science.”

The Kate Amato foundation awarded $100,000 to these projects in its first year alone. And as Amato pauses and reflects on her family’s journey, there is no doubt in the world that she is stopping there. 

“It’s a lot of mixed emotions,” Amato said about the efforts of the foundation. “It fills my determination. It energizes us. I imagine that what it means is one day some child may have a better option at a better life. It’s important that Jeff and I say how grateful our family is to the love and support throughout Kate’s illness and as we’re building the foundation. It’s humbling, inspiring and we’re very thankful.

“I think it brings me more of a sense of peace than anything,” Amato added. “If we could spare family pain and suffering and could give a child life. We couldn’t do it with Kate, but we might be able to do that for somebody else.”