The 12th Annual QC Ice Bowl, set to take place Saturday, Feb. 20 at Camden Park, Milan, again will benefit the River Bend Foodbank, Moline. The goal for this year's QC Ice Bowl is to collect at least 1000 pounds of food and raise at least $1000.

The Ice Bowl is for all those disc golfers gutsy, crazy, desperate or fun-loving enough to join together in an act of disc golf solidarity. Regardless of the weather conditions, the idea is to have fun, raise funds and food for a local food bank and dispel the gloom of winter. There are mandatory Ice Bowl Rules: No. 1 - Under no circumstances may an Ice Bowl be cancelled or postponed because of weather conditions. No. 2 - No wimps or whiners are allowed. No. 3 - There are no excuses for not attending ... Either be there or be a wimp! To learn more about Ice Bowls across the globe, visit Ice Bowl HQ

Registration for the Ice Bowl runs from 7:45 to 9 a.m. at the Lodge at the top of the sledding hill. Tee off is at 9:40 a.m., following a short player's meeting. Chili, beverages and snacks will be sold between rounds. The entry fee is $15 plus 5 canned goods. All players are welcome regardless of ability and the field will be split into three categories: Recreational, Intermediate and Open. Trophies will be awarded to the top three finishers in each division.

All proceeds and canned good goods collected will go to River Bend Foodbank, Moline. River Bend Foodbank distributes to more than 300 charitable community organizations that support the hungry. The Foodbank's service area includes the Quad Cities and 22 counties in Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois. For more about the River Bend Foodbank, please visit www.riverbendfoodbank.org.

If you own or manage a business, a donation of goods or services to be raffled off not only helps our fundraising efforts, but it also goes along way to promote your business. Contact Brad Ellis at (309) 912-5041 if you're interested.

2010 Ice Bowl At-a-Glance

12th Annual QC Ice Bowl
Where Camden Park, Milan, Ill.
When Saturday, Feb. 20, 2010
Format 2 rounds of 18 holes
Payout Trophy only event
Cost $15 + 5 cans of food
Sign In 7:45-9 a.m.
Player's Meeting 9:30 a.m.
Round 1 Tee Off 9:40 a.m.
Lunch 12:30-1:30 p.m.
Round 2 Tee Off 1:40 p.m.

Ice Bowl History

The first disc golf Ice Bowl was held in January of 1987 at Albert-Oakland Park in Columbia, Missouri. It was an attempt by Rick Rothstein, the Ice Bowl Instigator and current coordinator, to get some disc golfing activity going in the dead of winter. News releases were issued, and on the Saturday night before the Ice Bowl, it snowed five inches. The results were good as both 34 people and the media showed up. There was a picture in the sports section of the Monday edition of the Columbia Daily Tribune - disc golf in Columbia got some great publicity.

Since then, the Ice Bowl has continued to evolve, growing to an Ice Bowl weekend the next year, which led to an Ice Bowl Corridor of six weekends in 2001 to today's Ice Bowl Corridor of eight weekends in January and February. In 1996, charity was added as an important component of Ice Bowl.

Official Ice Bowls are played at courses all over the United States, and in Canada and Europe in a corridor that runs this year from Jan. 6-Feb. 25. Each event is encouraged to find a local charity to support. The fundraising goal for Ice Bowl 2010 is $250,000. It's our hope to have at least one official Ice Bowl in every state and province in Canada, and more countries in Europe. With some 30 events not reporting, Ice Bowl 2009's 190 events drew a total of 7,958 players, who raised $224,162 in cash and 55,599 pounds of food, primarily for local food banks and other charities. While a bit short of our lofty goal of $275,000, this is still a very impressive number, especially because of the lousy economy.

About Disc Golf

Disc golf is similar to golf (disc golfers often call it "ball" or "stick" golf) in procedure, pace and psychology. Instead of clubs and balls, disc golfers used golf discs (smaller, heavier, and aerodynamically superior to the Frisbees used for playing catch). Instead of a cup, disc golfers "hole out" in a disc golf basket or target. Made of steel, it features a basket that is attached to a pole about two feet above the ground and has two chain assemblies above the basket which acts as a backboard that stops the disc's forward motion, causing it to drop into the basket. Disc golfers play the throw from where it lies, and count each throw until the disc lands in the basket or within the chains. Disc golf is a lot of fun, quite challenging and relatively inexpensive to play.

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., February 1, 2010 - USTA Serves - Foundation for Academics.  Character.  Excellence., the philanthropic and charitable entity of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) announced today that under its "Aces for Kids" umbrella, it has awarded 24 year-end grants, for a total of $297,325.  Among the organizations honored was United Neighbors, Inc., in Davenport, Iowa, with a $20,000 grant.  The number of program grants awarded in 2009 was 37, for a total amount of $549,325.  Combined with scholarship awards, USTA Serves distributed nearly $1 million in 2009.

USTA Serves awards grants to programs that successfully combine tennis and education and help children pursue their goals and highest dreams by succeeding in school and becoming responsible citizens.

Aces for Kids is a national initiative of USTA Serves.  It strives to promote healthy lifestyles by combating childhood/adult obesity by providing disadvantaged, at-risk children the opportunity to learn to play tennis and improve their academic skills in a structured format.  At Aces for Kids program sites, children between the ages of 5-18 learn about healthy nutrition and lifestyles, responsible citizenship, study skills, and computer literacy; interact with a mentor and other students; attend college preparatory sessions; and learn to play tennis in a team format.

Born from neighborhood action to revitalize Davenport's older neighborhoods, United Neighbors serves individuals and families in need through social and cultural interaction and educational experiences. It is neighborhood-controlled and assists primarily low-and moderate-income residents. Grant funds will support the organization's afterschool youth development program at Jefferson-Edison Elementary, as well as its expansion to two new sites: Wood Intermediate Pathway Program and Progressive Baptist Church.  Serving 250 children, United Neighbors youth programs empower youth to support and influence their community, sustain meaningful relationships with others, develop a positive self image, and respect their own and other's cultural identities.

"These programs are impacting the future of thousands of children, helping them to develop a healthy mentality and vital life skills that they will carry into adulthood," said Karen Martin-Eliezer, Chief Executive, USTA Serves. "We are grateful for the generous support of the many corporations and individual donors that empower USTA Serves to distribute these life-changing funds."

The 2009 year-end grants recipients:

1. Abundant Waters, New York, N.Y.

2. A's & Aces, New Orleans, La.

3. Boys & Girls Club of Central Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.

4. CHAMPS Afterschool Enrichment Program, Erie, Pa.

5. City Parks Foundation, New York, N.Y.

6. Earthen Vessels Outreach, Pittsburgh, Pa.

7. Family and Children's Association, Mineola, N.Y.

8. Hamilton County Community Tennis Association, Indianapolis, Ind.

9. Harlem Junior Tennis & Education Program, New York, N.Y.

10. Harper for Kids, San Francisco, Calif.

11. Hebni Nutrition Consultants, Inc., Orlando, Fla.

12. Houston Tennis Association Inc./NJTL, Houston, Texas

13. I Have a Dream Foundation of Boulder County, Boulder, Colo.

14. Indianola Main Street Association, Indianola, Miss.

15. Mentoring USA Inc., New York, N.Y.

16. Norwalk Grassroots Tennis, Inc., Norwalk, Conn.

17. Ossining Community Tennis Association Inc., Ossining, N.Y.

18. Project Lovematch Inc., Saddle River, N.J.

19. Sportsmen's Tennis Club Inc., Dorchester, Mass.

20. Tennis in the 'Hood Inc., Fayetteville, Ga.

21. The Orthotic & Prosthetic Assistance Fund, Inc., Langhorne, Pa.

22. United Neighbors, Inc., Davenport, Iowa

23. University of Akron, Dept. of Sport Science & Wellness, Akron, Ohio

24. University of Hawaii's Ace to Success, Honolulu, Hawaii

#  #  #

USTA Serves

Established in 1994, USTA Serves supports, monitors and promotes programs that enhance the lives of disadvantaged children through the integration of tennis and education.  USTA Serves actively supports individual students from all cultural and ethnic backgrounds through college scholarships and player incentive awards and encourages children to pursue their goals and highest dreams by succeeding in school and becoming responsible citizens.  Additionally, the Foundation supports community tennis programs across the country that provide positive role models, academic assistance, life skills, and tennis instruction to help prevent violence, substance abuse and school dropouts.  USTA Serves is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that builds on the USTA's social conscience of addressing important health issues, diversity issues, and general well-being in the United States using tennis as the catalyst and change agent.

USTA

The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level -- from local communities to the highest level of the professional game.  A not-for-profit organization with 740,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds in growing the game. It owns and operates the US Open, the highest attended annual sporting event in the world, and launched the Olympus US Open Series linking 10 summer tournaments to the US Open. In addition, it owns the 94 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S., is a minority owner and promotional partner of World TeamTennis, and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. The USTA philanthropic entity, USTA Serves, provides grants and scholarships and through tennis, helps underserved youth and people with disabilities to improve academics, build character and strive for excellence. For more information on the USTA, log on to usta.com.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is developing plans to stock Flathead catfish and channel catfish in the Rock River later this year as part of a continuing effort to speed the recovery of the river's fishery in the aftermath of a June 2009 fish kill.

Tens of thousands of sport fish were lost in the Rock River fish kill event first reported on June 20-21, 2009. At that time, dead fish were discovered in the Rock River in an area from two miles north of Grand Detour to 50 miles downstream at Prophetstown.

The IDNR stocked the river with smallmouth bass and northern pike last Summer and channel catfish last fall in the aftermath of the fish kill.

"At a recent meeting of area anglers, we again heard loud and clear how important the Rock River fishery is to them and to all of those who enjoy fishing from throughout the region," said Dan Sallee, regional administrator for the IDNR Division of Fisheries. "The Rock River fishery is very important to the local anglers and to the communities along the river. Although the fishery is expected to fully recover, the public would like to see all possible efforts made to speed this recovery."

IDNR fisheries biologists this Spring plan to collect and relocate up to 100 pairs of Flathead catfish into areas of the Rock River that were affected by the fish kill. At the same time, IDNR personnel will relocate pre-spawn channel catfish to the same area of the Rock River, and further supplement the channel catfish population by stocking small fish from state hatcheries.

"Individual female Flathead catfish may lay 100,000 eggs or more. If only one in 1,000 of these eggs survives and thrives, this stocking level would result in an increase of up to 10,000 Flathead catfish in the population," Sallee said. "This number of spawning pairs should speed the recovery of the fish kill zone. The channel catfish stocking will also be beneficial."

Anglers with questions about the Rock River fishery can contact IDNR District Fisheries Biologist Ken Clodfelter at 815-454-2759.

###