Several teams have already registered for Saturday’s Covington County Red Cross Strike It Red! bowling tournament, but plenty of room remains for additional teams to join the fund-raising event scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m. at Boland Lanes in Andalusia.

Jeffery Biggs, executive director of the Covington County Chapter of the American Red Cross, said he is extremely excited about tomorrow’s tournament and is pleased with the number of teams already registered.

“We currently have 20 teams signed up for the tournament,” he said. “We are still accepting teams and registration will remain open up until the event kicks off at 1 p.m. Saturday. They can come to the office or register that day at the bowling alley. However, we would like to get them in early so we can assign them a time.”

Biggs said that registering prior to the event will allow his office to provide participants with a time slot to bowl in the tournament.

The tournament is set in a co-ed four-person team format, straight bowling (no handicapping), with each team required to have at least one member of the opposite sex. Registration is $45 for a team, which covers all bowling related costs.

“There are trophies to be awarded for the highest scoring team, the highest scoring individual male and the highest scoring individual female,” Biggs said. “There will be a special award for the team that best represents the Red Cross. Teams can design t-shirts or bring props for the competition. It should be very exciting.”

Several door prizes will be given away during Saturday’s tournament and a raffle will be held to give way a 14-karat gold ring. Biggs said the Strike It Red! bowling tournament has already become another key fund-raising event for the county chapter.

“This event has already raised more money already than the very first Taste of Covington County,” he said. “I believe people now realize that we use the dollars we receive wisely and we place those dollars back into the community.”

Biggs said that he fully expects the bowling tournament will become the chapter’s key fall fund-raising event, adding to the chapter’s available resources to aid local families in need.

“To see the true impact here in Covington County you have to look at the number of house fires,” he said. “We have an average of 40 house fires here in the county alone. (This chapter) provides housing, food and other necessities for those families who lose their homes in a house fire.

“We provide assistance to any family that is affected by a local disaster.”

The Covington County Red Cross office is located next to the Water Authority in the same building as the Covington County Sheriff’s Office. Office hours today will be from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m.

Sponsors for the Strike It Red! bowling tournament include Gitty Up N Go, Harper Electric, O’Neal Agency, Rabren, Odom, Pierce & Hayes PC, Aggressive Pest Control, Knead Massage – Mandy Maddox Hilson, L & S Tire, Wal-Mart, Covington Electric Cooperative, Family Discount Foods, Pizza Hut – Andalusia, Fantasy Look, State Farm Insurance – Ron Nall, Cooperative Propane, PowerSouth Energy Cooperative, Danah Spicer Nail Tech at TLC Salon and Spa and the Luncheon Pilot Club of Andalusia.

For additional information on the Strike It Red! bowling tournament, including how to become a sponsor, contact the Red Cross office at (334) 428-2680.