Andalusia High School’s softball team will be holding its biggest fund-raiser by means of the three-man scramble golf tournament on Aug. 15 at Evans Barnes Golf Course.

The annual fund-raiser, which costs $120 per three-man team, will help the softball program purchase equipment, pay for traveling costs, hire umpires for games and even provide meals for players after games.

AHS coach Marcus Taylor said the team makes a lot of money off various sponsorships.

“We make our money off of our sponsorships,” Taylor said. “They can sponsor a hole and they can also sponsor and pay a little extra money and buy a sponsorship that will get them on the banner we have on our dugouts.”

Sponsors can still sign up for the golf tournament or be on the banner, Taylor said.

“Our girls are supposed to be selling the sponsorships, but anybody interested in buying a sponsorship can call me on my cell phone (at 494-6968) or home phone (at 897-2220),” he said.

Taylor said specifically the fund-raiser will help the team buy new equipment.

“It’ll help pay for everything from buying the equipment to feeding the girls on road trips,” he said. “It goes directly into the softball account. Hopefully, we’ll be able to buy the girls some equipment with the money.”

Taylor added that the more money the team raises at the tournament, the easier it will be to meet the team’s financial needs.

“We know we’re going to have to pay the umpires,” Taylor said. “We’re going to have to pay to travel. You’re going to have those no matter what.

“As far as equipment goes, I’m sure we’ll buy cleats for the girls and pullovers — things like that. Things that all the softball teams have. That’s what we want to use the money for. The more money we get, the better off we’ll be.”

Taylor said there has been a lot of interest in the tournament so far.

“People have been calling about the tournament and have asked a lot of questions about the it,” he said. “I think having it on the same weekend as the alumni football game should help interest. I’m hoping that draws more interest.”

Other athletic teams have different ways of raising the necessary funds for their needs.

Taylor said spring sports depend highly on fund-raisers.

“That’s just the way it is,” he said. “It’s not just at Andalusia. It’s at every school ever heard of. That’s why we’re going to have to put more of an emphasis on these fund-raisers because that’s how we get the majority of our money.”

For more information on the tournament or to sign up for sponsorships, contact Marcus Taylor at 334-897-2220 or 334-494-6968.

Taylor said if the team did not have the fund-raiser, the program would be “hurting” financially.

“I would hate to think where we would be,” Taylor said. “The bottom line is if this golf tournament were not held, we’d have to find a way to come up with another fund-raiser.“We would have to come up with something else,” he said. “This is our biggest fund-raiser and if we just did our hit-a-thon and our kids camp, it wouldn’t be nearly enough to fund us for the rest of the year. It’s the most important fund-raiser we have.”