Deadline for cancer relay is Friday

By JULIANNE WU

© St. Petersburg Times, published March 29, 2000

Although Seminole was only added recently as a site for an upcoming American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, 31 teams have already signed up to participate here.

The fundraiser is scheduled May 5 and 6 at the Osceola High School football stadium. Registration is due Friday.

Besides the group fee, each team member has to secure at least $100 in pledges. Teams may consist of cancer survivors, their families or friends, other interested people and potential sponsors.

The relay at Osceola High will begin at 7 p.m. May 5 and continue through the next day. Relay events will also take place that weekend in Tarpon Springs and Pinellas Park. The Clearwater, Countryside and Gulfport relays are scheduled May 19 and 20.

Teams pitch tents and set up sleeping bags, decorate their campsites, play games, share experiences and walk around the track until the event is over. At least one member of the relay team is on the field at all times.

But the first lap belongs to the cancer survivors. "This lap symbolizes the courage survivors, their caregivers and families display and sustain in their lives," said Angela McAuley, a spokeswoman for the local Cancer Society.

Time is running out for teams that want to obtain choice camping spots and T-shirts before the relays start.

Participants for the Seminole event, as well as relays in Pinellas Park and Tarpon Springs, have until Friday to turn in their $100 team registration fee and form.

Teams for the Clearwater, Countryside and Gulfport sites have until April 14. So far, 188 teams have registered for the six relays in various parts of Pinellas County.

For information, call the Cancer Society's Pinellas Park office, 546-9822.

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.