Children's Cup Regatta

Set Sail at the Children’s Cup Regatta! This annual regatta will benefit patients at Children’s of Alabama. Sailing supporters and friends in Mobile and Baldwin counties are invited to enjoy a day of sailing on Saturday, August 18, 2012 at Fairhope Yacht Club.

The family-friendly event for children being treated at Children’s of Alabama will feature live music, a cash bar, a silent auction and a wide variety of activities for both children and adults. Participation from out-of-town sailors and yacht clubs is welcome.

Boats can be parked at Fairhope Yacht Club overnight. The entry fee for Performance Handicap Racing Fleet, Portsmouth, Rhodes 19 and Catalina 22 is $50 per boat. Youth Class entry fee is $25 per boat. All entry fees are tax-deductible.

Attendance to watch the Children's Cup Regatta is free and guests can watch the races throughout the day beginning at 12:30 pm. An awards ceremony will be held at 7:00pm and will feature live music, a cash bar, a silent auction and $5 barbecue plates from Katy's Catering.

Kids and adults can also participate in Raingutter Regatta, a miniature boat race consisting of racing 6-inch boats down a rain gutter, with a tax- deductible donation of $5 per racer. Kids of all ages can also enjoy the "Pirate Ship" kids area from 3-6 to participate in a variety of fun activities.

For early registration, please visit
http://childrensal.kintera.org/childrenscup . Late registration will be at 10:00 am in the Fairhope Yacht Club ballroom on the day of the event.

This year the Youth Regatta is named Katie’s Cup in honor of Katie Hamlin of Fairhope. The 16-year-old Bayside Academy honor student and soccer player was diagnosed with a possible staph infection in May 2009. After falling sick a few weeks later, she was put into a drug-induced coma and put on a ventilator.

Katie was diagnosed with acute respiratory distress syndrome and transferred to Children’s of Alabama. After seven long months of treatment, she was able to return home and is now a walking, talking miracle. Katie will be in attendance at this year’s Regatta.

Children’s of Alabama has provided specialized medical care for ill and injured children across the state and throughout the southeastern U.S. since 1911. Children’s offers inpatient and outpatient services across its Russell Campus on Birmingham’s historic Southside with additional outpatient surgery and diagnostic imaging services provided at Children’s South and Children’s on 3rd.

Primary care is provided at more than a dozen offices in communities across central and north Alabama. The Benjamin Russell Hospital for Children is the only hospital in Alabama dedicated solely to the care and treatment of children and is recognized by the American Nurses Credentialing Center as a Magnet-designated hospital for excellence in nursing care.

For the past three years, Children’s has been ranked among the best children’s hospital programs in the nation by US News & World Report. It is a private, not-for-profit hospital that serves as the primary site of the University of Alabama at Birmingham pediatric medicine, surgery, research and residency programs. Last year, patients made more than 634,000 outpatient and nearly 14,000 inpatient visits to Children’s from every county in Alabama and from 47 other states. More information is available at www.childrensal.org .