Submitted photo

The importance of College of the Redwoods sports to the local community was evident last week, with more than 400 people attending the Corsairs’ annual sports dinner and auction.

A hugely successful night saw $118,000 raised, all of which will go toward CR sports and help finance the 13 Corsairs teams that will be competing this year.

But that was only a part of what made the night special.

“The event was extremely successful, and not just because of the funds raised for our athletics program, but also because our supporters had an opportunity to interact with our student-athletes,” said Executive Director of College Advancement and the CR Foundation Marty Coelho. “Without the generous donations of items and packages, we would not have been able to hold such an event.”

A total of 175 local businesses and community members donated items and packages for the event.

“This is just another reason why we need to support our locally owned businesses, since they are the ones supporting our local fundraising events,” Coelho added. “The quality of donations this year was nothing short of remarkable and very much appreciated.”

The Corsairs have been competing in sports since 1964 and will accommodate more than 250 student-athletes this year.

According to the local community college, almost 65 percent of those student-athletes come from Humboldt, Del Norte, and Trinity Counties.

“I want to personally thank all of our donors and all those that attended, for making the return of our event such a huge success,” CR Director of Athletics, Kinesiology, Health and Physical Education Bob Brown said. “These funds are vital towards the growing momentum of our athletic department and helps ensure current and future sustainability of our athletic programs.”

This year’s event also honored the 2006 CR softball team, which was the first to make it to the Final 8 State Championships since the merger of the small school and large school playoffs, with many of the players from that team in attendance.

The event also recognized the 50th anniversary of Title IX with a video produced by softball head coach Megan Valente.

Blue Lake Casino and Hotel and Shafer’s Ace Hardware stores were title partners and helped cover event expenses.