Erika Cup continues to raise awareness of important cause

The second annual Erika Cup organised by Camelot Netball Club in memory of team-mate Erika Vincent was another big success, with £2,300 raised for pancreatic cancer.
The Pitch Slaps, the proud winners of this years Erika Cup, after Camelots charity tournament at JFK School.The Pitch Slaps, the proud winners of this years Erika Cup, after Camelots charity tournament at JFK School.
The Pitch Slaps, the proud winners of this years Erika Cup, after Camelots charity tournament at JFK School.

The family mixed netball tournament was held at Hemel Hempstead’s JFK School on Sunday, June 2, with 12 teams entering and players aged from eight years old and upwards taking part.

The winners were the Pitch Slaps team, who proudly took The Erika Cup home.

The runners-up were All Blacks.

The event also included a barbecue, a Pimm’s stall, cakes, an arts and craft table for children and the local police attended, where they allowed youngsters to sit inside a police car and brought their dogs to do a demonstration.

A total of 25 raffle prizes were generously donated from local firms, including two pairs of tickets to this year’s netball World Cup, being held in England next month.

The Erika Cup, now in its second year, is held to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer in memory of former Camelot player Erika Vincent.

It started when Camelot were shocked to hear that long-standing member Erika was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer in 2018 at only 56 years of age and when she was as fit as a fiddle.

Over the next 10 months Erika launched the ‘Demand Faster Treatment’ campaign, which eventually raised more than 100,600 names for a petition which was taken to 10 Downing Street in March.

Erika sadly died in February before being able to see the great work she achieved.

When Camelot heard of Erika’s diagnosis, they set about organising a mixed charity netball tournament, with the first event held last June. It was a huge success and raised more than £3,300 for a pancreatic cancer charity.

This year they decided to continue raising awareness and money for the cause and named the tournament The Erika Cup.

This year’s event was held on what would have been Erika’s 57th birthday.

Camelot is a Hemel-based team that has been running for 52 years. Members range from 13 years old to over 60.

It has one junior team and two adult teams playing in Hemel leagues and two playing outside the area.