Five Seasons Family Sports Club Hosts Handzel Open, Helps Raise More than $7,000 For Charity

Since 2006, Five Seasons Family Sports Club in Northbrook has been the host of the annual Handzel Open, a tennis tournament fund-raiser that is among the largest of its kind in the area.

This year, the effort from June 9th to 12th raised more than $7,000 for You Can Be My Angel, a Chicago-based charity whose mission is to ease the financial burden of families affected by childhood cancer.

Since its inception, the Handzel Open has raised more than $100,000, as Greg Handzel, an insurance broker, and Jacek Dabrowski, a Five Seasons tennis pro, serve as the event’s longtime organizers.

Matches in various divisions, based on gender, age and skill level, culminate in prize money, trophies and tennis gear. More than 120 players competed and in the pro-am division, the champion was Farris Gosea, a former University of Illinois player who is on the professional tennis circuit.

Another fun component of the event was a contest in which about 50 youngsters vied for donated tennis equipment and apparel provided by Yonex by aiming their shots at targets on the court.

Based on sponsorship support, all of the players’ entrance fees and all of the raffle money goes directly to the charity, said Dabrowski.

For more information, visit www.handzelopen.com. You Can Be My Angel is online at http://youcanbemyangel.com/.

Five Seasons Family Sports Club in Northbrook is the premier year-round high-energy, high-touch sports club focused on family leisure and entertainment, improving sports performance and maintaining overall health.

The club is online at http://www.fiveseasonssportsclub.com/northbrook/ and can be reached at 847-897-5030.

(Photos by Andy Kentla)