Evan Cousineau Cup Raises over $25,000 for the Be A Hero Become A Donor Foundation

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. -- SET Water Polo Club and the Be a Hero Become a Donor (BAHBAD) Foundation are pleased to announce that the recent Evan Cousineau Cup waterpolo tournament raised over $25,000 to benefit BAHBAD.

Evan Cousineau was a vibrant athlete known throughout southern California for his contagious smile and energy in the sports of waterpolo, swimming and hockey. A waterpolo player for SET Water Polo Club, Cosineau was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder and received treatment at the University of Minnesota where he received a bone marrow transplant. While his transplant was successful, he succumbed to a viral infection in November of 2007.

BAHBADtm was formed by the Cousineau family to promote the need for marrow, blood and organ donations and empower people to get directly involved by becoming donors.

To date, BAHBAD has placed over 10,000 members on the Be the Match registry with the National Marrow Donor Program and has hosted countless blood, marrow and organ donation drives throughout the Country.

The Evan Cousineau Cup (EC Cup) was created by SET director and two-time Olympic gold medalist Mr. Brad Schumacher to honor the memory of Evan and raise funds for BAHBAD.

"The EC Cup is our way to remember the impact that Evan had on our club and the sport in general. The tournament has turned out to be a landmark on the calendar both in terms of the fun and quality as well as the support we have received from the waterpolo community" said Mr. Schumacher.

Gina Cousineau, Evans mom and Executive Director of BAHBAD said " we are thrilled with the results of the tournament both in terms of the donation being made but the ability to spread the message of how we can all recycle our bodies and share our valuable resources to give hope to patients in need. In addition to the financial contribution, we were able to bring in 155 new members to the national registry. "

The tournament brought in 95 teams from throughout the State for the three-day event, which was held at various pools in Orange County. The highlight of the event was the Saturday night social and skills contest close to 400 people attended and the athletes were able to participate in fun games outside of the stress of competition. SET Water Polo Club took home the EC Cup, a perpetual trophy awarded to the club who placed highest among all age groups.

Some of the sponsors of the tournament included SET, Keifer, Kap7, the Anaheim Ducks, Oakley, Henkel & Kennedy Orthodontist, Dragon Optical as well as many local families and individual

For more information, contact Mark Cousineau at 949 361???3902. For more information on BAHBAD, go to www.bahbad.org.