More than 100 tennis players from around the country converged on Dataw Island on June 16-18 to compete in Dataw Splash, an annual U.S. Tennis Association level-three tournament.
Dataw Island, a gated golf, tennis and boating community, has hosted the tournament for several years. In 2015, the community turned the Splash tournament into a fundraiser for the Special Olympics, a tradition that has continued. To date, the event has raised more than $6,500 for Soar Special Recreation, a nonprofit group offering activities and recreation for Lowcountry residents with special needs.
Dataw has a long history of supporting Special Olympics in Beaufort County; for 13 years, it has helped connect Northern Beaufort County Special Olympics tennis players with the National Unify Project, which pairs able-bodied athletes with Special Olympics athletes and is the only program that offers unified tennis for Special Olympians.
