Movement for Life Golf Invitational 8/18/08
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The Movement for Life Golf Invitational is entering into its sixth year as a fundraising event to support U-M Kinesiology research in motor behavior and motor development for those with physical disabilities. Specifically, the proceeds have aided research on infants and children with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and spina bifida in the Center for Motor Behavior and Pediatric Disabilities, the Motor Control Laboratory, the Developmental Neuromotor Control Laboratory, and the Human Neuromechanics Laboratory. Additionally, 50% of the funds raised benefit the Nicholas Leoni Research Endowment, providing seed funding to U-M Kinesiology researchers launching new motor behavior studies for people with physical disabilities.
Golfers participate in activities on and off the course: a hole-in-one contest; a betting hole; a 50/50 raffle; and live and silent auctions. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served to all golfers. It's a fun-filled day of raising awareness as well as money.
For more information about the Invitational, about sponsorship, playing or volunteering, please contact:
A Message from the Chair
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Thank you for your interest in the Movement for Life Invitational, Monday, August 18, 2008. Now in its sixth year, the annual golf outing at the University of Michigan Golf Course has generated more than $300,000! Proceeds are used to support research that will someday lead to better therapies and interventions people with physical disabilities.
This year’s outing will assist three research programs in U-M Kinesiology.
The Invitational is limited to 36 four-member scramble teams to ensure that we can complete the round within five hours. The day begins with continental breakfast at the U-M Golf Course clubhouse, a shotgun start, with lunch, refreshments and snacks served on the course throughout the day. The 19th hole features an open bar, hand-rolled cigars made just for you, and an opportunity to learn more about how Kinesiology is changing the way physicians, therapists and caregivers work with their patients.
Following an early dinner we will award prizes for golf, have a raffle, and conduct live and silent auctions for U-M and sports paraphernalia, trips and vacation getaways. Everyone is on the road by 6:30pm.
Please take time to review the information on this page and the MFL site, and consider becoming one of our major sponsors. You can be assured that you and your guests will have a great time on an award-winning course and at the University of Michigan.
Sincerely,
Michael C. Leoni
Invitational Founder and Chair
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How the Invitational Makes a Difference!
Fifty percent of the proceeds from the 2008 Invitational will be added to the Nicholas Leoni Endowed Research Fund. The balance will assist the research of Dr. Daniel Ferris, who is developing exoskeletons to facilitate spinal cord injury rehabilitation; and Dr. Beverly Ulrich, whose research focuses on how locomotor activity develops in children with spina bifida and Down syndrome.
Nicholas Leoni Endowed Research Fund
Nearly ten years ago, long after Mike Leoni got involved with the Special Olympics, Mike and his wife Diane gave birth to twins —one of them has cerebral palsy. As difficult as the news was, the Leonis say that Nicholas has brought great joy to their family. To honor Mike’s big heart, the
Nicholas Leoni Endowed Research Fund was created as a 48th birthday present to Mike from some of his closest friends. The annual income from the Nicholas Leoni Research Endowment will be used to provide seed funding to researchers in U-M Division of Kinesiology. (More information on the Leoni Fund)
Human Neuromechanics Laboratory
Dr. Daniel Ferris and the Human Neuromechanics Laboratory (HNL) explore how human nervous and musculoskeletal systems interact to produce coordinated movement. HNL research goals are to apply principles of locomotor control to improve health.
Current projects focus on exploring rehabilitation strategies following neurological injury:
- Using robotic exoskeletons to produce coordinated gait while reducing the energy expended while walking;
- Interventions for patients working independently towards rehabilitation by stimulating the inborn muscular interaction process, ultimately leading to better functional gains in motor recovery; and
- Computer stimulations of neuromechanical systems to implement alternative control strategies for lower limb exoskeletons.
We expect that these efforts will develop technology and strategies for a faster, less expensive, and overall more effective rehabilitation process for people with spinal cord injuries.
Developmental Neuromotor Control Laboratory
For nearly 20 years Dr. Beverly Ulrich, Ph.D., professor and dean of U-M Kinesiology has been collaborating with teams of researchers from around the country to develop a deeper understanding of motor development of infants born with physical disabilities. Over the past decade her emphasis has been on infants with spina bifida.
Spina bifida is a developmental birth defect that involves an incomplete closure of the embryonic neural tube resulting in a malformed spinal cord. The vertebrae overlying the opening portion of the spinal cord do not form and remain unfused. This allows the abnormal portion of the spinal cord to protrude through the opening in the bones. Spina bifida can be surgically closed after birth. However, this does not restore normal function to the affected part of the spinal cord. An individual with this condition will have dysfunction of the spinal cord and associated nerves from the point of the defect and below.
Dr. Ulrich and members of the Developmental Neuromotor Control Laboratory have generated nearly $1.3 million in research funding to better understand what can be done to help develop the motor skills of infants with spina bifida.
Currently, Dr. Ulrich is collaborating with researchers Vickie Moerchen, Ph.D. (University of Maryland-Baltimore) and Mijna Hadders-Algra, M.D., Ph.D. (University of Groningen) to investigate the development of locomotor activity in infants, focusing on those with spina bifida. In this study, infants ranging in age from one to eighteen months are exposed to different sorts of non-abrasive stimuli to elicit stepping responses. The responses are observed and analyzed with respect to the coordination, control, and amount of stepping produced. It is anticipated that the results, description/analysis of leg control development in infants with and without spina bifida, will help bring understanding to the impact of the various internal (spinal cord lesions) and external (environmental) factors on motor skill acquisition in humans.
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Tournament Information
| 9:00-10:00am |
Registration, breakfast, silent auction begins |
| 10:15am |
Golfers asked to go to carts. Team photos.
Rules reviewed. Golfers procede to holes. |
| 10:30am |
Shotgun start |
| 10:30am-3:30pm |
GOLF |
| 11:00am |
Lunch served at the turn. |
| 4:00-6:00pm |
Dinner, live auction, raffle drawing, awards for golf |
Dress Code: Appropriate golfing attire is required. No athletic shorts or tank tops will be permitted. Shirts must be worn at all times. Walking or Bermuda-style shorts that reflect modesty and good taste are acceptable.
Spikes: Metal spikes are prohibited. Cleat replacement service is available at the course for a fee. Please arrive early to meet this requirement.
Directions to U-M Golf Course
U-M Golf Course web site
Scorecard and course tour
Team registration form
Sponsor registration form
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Auction
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After last year's success, this year's Invitational will again feature a silent auction. Items coming up for bid during the silent and live auctions include sports paraphernalia, trips, and personal fitness packages!
These items were on the block in 2007:
- U-M football helmet signed by Desmond Howard, Tom Brady, and Brian Griese
- Charles Woodson and Desmond Howard signed football
- Russian 5 lithograph
- Charles Woodson signed U-M jersey
- Braylon Edwards signed Cleveland Browns jersey
- Game-used Charles Woodson Raiders jersey
- Braylon Edwards signed U-M jersey
- Autographed photo of the Big House
- Charles Woodson signed photo
- Desmond Howard signed photo
- Detroit Pistons signed jerseys
- Seattle Seahawks Deon Branch helmet
- High Velocity sports package
- Notre Dame football jersey signed by Rudy Ruettiger
- U-M football tickets
- Trip to Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin
For more information, please visit
the Movement for Life Invitational web site
or contact Madison Gates.
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