Yelm’s Mayor Joe DePinto, a former Yelm High School (YHS) tennis athlete, is issuing an open challenge to area residents as the second annual “Mayor’s Cup” is set to return at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5, at YHS.
Last year, the event saw residents challenge the mayor in a Mario Kart 8 tournament at the Yelm Community Center. In 2024, DePinto is going back to his roots by rebranding the Mayor’s Cup event as a tennis tournament at the YHS courts.
“This tournament is something that’s been near and dear to my heart as I grew up playing tennis. I played for Yelm High School,” DePinto said. “With tennis, I think we’re going to get a variety of people wanting to play. We have great, beautiful tennis courts that were recently resurfaced at the high school. We’re excited to show them off a little bit.”
Registration for the event costs $20 and can be completed online at the City of Yelm’s website. DePinto said, after the cost of the event has been met, remaining proceedaarity.
DePinto added that multiple skill levels will be included in the tournament, starting with a 2.5 level for beginners, a 3 level, 3.5 level and, the most advanced level included in the tournament, 4.
“[The levels] go to 4.5, 5.0 and 5.5, and those are really good players. We’re trying to do this tournament in one day, and, due to space, we’re going to limit the event to a few different groups,” DePinto said. “I’m a 3.5 player myself. There’s a bounty on me again this year for $50, and that’s my own money that I’m spending on that. Whoever knocks me out gets the $50 bucks, but you have to register at 3.5 for that.
“I’m a decent 3.5 player, so I’m hoping to not have to pay out the bounty and keep the $50 bucks for myself,” DePinto continued. “I think events like this are important. That’s why we started the Mayor’s Cup, to support charity and to get community members out there to play.”
In 2023, DePinto’s $50 bounty was collected in the first round of the Mario Kart 8 tournament in the inaugural Mayor’s Cup.
With a tennis tournament being “a little closer to what” he enjoys doing, DePinto is hopeful for a strong showing of 15 to 20 different competitors.
In efforts to promote the event, DePinto said he’ll approach different local tennis clubs about teams joining the event, in addition to promoting the Mayor’s Cup online on the City of Yelm’s Facebook page and through word of mouth. Those interested can register for the event online at https://lf.yelmwa.gov/Forms/MayorsCup.
“Each year, we try to do something different to reach a different group of people. Last year, we did the eSports Mario Kart tournament, and I think that got a good reception, especially from the younger folks,” DePinto said. “Last year, it went well. I think we might do something similar, just a standalone eSports day where we rent a trailer and do it again. It could either be Mario Kart, Mario Party or Call of Duty, something people enjoy, maybe Madden.”
