Kansas City Platform Tennis Rally Honors a Fallen Friend

Platform tennis prioritizes aggression. It is a sweat-covered game played inside a wire cage while winter winds cut across the aluminum decking. Jim Marvel knows this dynamic better than anyone. He serves as a key organizer for the region and frequently directs major events like the Kansas City Open Men’s National Ranking Tournament. He understands that players show up to win.

The most recent tournament maintained that competitive spirit while adopting a new purpose.

The Kansas City community was grieving the loss of Frederick “Chace” Brundige to ALS. Brundige was a long-time player who brought a serene confidence to the courts. He lived by a “work hard, play hard” philosophy that guided his career in finance and his time on the paddle court. His absence left a void. John O’Bryan, the commissioner of the Kansas City platform tennis league, saw a chance to honor him and proposed donating the proceeds from the  tournament to Answer ALS.

Marvel agreed immediately. The event remained a fierce contest, but the funds raised would now support the cause that Chace’s family had championed since his diagnosis.

Matches took place at the Homestead Country Club in Prairie Village and The Carriage Club in Kansas City. The heaters hummed beneath the decks as the community gathered. Players arrived ready to win. The brackets were full. The intensity remained high throughout—because the best way to honor an athlete like Brundige is to play the game the right way.

Regional rivalries played out against the screens until two players stood above the rest. Garrett Gates of Fairway, Kansas, and Peter Hantack of St. Louis, Missouri, battled their way to the championship. They earned the title, and their names went on the winners’ list. Yet the trophy was secondary to the check presented at the end of the weekend.

Donations from the weekend totaled approximately $12,000. Every dollar went directly to Answer ALS to fund patient data collection and aggressive research. Jim Marvel and John O’Bryan united a community and transformed a weekend of paddle tennis into a forum for continuing Chace Brundige’s legacy and fighting for a future without ALS. The tournament is over. The impact of the donation is just beginning.