OKEHAMPTON Rugby Club will play host to this year's Neal Cousins Memorial Day on August 25 with the event being billed as Close Encounters — for the fifth time.
The match will be played in memory of keen rugby and football player Neal, who died of leukaemia at the age of 24 in September 1997.
This year it is the turn of Okehampton's footballers to see if they can beat their rugby playing counterparts at their own game. All four previous matches have gone the way expected so both teams will have every incentive to perform at their best.
Kick off is a 2pm at the rugby club's showfield ground but as before there will be much more than the match to attract people.
Face painting, a bouncy castle and magic show will entertain the children and later in the evening there will be music from the Hard Place Band followed by a disco by Nightsounds.
Okehampton Lions Club will be selling food during the day and the rugby club will provide liquid refreshments.
The prize draw includes the top prize of a holiday for two in Portugal.
There will also be a charity auction of sporting and other memorabilia including a replica Man Utd shirt signed by Ryan Giggs and Rudd van Nistelroy and a rugby shirt signed by England prop Julian White, who originates from Okehampton of course!
The first four events have raised an impressive £23,000 for the Exeter Leukaemia Fund and the day will continue to boost this fund.
The new Haematology Centre at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital became fully operational in April this year but the need to raise money continues.
This was emphasised when the European legislation was introduced requiring stem cell transplant facilities to be accredited.
ELF will have to find some £60,000 by April 1, 2003 to ensure that the new facility can carry out basic treatments.