Limit the Sun, Not the Fun!

Birdies for SHADE

Joanna’s Story – Got my 45 (SPF) On!
From Duramed Future’s Tour Player’s Blog
Source: www.duramedfuturestour.com

Got My 45 (SPF) On, So I Can Rock On!

By Joanna Whitley

Living in my brain can be difficult. I read, I study and I learn. In school, I learned that a tan is actually skin damage. Too much sun exposure can lead to melanoma and wrinkles -- bad if you want to live, bad if you want to look good at 40. Think Nicole Kidman crossed with Madonna crossed with Steve Nash. That's great skin.

When I moved to Arizona to pursue professional golf after seven pale years in New England, I was concerned about sun safety. Habitually, I applied sunscreen before every exposure and never went outside without a hat or a visor until one night I dreamed that my cheeks were aflame. The next morning I wore a wide-brimmed hat and have never gone back to mainstream headwear. The only exception is for wind. At over 25mph, my most wind-resistant hat, the Reversible Resort from Wallaroo Hat Company (my hat sponsor), flaps in my face. On those days I have to "go small" and I hate it.

With each golf season, I become more vigilant about the sun. Now, I don't like to expose all four limbs on the same day. I wear long pants or long sleeves and prefer both. Rarely will you find me in shorts and short sleeves -- never sleeveless. This season I got really crazy and treated my clothes with an agent in the wash to make them more SPF protective. A regular shirt only has an SPF of five. I don't get tan lines through my clothes anymore.

Wanna talk web sites? Find out more for yourself at www.cdc.gov, www.skincancer.org and www.nci.nih.gov. If I get famous one day, my charity tournament will benefit the SHADE Foundation of America, Shonda Schilling's charity (wife of Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling,) which provides sun coverings for elementary school playgrounds, among other things. I love that. Their mission is "to eradicate melanoma through the education of children and the community in the prevention and detection of skin cancer and the promotion of sun safety." That's like music to my ears.

I'm not the hippest Duramed FUTURES Tour player and certainly wouldn't make "the band" on our tour, but I can't be any other way. I know too much. We're outside more than 40 hours per week and I don't want to look like worn leather.

At times I feel like the child in the fairy tale Emperor's New Clothes. No hat, SPF 4, lay out? Are you crazy? I'm about to buy a pair of Sun Sleeves!

Recent Press Report on Joanna

DECATUR — The long-sleeves are a bit unusual for the outside temperatures, but the big, floppy green hat is what is drawing the most attention.

Joanna Whitley hopes the attention will be put to good use by observers. Whitley, a professional golfer from Arizona playing on the Futures Tour, took to the Hickory Point Golf Course with style this week as she sported her floppy hat both for her own protection against the sun and to raise awareness about skin cancer and an organization called the SHADE Foundation.

The SHADE Foundation was founded in 2002 by Shonda Schilling, wife of Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, after she was diagnosed and treated for melanoma. One of the Foundation's primary goals is to teach children about sun safety, Whitley said. Whitley herself jumped on board to advocate for education about the risks of exposure both for her own health and for the health of the future generations, she said. She has also begun to raise money for the cause.

"I became worried about my skin, my health and what I would look like when I'm 50," she said. "And I wanted to change the paradigm of what's cool and appropriate to wear in the sun. I'm too good of a student to read about something potentially harmful and not do anything about it."

In the early years of her career, Whitley wore visors and short-sleeved shirts during her golf rounds, but still got burned on her head and noticed tans lines through her shirts. That's when she began treating her clothes in detergent made to protect against ultraviolet rays and wearing long-sleeve shirts and a large hat.

It's a practice that at least one of her fellow tour members can appreciate. Kailin Downs, an Oregon native, was treated for melanoma a few weeks before the Futures Tour kicked off and now joins Whitley in slathering on sunscreen and wearing clothing with SPF in them. "I think (what Whitley is doing) is awesome," Downs said. "I think more people need to be aware of it and take precautions."

Whitley is sponsored by a company called Coolibar, which provides her with protective hats, clothing and even bandanas. As far as she is concerned, she has no embarrassment about being a trend-setter for the sake of her health. "I feel comfortable looking weird but being safe from the sun," Whitley said.

By: Courtney Klemm can be reached at cklemm@herald-review.com or 421-6968.

Joanna Whitley

Hometown Scottsdale, AZ Birth Date 6/25/1975 Birthplace Novato, CA College Dartmouth College Degree Art History Turned Professional 2000 Joined FUTURES 1/29/2001 Career Earnings $1,724 Career Best Finish 49th

Profile Recorded seven top-10 finishes on the U.S. Challenge Tour. Recorded 10 top-10 finishes, including two wins, on the 2003 West Coast Ladies Golf Tour. Winner of the 2006 Oroville Golf Classic.

Year Events Best Finish Top 10 Cuts Made Earnings (Rank) Average Score 2001 10 T49 5 $228 157 77.87 2002 11 72nd 1 $0 78.17 2003 6 T52 2 $241 159 77.07 2004 3 $0 77.83 2005 4 $0 76.88 2006 13 T66 1 $157 184 77.41 2007 5 T61 2 $1098 145 76.77

BEST TOURNAMENT: Tied for 49th at the 2001 M&T Bank Loretto FUTURES Golf Classic in Syracuse, NY

2007 Finishes Tournament Date Score Finish Earnings El Paso Golf Classic (El Paso, TX) May 4 - 6 78-76-78 232 T72 $453 Mercedes-Benz of Kansas City Championship (Leawood, KS) May 18 - 20 82-75 157 M/C Aurora Health Care Championship (Lake Geneva, WI) June 1 - 3 81-80 161 M/C Michelob ULTRA Duramed FUTURES Players Championship (Decatur, IL) June 14 - 17 76-68-78-72 294 T61 $645 The Duramed Championship (Batavia, OH) June 22 - 24 77-77 154 M/C

How to support Joanna and SHADE Foundation

SHADE Foundation of America is a 501(c)-3 non-profit organization as determined by the I.R.S.
Your donation or financial support of SHADE Foundation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

 

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