Dispute with The
Masters resolved
By Tim Mutrie
Aspen Times Staff Writer
The Trashmasters International Golf Tournament will retain its name and logo alter a trademark dispute with Augusta National Golf Club and The Masters was resolved Monday.
In an agreement worked out with Augusta officials, the local charity golf event can use its existing name and logo as long as the annual tournament continues to benefit charitable causes.
Boone Schweitzer, Trashmas-ters International founder and chairman of the board of trustees, was happy to report Wednesday, "The trash, the whole trash, and nothing hut the trash! will continue.
"We are really suprised when the letter came from Angus-National, however, I can understand their concern." Schweitzer said. "Their [The Masters] logo Is yellow and green and so is ours.
We both play a golf tournament which includes the word 'masters.' Ours, however, is the Trashmasters and a totally different 'format of golf''
The Augusta-Trashmasters trademark dispute arose in June 1997, when Augusta
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lodged a complaint to oppose the registration of the Trash masters name and logo Eight months earlier. Trashmasters International had Submitted its trademark and logo to the U.S. Trademark and Patent Oil ice or registation ion according to Schweitzer
The two sides finally reached the mutally acceptable deal.
Monday, but only "after hefty legal fees, which really dug into our scholarship money, unfortu-nately," Schweitzer said. "The set of golf clubs inside a trash can [logo] was perfect for us, and everybody loves the logo. It's a shame that Augusta challenged us, that just cost us money that we intended to give to our scholarship recipients," Schweitzer said.
Anyone familiar with. the Trashtnastcrs tourney knows that it hears little resemblance to the revered major played each April at Augusta National. To even call it a golf tournament is stretching the truth.
''We play the trash that simply means, as opposed to traditional golf, we reward miscues and mal-adies,'' Schweitzer said.
All told, there are 6 trash rules, which are factored in along with a player's net par to deter-mine a score.
Beyond the silliness, the Trash-masters Tournament w as founded five years ago with a serious end
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in mind. Proceeds from the tour-ney go toward the Aspen High School scholarship fund.
"We give the scholarship money to kids who need the money," Schweitzer said. "The students submit applications and we select one a year." Two gradu-ating seniors have received money in the past, he added.
Last year's recipient was Dusty Dequine, who now attends the Mas-sachusetts Institute of Technology.
"It is our hope to provide scholarships to the Basalt and Roaring Fork high schools next year. Our goal is to raise $100,000 annually," Schweitzer said.
However, he said it's unlikely that the tournament will raise that kind of money this year. Schweitzer said $25,000 is a real-istic goal for this year's event.
The annual tournament is set for Friday at The Snowmass Club. The 144 slots sold out in two weeks -possibly the fastest sellout in the history of golf tournaments in the valley, Schweitzer suggested. Entrants pay $150 to play, which covers the cost of the tournament. The scholarship money is raised through private donations
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