Sacramento's Tierney Tourney raises money for type 1 diabetes research

The Wiffle Ball mattered in Sacramento on June 20, but the real score was measured in research dollars. Gabe and Sarah Tierney’s 18th annual Tierney Tourney has turned a neighborhood game into a durable fundraiser for Breakthrough T1D, shaped by the fact that their children, Finn and Rowan, have lived with type 1 diabetes since childhood.

What began 18 years ago as a small gathering in a park across the street from the Tierney home eventually became a formal fundraiser for Breakthrough T1D’s Your Way program after eight years. The event’s purpose stayed rooted in the family’s experience, with the fundraiser page framing it as support for Breakthrough T1D’s mission to create a world without type 1 diabetes. Over the years, the Tierney Tourney has brought in more than $170,000 for T1D research.

The money continued to build this year. The June 20 tournament had already generated a little more than $11,000 toward a $20,000 goal, and the first year the Tierneys converted the gathering into a fundraiser, it raised almost $10,000. Registration cost $100 per two-man team, and all of that fee went directly to Breakthrough T1D. Gabe Tierney said many teams gave well beyond the minimum, while the fundraiser page said the largest share of the money came through direct donations from friends and family.

The scene around the field showed why the tournament has lasted. Music played, a bounce house sat on the property, and an ice cream truck, face painting, food and beverages gave the day the feel of a block party built around a sport. Roughly 100 people were at the house while about 40 players took the field, a mix that has helped the event feel as much like a family tradition as a competition.

Breakthrough T1D has long described its work as a grassroots effort built through local communities, regional collaboration and national fundraising power, and the Tierney Tourney fit that model cleanly. In Sacramento, a backyard-style Wiffle Ball tournament became a sustained engine for type 1 diabetes research, with Finn and Rowan Tierney’s story at the center of every swing, every donation and every summer gathering.