Gustavo Pesce SFUWH Youth Memorial Fund

January 2024 Update

SFUWH is proud to have deployed the entire balance, $12,364.52, from the Gustavo Pesce SFUWH Youth Memorial Fund to Team USA U19 Men 2024 Team competing at Worlds in Malaysia. As 10 out of the 12 athletes competing at World Championships are from SFUWH, the vote among Fund administrators and the Board of Directors of Club was unanimously in favor of honoring our Club's value of inclusion by making the donation to USOA, a fiduciary for teams going to World Championships, in support of the entire 12-person team. While this represents 25-30% of the total cost, it is a significant gesture of support and one we believe would have made Gustavo proud. Thank you to the dozens of individuals who contributed to make this possible. 

In Memory of Our Teammate and Friend

We have established the Gustavo Pesce Memorial Youth Hockey Fund to help us remember and keep alive Gustavo’s passion and drive for supporting youth underwater hockey. We intend to use all received money to enable youth who cannot otherwise afford it to play in world championship competitions until the funds are exhausted. A small group of Gustavo’s friends will take responsibility for maintaining the funds, and making sure his family approves all distributions. See Gustavo Memorial Youth Hockey Fund for more information.

Please read the story and complete the form below.

Gustavo and Underwater Hockey

Most everyone knew that Gus played Underwater Hockey. While not well known in the U.S., UWH is a sport played throughout the world that culminates at the highest level with a World Championship tournament every four years (it used to be every two years), for both adult and youth.

In 2010, Gus was key in starting and organizing UWH for juniors in San Francisco. Gus recruited and trained young athletes at the Martin Luther King Pool in the Bayview district. The kids, including his own, were naturals, most starting at ages 10 to 14. They flourished, and within 5 years, Gus was taking them to local, regional, and even national, tournaments.

In 2015, the USA sent 11 athletes to Spain, to compete in the Under 19 men’s division World Championship. Five of the players on the USA squad came from Gus’s MLK club. In 2017, the USA also sent an Under 19 women’s team to Australia for the age group championships. Five of the young women came from the MLK club. Gus was the main driving force that developed a powerhouse junior UWH program. Gus loved UWH, and he loved the juniors who achieved so much. We are all grateful for his efforts.

The San Francisco Sea Lion Juniors are honored by Gus’s family to accept donations toward the S.F. Sea Lions Children’s UWH program. Many of the parents are proud of their children’s achievements, but the cost of tournaments is high. The USA provides very little funding, so the burden of travel costs is borne by families. The coaches and staff are all volunteers, and donate what they can to keep the programs alive.

Our sincere thanks and love go out to the Pesce-Ares family for this opportunity.