TRURO: In the little-known community of ‘The Island’ hides a rich history of change-makers and golf-lovers.
Joining together, these former caddies became kings on the green when they launched the Apex Invitational Golf Tournament in 1974, now considered the longest-running, black-led golf tournament of its kind in the province.
Driven by their love of the game, a group of talented Black golfers changed the course of history in Nova Scotia: What was once a racially segregated golf club, is now home to one of the longest-running black-led golf tournaments in Nova Scotia.
Fifty years later, and still going strong, the Apex Invitational Golf Tournament celebrates the next generation with scholarships, an annual homecoming event and lots of golf.
Apex: The Black Masters will stream on CBC Gem on January 31st, 2025.
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“Filming this documentary was an incredibly rewarding experience for me,” says Amy Mielke, award-winning filmmaker and co-director of Apex: The Black Masters.
“In documentary work, it often takes time to build trust, but with Apex, we were fortunate to connect with over forty golfers and community members who generously shared their stories.
“The conversations were moving and deeply personal, and I’m grateful to have been part of preserving them in this film.
“I’ve walked away from this project with a new desire to pick up a golf club myself!”
The story follows golfer and Apex-founder Darrell Maxwell, Apex committee member Jude Clyke and Apex volunteer Nicole Jackson.
Maxwell, who founded the tournament in 1974, began his foray into golf as a caddy at the Truro Golf Club.
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Quickly becoming recognized as one of the best young golfers in the province, Maxwell became the first Black member of the Club at only fourteen years old – thus changing history.
Apex: The Black Masters captures the history of the tournament and its impact on the community, including the establishment of the Apex Invitational Golf Scholarship Fund.
The Scholarship Fund, established to provide financial assistance to the young Black students from Colchester County seeking post-secondary education, has awarded over 130 scholarships since 1998 totalling $100,000.
“My connection to this story is deeply personal,” says award-winning filmmaker and co-director of Apex: The Black Masters, Brittney Gavin. “My childhood was marked by regular weekend visits to ‘The Island’. While visiting my grandmother I remember riding my bike, playing jump rope and, of course, collecting the stray golf balls that would find themselves in the field behind her house.
“The golf tournament is something I heard about every summer growing up as my parents planned for the eventful first weekend of August. It wasn’t until adulthood that I came to understand how special and unique this event is in Canada.”
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Known as ‘The Island’, a historically Black community in Truro, Nova Scotia, Apex: The Black Masters sheds a light on this little-known community full of history and personality.
One of three of the historically Black community in Truro in the Truro area, ‘The Island’ was established in the late 1800s by Black Loyalists with roots and connections to the Black Nova Scotian settlements of Guysborough County.
To this day, ‘The Island’, along with the historically Black communities ‘The Hill’ and ‘The Marsh’, remains an African Nova Scotian community that continues to impact the history of Nova Scotia.
Apex: The Black Masters streams on CBC Gem on January 31.
Follow along and learn more:
Instagram: instagram.com/abrollfilms
A+B Roll Films website: www.abrollfilms.com
Apex Invitational Golf Tournament website: www.apexinvitationalgolf.com
