It’s true that a year can be all the difference, at least for the organizers of the Trio Relay for Life event this past weekend at Tahoma Junior High School, which was bigger and better than last year.

Bigger in that there were nearly 200 participants and a significant increase in teams, said Peggy Walker, online chairwoman for the event’s organizing committee.

“We’re growing,” Walker said. “We had 14 teams last year and 21 teams this year.”

Members of Walker’s team, the Wilderness Weekend Women’s Golf Club, noticed the growth when they saw teams setting up tents on the other side of the field at the junior high school’s track last Friday in preparation for the start of the relay that evening. That’s a first, the ladies said, and an exciting one at that.

“This year is going to be much better,” Walker said as she watched teams set up on the field.

Live music was also a new feature for the event. with two bands slated to play. In past years, a DJ set up to provide tunes for the walkers.

Another major improvement since last year was the weather. Temperatures were in the upper 80s on Friday and the 90s on Saturday, though the participants escaped the most intense heat by wrapping up by 2 p.m. Saturday

“It rained so bad last year,” Walker said. “We were trying to put up tents and it was pouring down rain, so everybody was miserable. It was so cold that night.”

Walker notes that the rain did let up last year just long enough for the opening ceremony and the luminaria lighting that commemorates loved ones.

Kathy Thompson, co-captain of the Wilderness Weekend team with Rita Faupel, said the group has 12 members and they’ve been participating since 2005.

Walker’s sister, for example, dealt with cancer more than a decade ago which is one of the primary reasons she got involved with Relay.

Often, participants are drawn to Relay for Life to honor the memory of a loved one and to continue the fight against cancer.

“We have a lot of cancer survivors in our golf club,” Thompson said. “A lot of our members have lost family members to cancer.”

Thompson added that her team expected to raise about $8,000 total. Thanks to donations and a tournament at Lake Wilderness Golf Course two weeks ago, the team had nearly $6,000 in the bank before the start of the event, with additional fund-raisers planned during the Relay.

“We’re going to do a putting contest and a ‘Wizard of Oz’ trivia contest to raise more money while we’re here,” Thompson said Friday. “Everyone’s excited for nice weather this year. And we’re expecting a better turnout for the survivor’s lap.”

Between 50 and 100 participants were expected for the survivor’s lap and dinner.

The Trio Relay – so-namned because residents from a the city trio of Covington, Black Diamond and Maple Valley organized it – began in 2000, after breaking off from the Kent Relay for Life.

This year, Walker said, the organizing committee here hoped to raise $60,000 with the majority of the proceeds going toward cancer research. Before the event started on Friday afternoon, teams had raised $44,000, with an eye to raise the rest during the event.

Proceeds go to the American Cancer Society for research and development toward finding a cure for cancer.

Last year, Relays in King and Snohomish counties raised $3 million, according to Cancer Society officials based in Seattle.

Staff writer Kris Hill can be reached at (425) 432-1209 (extension 5054) and khill@reporternewspapers.com