Bachelorette gag gift

CUE CARD - Another shot at 'Single Male'

It was about this time last year when Renee Hill, on a whim, signed up for a dating contest called The Single Male.

The event pitted a number of eager bachelorettes against one another for a dream date with a hunky member of the Peoria Rivermen hockey team. Hill outlasted the competition through a series of elimination rounds. Then, she prepared for her big day.

She met her man, engaged in a whirlwind romance and, just a few months later, walked down the aisle.

Just kidding.

"He had a hockey game the next day, so ... he couldn't really do anything," Hill, 23, said, chuckling. "The date was over at, like, 8 p.m. It was pretty pointless."

No, she didn't find true love at a dating game. Big deal. Few people do, this side of "Bachelorette" Bridezilla Trista Rehn.

But Hill will have a second chance for romance thanks to the follow-up to last year's contest. And this time, she won't be chasing a hockey hottie. She'll be selecting from her own pack of suitors.

Beginning this month, The Single Male II will allow 20 women to vie for the attention of another hockey player, 24-year-old Rivermen rookie Travis Rycroft. Meanwhile, guys can test their charm in The Single Female, with a date with Hill serving as the grand prize.

The contests, sponsored this year by Regent Broadcasting, WYZZ-TV Channel 43 and several area businesses, will begin with an event on Jan. 19 at Sully's in Downtown Peoria. From there, both Rycroft and Hill will narrow their respective fields during weekly Wednesday- night events.

The final choices will be announced following the Feb. 25 Rivermen home game at the Peoria Civic Center's Carver Arena.

The winners of both contests may either accept the date, valued at $1,000, or instead choose a mystery prize. Last year, two of those prizes were great, while the third was a measly box of tissues. That meant that after Hill was selected by last year's Single Male participant, Scott Crawford, she could have ditched him for Kleenex.

She didn't, but had she known about the guy's self-imposed 8 p.m. curfew, she might have thought twice.

Organizers aren't sure they'll use a gag gift again, but Hill is fully aware that she could endure this whole process only to be left at the proverbial altar. And, yet, she's fairly laid back about everything, saying she's not expecting to find true love but that she's open to meeting someone new if Mr. Right (or perhaps even Mr. He's-OK-For-Now-But-Everyone-Knows-She-Can-Do-Better) should come along.

And, then, there's always the chance Hill could ditch her own competition for a shot at The Single Male II and yet another Rivermen player.

"Nope," she says with a chuckle. "Done with Rivermen."

Anyone interested in either competition needs to submit a picture and a personal profile (50 words or less) that includes one's name, age, interests, address and phone number.

Submissions can be e-mailed to info@peoriainfo.com or mailed or dropped off at Regent Broadcasting, 120 Eaton St., Peoria, IL 61603. All entries are due by Tuesday, and entrants can be viewed at PeoriaInfo.com.

Brad Burke is the Journal Star's entertainment editor. He can be reached at (309) 686-3262, by e-mail at bburke@pjstar.com or at 1 News Plaza, Peoria, IL 61643.