Law Firm Give £300 Raffle Prize

On 2nd July 2009, law firm RadcliffesLeBrasseur held their annual summer event for staff. As part of the event, a raffle was held in aid of charity. A fantastic sum of over £300 was raised in aid of United Through Sport.

100% of the funds raised are to be dedicated to the School of Sporting Excellence in South Africa. Participants in the raffle were given details on what United Through Sport stand for and how the project is making a huge difference to kids in some of the poorest areas of Port Elizabeth.

United Through Sport would like to thank all at RadcliffesLeBrasseur for their warm generosity this summer!

Squash Marathon Raises £400

On 30th May, Matt Burnett, a squash coach from Berkshire, played squash and racketball for 10 straight hours to raise funds for United Through Sport!

The marathon rally was a great event and raised a smashing sum of over £400 for the charity.

100% of the funds will be dedicated to the 2009 campaign to raise £40,000 for the School of Sporting Excellence in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

Many thanks go to Matt and all those who sponsored his incredible effort!

Thames Valley Uni Teams Up

It was students versus staff on the sports pitch this May as Thames Valley University held its annual Sports Challenge fundraiser in aid of United Through Sport.

Now in its second year, Sports Challenge is organised by TVU’s volunteering team to raise money for charity and also raise awareness of the University’s community work.

The one-day sports tournament, which has become a permanent fixture on the University’s events calendar, sees students compete against staff in netball, football and rugby. More than 100 students and staff from across the University’s campuses turned out for this year’s Sports Challenge, either to take part or to cheer their team along. The students emerged triumphant, with their teams winning the most games overall this year. Over £700 was raised for United Through Sport, through the tournament entrance fees and the sale of raffle tickets.

Local partners, including Brentford Football Club, London Welsh Dragons Rugby Club and Tesco Richmond, also lent their support to the day, donating raffle prizes and refreshments, while the University of Westminster provided the venue for the day.

Commenting on the event, Nav Sira, TVU Volunteering Coordinator, said, “I’ve been overwhelmed by the support from everyone, which has helped make this year’s event such a success and demonstrates a really positive attitude to volunteering. We’ve even set a new fundraising record for ourselves, which I look forward to us beating next year.”

The volunteering team co-ordinates a variety of community-focused projects. More than 200 TVU students take part in initiatives ranging from sports coaching for local children to peer mentoring projects with young offenders. These projects aim to improve the relations between students and local residents, help integrate students within the communities they live in and use students’ knowledge and skills to benefit local people.

Reading Run Raises Cash

Many thanks to Katy Weaver who ran the Reading Half Marathon on 29th March in aid of United Through Sport.

Thanks to her efforts the charity received £160 in sponsorship. Thankfully she didn’t require the ambulance that she suggested she might need half-way through the course!

Ironmen Do It Themselves for £1,500

On 10th December, four adventurers took to the desert of Dubai to take part in one of the most challenging Ironman tournaments in the world.

With a 3.8km swim followed by a 180km bike and then a 42km run, the unofficial ‘DIY Ironman’ is an incredible test of endurance in the unbelievable heat of the UAE.

Many thanks to Pascale, Wouter, Anne and Louise for their incredible effort, which raised nearly £1500 for United Through Sport.

Phil Races 370km for United Through Sport

This year, Phil Hatzis ran, swam and cycled his way to 370km and nearly £1,200 for United Through Sport. The challenge involves completing a series of grueling sporting events starting with The London Marathon in April and culminating in the famous Ironman UK in September.

A first year engineer at Durham University, Phil has only recently taken up triathlons but was determined to rise to the challenge. “I have always enjoyed my sport; mainly rugby and tennis when I was younger through to cross-country running and triathlon now.”

The Ironman UK is a triathlon race and consists of a 2.4 mile open-water swim, 112 mile cycle and finishes with a marathon run of 26.2 miles. The time limit is 17 hours.

“Having been accepted in all these races through the ballots, I realised it was a great opportunity to raise a lot of money for charity. I chose to fundraise for United Through Sport as I have been to Africa and South America where I have seen children happily playing sport with whatever they could find. Sport has always been a large part of my life and I relish the opportunity to share my enjoyment of it through benefiting the lives of these children.”

Follow him on twitter here: twitter.com/philip_hatzis

Sheffield College Partnership Success

First year students studying for their Foundation Degree in Sports, Coaching and Exercise had a real workout when their course tutor, David Harrison, suggested partnering with United Through Sport to raise money for charity as part of their Event Organisation module.

However the students rose to the challenge as usual and, working in groups of four, set about planning, organising and hosting a series of exciting fundraising events to benefit our charity. The events ranged from race nights to Christmas parties. The top fundraisers in the year group were Mike Staley and Samantha Fowler who raised a total of £266.64 between them. Adrian Abdulla, a lecturer at the College and an impressive 4th Degree Black Belt in Kickboxing, organised a massive Kickboxing Tournament at The Octagon Centre in Sheffield to further add to the students fundraising efforts.

In 2007, Sheffield College students and staff raised a staggering £819.14 towards United Through Sport! The official cheque was presented to Sam Eve of United Through Sport at Sheffield College on 23rd January. Thanks must go to all those who not only organised the events but also to those who supported them.

Following this great success, Sheffield College has agreed to continue the charity partnership into 2008 with the new first years hoping to beat the impressive fundraising target set by last years students. We wish them all the very best!

Age Versus Experience in Triathlon Challenge

When United Through Sport fundraiser, Adrian Love, 20, went head to head against his brother-in-law Tom Collins, 29, at the Michelob Ultra London Triathlon on Saturday 4th August, he was out to prove that age overcomes experience every time. But was he right? Competing in the ‘Sprint’ event comprising of a 750m Swim, 21km Bike and 5.2km Run, Love’s hopes for glory appeared in jeopardy as Collins secured an early lead after an impressive swimming leg of only 12 minutes and 48 seconds. The bike also proved tricky with both brother-in-laws battling it out neck and neck ensuring Collin’s steady grip on the overall lead. And so it was all down to the run…

Determined to prove that age equals agility, Love moved up a gear beating his brother-in-law by 11 minutes and 32 seconds on the final leg. But was it enough? It was a close run victory. Love beat Collins with an overall time of 01:25:07 to 01:32:59.

The real winners however were United Through Sport who scored over £900 thanks to Adrian’s fantastic fundraising efforts. Let’s hope the challenge continues next year…

Swimming the Solent Challenge

On Saturday 14th October 2006, three brave souls took up the challenge of swimming from the Isle of Wight to Portsmouth, across the choppy waters and shipping lanes of the Solent. All of the swimmers survived the crossing, and in the process raised around £1000 for United Through Sport.

The challengers for the event were Henry Humphreys of Failand, near Bristol, and Peter Bailey and Hugh Moss from West London. All three were introduced to each other in another mammoth swim-challenge, when they took on the length of Lake Windermere earlier in the year.

Starting from Ryde on the Isle of Wight, the team swam from the shore, following the famous pier, and turning out into the open sea. After around two-and-a-half hours of continuous strokes, they reached the Portsmouth headland, completing their incredible feat of endurance.

The effort was a well organised event and thanks must be offered to the Ryde Harbour Master volunteers for their excellent support during the crossing

United Through Sport Golf Day Tees-Off

On 4th October 2006, United Through Sport held their first Charity Golf Day at the Beaconsfield Golf Club.

The day was a great social and fundraising success, welcoming teams and participants from a number of big corporations including ITV, Vodafone, News International, The Telegraph, GCap and Carat. The day involved a hotly contested 4-ball Stableford competition, followed by buffet lunch, prize-giving and auction which showcased some outstanding prizes.

Thanks to the tireless work of the event organiser, Karen Platt, the event raised £6000 which has subsequently been sent to South Africa to build a community sports pitch in a township school.

United Through Sport would like to extend a big thanks to all the teams involved, as well as for the generous support offered by those who contributed to the day in terms of donations, prizes and moral support, not least of all GCap and The Golf Shack of Taplow. A special thanks also needs to be given to Dave King (The Telegraph) for his continuous bidding throughout the auction!

Thanks are also due to the members of Beaconsfield Golf Club, for offering their outstanding facilities for the event.