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DJs to Travel 23,000 Miles to 92 Football Grounds

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Local radio presenters Lee Partridge and Richard Williams have set themselves an incredible challenge in aid of United Through Sport – travel to all 92 English Football League and Premier League grounds in just one season!

The gargantuan trip will cover 23,000 miles, equivalent to once around the world, taking in six full days of football as they watch a match at each location. Watching 92 matches will be like two seasons in one!

Armed with a video camera and micropohone, Lee and Rich are targeting home fans outside grounds in order to record their unique view of their own clubs. Their interviews will then be broadcast on the Sports Bar show on TalkSport Radio with Andy Goldstein and Jason Cundy.

Fun Fayres Raise £200

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United Through Sport was represented at two local fayres over the August bank holiday weekend. Despite competing with the local attractions of duck and sheep racing, dog shows and a very busy ice-cream van, the charity still made nearly £200 selling soup recipe books and wristbands at the Chapel Row Fayre and Cold Ash Fete in West Berkshire.

Eleven lucky punters won a football or a rugby ball after generously donating £3 to buy a book. Many thanks to all those who supported the charity at the summer events. Thanks also to Dan, Denise, Dave and Pam for manning the stall over the weekend!

Law Firm Give £300 Raffle Prize

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

Soup Book Released

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For their 2008 Christmas campaign, United Through Sport has produced a unique soup recipe book to support the South Africa School of Sporting Excellence in building a soup kitchen to feed all their students.

The aims of the school are to not only enhance sporting levels in football, netball and rugby but also to offer a fully rounded education to increase the choices available to these talented yet disadvantaged children. Students are given the kind of attention and education that is hard to achieve in a regular school, as well as additional life skills training in subjects such as HIV/AIDS awareness, alcohol and drug abuse and career guidance.

To support this great cause in South Africa, please buy a book! Even if you don’t like soup, these books make a great Christmas stocking filler for friends and family.

To buy a book, go to www.JustGiving.com/soupkitchen and follow the instructions.

Phil Races 370km for United Through Sport

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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

Swaziland Welcomes United Through Sport

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Last month our Director, Sam Eve, headed south to see how rugby is making a big impact on the lives of young people in Swaziland as they struggle to come to terms with a worrying HIV/AIDS epidemic that now infects more than 1 in 3 of the country’s population. Read Sam’s Report below:

One thing that struck me about Swaziland was just how lush, green and beautiful the country was. The people also seemed so much happier and less stressed in contrast to those living in the dirty and overcrowded townships of Port Elizabeth from where I’d just come.

However behind the beauty and the smiles hides a much sadder truth. The truth that 1 in 3 of the population are dying of AIDS. Swaziland has now surpassessed Botswana as the country with the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the world. A staggering 39% of the population are infected with the disease and many don’t even know they are infected. Those that do know often cannot afford the treatment or know where to get it from. Those that don’t know continue to infect others. Cultural ‘norms’ in the country further accentuate the problem. Each year the King of Swaziland takes a new wife. Some men with HIV/AIDS still believe that sleeping with a virgin will cure them. Incest and domestic violence are common place. As a result, women are very much seen as second rate citizens and so the cycle of poverty continues. For young Swazi’s growing up under this black cloud, the future is bleak.

That is why United Through Sport are working with a local grassroots partner called SKRUM who are using rugby to tackle the increasing HIV/AIDS epidemic and promote greater gender equality to young people throughout Swaziland.

SKRUM works by training up to 2 teachers in every primary and secondary school to become rugby coaches. These teachers are given all the coaching resources they need such as training manuals, balls and pumps to help them establish the sport within the school. The teachers are then given information provided by NERCHA (the National Emergency Response Council for HIV/AIDS) and SWAGGA (a charity dedicated to tackling domestic violence against women and children) and guidance from SKRUM on how to deliver this information to their students informally through the game of rugby and off the pitch. Rugby simply provides the vehicle in which to deliver this information as well as an opportunity to develop important life skills in the children such as teamwork, sportsmanship, fitness and self-esteem. The physicality of the game also works in challenging the tradional role of women in Swazi society and works towards breaking down the stereotypes that currently exist.

In my visit to Swaziland I was hugely impressed by the dedication of the SKRUM team and how quickly they have moved the project forward in only a few months. Whilst only in their first year, SKRUM has received interest from over 90 schools keen to adopt the programme. Sport is a major motivator for children to attend school and as such Head Teachers are keen to add rugby to the curriculum.

As more and more schools come on board, it will be possible to develop a schools rugby league bringing the community closer together and re-enforcing the positive values of SKRUM.