University of Worcester staff have raised thousands of pounds for charity after successfully completing a gruelling set of physical challenges in a 24-hour period.
Teams take part in the canoeing as part of the Charity Challenge
The University’s latest Charity Challenge saw teams compete in a series of activities, raising more than £17,000 for blood cancer charity Cure Leukaemia.
Activities, some completed in soaring temperatures, included a 19 mile walk through the night from the Malvern Hills to Broomhall, followed by a 15 mile early morning canoe from Broomhall (Severn Motor Yacht Club) to Tewkesbury Marina, a 19 mile cross country run, a basketball match and a water assault course. Every team completed all the activities, which took place at University of Worcester venues, but also on routes around Worcestershire, well within the timeframe.
Nine teams took part - seven University teams, including one from the Students’ Union, and a further two from external organisations associated with the University, supported during the day by staff from across the University. Originally planned for last summer, the event was rescheduled due to Covid-19. Competition was fierce, with seconds in the end separating first and second placed teams, but a team from the University’s School of Sport and Exercise Science staff came out victorious. A team made up of staff members from the School of Allied Health and Community was drawn to face the Worcester Wolves in the basketball event and still managed to secure a few baskets. The fastest time on the run went to the ‘Not Fast But Furious’ School of Sport and Exercise Science team, with three runners completing it between them in a fantastic 2 hours 23 minutes.
Cure Leukaemia was chosen as the University’s Charity of Year by staff who had heard about the remarkable story of University of Worcester Nursing graduate, Brooke Evans. Brooke now works as a haematology nurse at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, in the same building where she received life-saving treatment five years earlier, and has been raising awareness and funds for the Birmingham-based charity for a number of years.
This will be the University’s fourth Charity Challenge. In previous years, they have included a 100 mile walk, cycle, canoe, run, swim and tractor pull; a trek along Hadrian’s Wall; and the Three Peaks Challenge.
Organiser Tom Taylor, the University's Assistant Director of Security & Operations, said: “This year’s competitors really showed their fitness but above all their determination, with all finishing the challenge despite some very hot temperatures for some of the toughest events we have ever had in our Charity Challenge. It was fantastic to see teams pulling together and also encouraging other teams during the day, and it’s great that their efforts raised such a great total for such a worthy cause.”
To donate to the challenge visit the JustGiving webpage.