University of Sheffield sports clubs have been dedicated to charity fundraising over summer.
With tons of fundraisers and charity events that have raised over £20,000 for good causes across the country, our clubs can be proud of their work during the coronavirus pandemic.
Back in April, the UoS Athletics Club kick-started the summer of fundraisers with their UKinaDay challenge.
In a 24-hour period that started on 17 April, 500 participants covered nearly 5,800 miles and raised over £4,374 for the NHS as a thank you for their hard work during the worst of the UK’s first coronavirus spike.
Less than a week later, the Hockey Club raised over £2,000 for Sheffield-based charities, by running the distance from Bar One to Porec, Croatia in just three days.
The men’s club secretary at the time, Sam Moorhouse said: “It’s so important that we as a university society give back to the city of Sheffield because the people here have given so much to us.”
In late April, the famous Mi Amigo memorial in Endcliffe Park was vandalised, leaving Tony Foulds, the man who looks after it, devastated.
The UoS Men’s football club completed a 1,944km run, walk or cycle fundraiser to help cover the restoration costs of the memorial to the Mi Amigo crew that died after their aircraft crashed at the site in 1944. The team raised over £1,300 in total.
The Swimming and Water Polo Club were planning to complete a challenging channel swim this summer but, due to COVID-19, their plans have been postponed until next year.
Their challenge isn’t cheap though, the pilot boat needed to assist the crossing costing £4,300. The club decided to fundraise for the boat by completing a channel swim from home. They raised over £700 and managed to cover the distance from Dover to Calais over 70 times.
Rosie Rudin, the club’s charity officer, told Forge Press: “We’re incredibly grateful for all those who donated and participated as this will ease the financial burden placed on us as full-time students.”
In the last few weeks, Sheffield graduate and ex Triathlon Club athlete George Taplin set a new record for the time it takes to swim all 13 lakes in the Lake Districts.
It only took Taplin three days as he fundraised for Just a Drop, a charity that provides clean water and sanitation for poor countries around the globe.
In a recent statement, SU Sports Officer Matt Graves raved about UoS sports clubs’ ethos to help others during these trying times. He said: “The world stopped, but sport didn’t.”
