Coracle championships in Shrewsbury raises more than £35k for charity
One of the county's most popular – and entertaining charity events – has raised more than £35,000.
The Coracle World Championship, which takes place on the River Severn in Shrewsbury, raises money in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support.
Nearly £35,500 was raised by this year's event, sponsored by Invertek Drives, which saw 40 teams taking part.
Teams of four battled against each other to cross the River Severn both ways in the fastest time possible between the Pengwern Boat Club and the Quarry river bank in September.
Glyn Jones, Technical Director at Invertek Drives Ltd, said it was a phenomenal amount of money raised and praised those taking part, and the organisers.
Glyn, who took part with fellow directors Adrian Ellam and David Jones, said: “Macmillan Cancer Support is a charity close to the hearts of our employees and we were pleased to enter five teams in the event.
“Coracles are not the easiest of craft to manoeuvre, yet alone sit in, and many of the teams ended up in the river. However, the event brought out the best of everyone and it was well worth it to raise vital money for Macmillan.”
Event chair, Jayney Davies, said: “Yet again we have been overwhelmed by the generosity of people. This year was the first time we’d held the championships since before the pandemic and so it was great to see so many of the teams from local businesses taking part.
“It couldn’t happen without them or the group of volunteers who help organise it, including the Rapid Relief Team who undertook the catering.
“We’ve now raised more than £350,000 since the event began back in 2007, organised by the late Richard Bayliss. He’d be very proud of what has been achieved in that time.”
Kate Thomas, Macmillan Relationship Fundraising Manager for the West Midlands, said: “We can’t thank everyone enough. £35,500 is a staggering amount of money and it will be used to support people suffering from cancer, along with their families and friends helping through the journey.
“Events such as this help raise awareness of Macmillan and raise vital money in a fun way so that we can continue to do whatever it takes to support people living with cancer.”
In October, Macmillan launched a new project in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin to improve the experiences.
The Macmillan Community Care Project, was launched in late 2021 and began in pilot GP practices from January 2022.
It is a pilot scheme which involves Macmillan Community Care Co-ordinators working closely with selected general practice (GP) surgeries across the region, to improve Cancer Care Reviews (CCR’s) completed in Primary Care.
The project began as a result of a £284,000 support grant provided by Macmillan Cancer Support, and is aimed at increasing the number and quality of Cancer Care Reviews – conversations between a patient and their GP or Practice Nurse about their cancer journey – completed within the 12-month period following diagnosis.
Kate added: “It’s projects like this that are benefitting from the money raised at events such as the coracle championships. We’re looking forward to teams coming forward for next year’s event which will again take place in September.”
