Students On The Row To Nowhere For Children’s Charity
6 May 2008
Public Services students at last year's Row-A-Thon.
It is great to hear that the students from the Uniformed Public Services Course are doing a Row-A-Thon to raise funds for our special children
”Carol Jones of charity ‘When You Wish Upon A Star’
Rowing almost 500 miles in 24 hours – and going nowhere – is not most people’s idea of a grand day out but more than 50 students will spend a day doing just that.
Students at the University of Derby Buxton plan to row the equivalent of the distance from Buxton to Cardiff, then on to London and back home to Buxton in 24 hours – without any of them leaving the floor of the Dome building at the Devonshire Campus in Buxton.
The charity Row-A-Thon over roughly 482 miles on 15-16 May will be carried out by students on the Buxton faculty’s BTEC First and National Diploma Public Services courses, in constant shifts on three rowing machines.
They hope to raise at least £2,000 for charity ‘When You Wish Upon A Star’, which aims to grant the wishes of children with life threatening or terminal illnesses, with their effort. It follows the first, smaller Buxton Row-A-Thon held last year.
Spurring on his teams will be event organiser Richard Robinson, Lecturer in Public Services at the campus and a former physical training instructor in the Royal Navy. He prepares students to join the Armed Forces, police and fire services, and to take up other uniformed careers.
He based the idea for the gruelling event on an old on-deck Navy exercise called ‘Row The Suez Canal’ and sees it as a chance to teach his students something about the stamina needed for things like long watches onboard – although his version is even tougher than the Navy’s.
Students will be split into four-hour watches (where they will be required to row at different times). They will then have four hours off, when they will be able to relax and get some sleep.
To complete their ‘journey’ the rowers will have to maintain a good average speed over the 24-hour period. The aggregate distances from all three machines will then be added up to give the final distance.
Richard said: “Last year was a great success. We managed to raise £1,100 for Cancer Research. This year we have chosen a different charity to concentrate our efforts on.”
“All of the students and staff taking part will give it their all throughout the day and night, in order to complete the distance. We are all looking forward to the challenge ahead, if not so much to the sleep deprivation.”
The students will be started on their way at 12 noon on Thursday May 15 by the Duty Manager of the Buxton branch of the Waitrose supermarkets chain, who will sound an air horn.
Fuelling the rowers’ ‘journey’ will be £300 worth of sandwiches, fruit, chocolate and energy drinks, courtesy of Waitrose, and fluids from Buxton Water to keep competitors hydrated throughout the event.
Carol Jones of charity ‘When You Wish Upon A Star’, said it is a fantastic effort by the University of Derby Buxton students.
“It is great to hear that the students from the Uniformed Public Services Course are doing a Row-A-Thon to raise funds for our special children.
“With the help of such kind friends we are able to make a difference in these very courageous children’s lives. They make it possible for us to carry on granting their wishes and to put a smile back on the face of a sick child,” added Carol.
To sponsor the University students’ Row-A-Thon contact Richard Robinson on 07967 585395 or email him at r.robinson@derby.ac.uk.
Press release by Press and PR Officer Sean Kirby on 01332 593004 or 07876 476103, or email: s.kirby@derby.ac.uk.
