RBC Race for the Kids unleashes a sea of blue around the marina

Visitors to the Elizabeth Marina on Sunday 19th September were witness to a sea of blue t-shirts as over 750 islanders took part in this year’s RBC Race for The Kids raising money for Durrell’s Future Conservationists Programme.

 

Participants of all ages walked, wheeled or ran 2.5KM and 5KM around the marina, treading in the footsteps of professional triathletes and Olympians who had competed in the Super League Triathlon the day before. And while the Jersey skies didn’t quite match the blue t-shirts of the participants, the weather was a definite improvement from the high winds and rain at the event in 2019.

 

RBC Ambassador and local hero Ollie Turner, and Hayden Wilde, Olympic bronze medallist were just two of the triathletes that joined instructors from Strive Health Club to lead the runners through their warm-up and cheer them on when the racing kicked off.

 

This wasn’t the first time Ollie and Hayden had paired up, as they and Guernsey-based triathlete Josh Lewis were also guests of Jersey Zoo on Thursday afternoon to hear about Durrell’s Future Conservationists Programme from Alex Shears and Dr Lesley Dickie. The three athletes were given a tour of the facilities and learned more about how money donated from RBC Race for the Kids will be used to give  Jersey’s youth the much-needed opportunity to engage with a world-class conservation organisation and inspire them to take their place in leading the conservation movements of the future. Hayden, Josh and Ollie were also pleased to get up close and personal with some friendly Jersey Zoo residents!

 

RBC will shortly announce the final total raised for Durrell which will include a generous matching funds donation from the bank.

 

David Bailey, Chief Operating Officer at RBC Wealth Management in Jersey said of the event: “We were delighted to see another fantastic turnout for this year’s race. The Jersey community has always been incredibly supportive of the event, which brings people together while raising vital funds to support young people – a key charitable focus for RBC. It was great to see so many smiling faces and be able to put on the race after the challenges of the past 18 months, and I would like to thank the teams at Super League Triathlon and 3D Events who worked hard to make it happen in a safe and fun environment.”

 

Michael Dhulst, CEO of Super League Triathlon added: “It’s part of our DNA that we want to inspire people and that is why Super League is here. Working hand in hand with RBC to make Race for the Kids part of this weekend in Jersey is especially important and has the added benefit that we can do something great for a great local organisation.”

Lottery funding awarded by Jersey Community Foundation helps inspire a new generation of table tennis enthusiasts

In July, the Jersey Community Foundation awarded grants to the Arts, Culture, Heritage, Sports and Science sectors from the CI Lottery proceeds. The change in how the CI Lottery proceeds are awarded means that 50% of the proceeds go to local charities and good causes via the Association of Jersey Charities and 50% to the Arts, Culture, Heritage, Sports and Science sectors via the Jersey Community Foundation. This change in how the lottery funds are distributed will enable a wider range of organisations to apply for funding.

 

One organisation on the receiving end of a grant for £4,725 was the Jersey Table Tennis Association who are using the funds to operate after-school coaching session from this month for budding table tennis players.

 

These sessions will provide table tennis coaching, 5 days a week in term time with each session lasting 90 minutes and led by a fully trained and experienced coach. Sessions take place at 4pm until 5.30pm in The Geoff Reed Table Tennis Centre at FB Fields in St Clement and are available for both beginners and improvers. Keen players will then be encouraged to become junior members of the association and potentially future Island, world or Olympic table tennis champions!

 

Paul Routier, President of the Jersey Table Tennis Association said: “In 2020 we ran a very successful short “School to Sport” course with Jersey Sport and Plat Douet School using volunteers. The popularity of this programme helped us to recognise that there was an opportunity to engage with children after school and for them to become motivated and interested in table tennis. The funds awarded by Jersey Community Foundation are being used to have suitable coaches to help the children who attend these sessions to improve their game and are an invaluable support to our association. We hope that the extra training will not only help us to develop future successful sportspersons but also provide the children of Jersey with a fun and safe environment to learn how to play at whatever level they choose.”

 

Anna Terry, CEO of the Jersey Community Foundation commented, “The CI lottery proceeds are there to benefit the whole of our island community and we are delighted that the Jersey Table Tennis Association is already putting the funds they were awarded to good use.

 

“The next closing date for applications is the 4th of October and we are currently accepting online applications, so I would encourage other organisations to contact us to see if they can also benefit from the grants available.”