Read about mos and more – innovative fundraising by Brookes sports teams for a Movember to remember – written by Dulcie Layton.
This year, Brookes sports teams, societies and the Union have raised a whopping £26,107 for Movember, an annual charity event focusing on men’s health!
We spoke to some of the sports teams who took part to find out what they got up to. Whilst teams have been keen to keep up the Movember tradition by sprouting some magnificent moustaches, they have also come up with some innovative ways to raise money for an important charitable cause!
Brookes rugby union set the bar high as they took part in a 24-hour weightlifting fundraiser where 1,923,365kg was lifted by over 60 rugby union members. That’s the same as lifting 22,897 average males! At least two rugby union members were lifting at any one time and “each member was asked to donate £1 for every 1000kg lifted’”, explained the rugby union. OBURFC added that the 24 hour weightlifting challenge was symbolic as it represented the idea of “lifting others up … at any hour of the day”. Raising over £750 from the weightlifting challenge alone, and placing second on the Movember leader board with a total of £5,185.78, OBURFC have done a tremendous job at raising money for the cause!
Also unconventional in their fundraising efforts were the cricket and netball teams, who hosted the mixed OBUCC (cricket) vs OBUNC (netball) charity netball matches. OBUCC put down the cricket bat and went head to head with OBUNC, keeping their annual charity match rivalry alive. The cricketers thoroughly enjoyed the matches, even managing to win one game. OBUCC reported that the stars of the show were Chris Mcbride and fresher Joe Gordan. From this match alone, these two teams’ joint effort raised over £200! Bravo to OBUCC and OBUNC on their exceptional collaboration!
Meanwhile, redefining what it means to ‘mo-ve’ for Movember, the dance team opted for a more unusual fundraising approach by organising a stretch out session. Open to dance and non-dance members alike, anyone could come along to the yoga style class to relax, stretch out and unwind from uni stress – whether they could touch their toes or not! Students showed up to work on their flexibility and raise money for a great cause.
OBULC (lacrosse) held a fancy dress mixed lacrosse tournament as part of their fundraising efforts. Clemmie, the OBULC women’s president, explained how after following a committee discussion on how to increase donations, the fancy dress tournament was chosen as it was “most likely to grab people’s attention”. Consequently Princess Belle, Snow White, a giraffe and many other wonderful characters took to the pitch and put on a show to remember. Structured as a 4 team round robin between 50 OBULC members, the two highest scorers were left to battle it out in the final. Valiant efforts were displayed from all, both in terms of competitive
spirit and costume design, but clinching the top spot for best dressed was Alex Silk, the cactus! Raising £2,688 in total, OBULC have raised a magnificent sum for Movember.
OBUKENDO also thought outside the box for their fundraising, aiming to complete 15,000 suburi cuts. Completing the most cuts, Vice President Lewis Whitehouse stood out as a participant but Joel, the president of OBUKENDO, praises the many beginners who “massively improved their technique” over the challenge. Joel explained how the team aimed to do something which was inclusive and ‘unique’ to their club that would fit in with the theme of moving for Movember. The idea was received very well by the membership and most people were very keen to sign up, he reported. Despite only having come into existence four months ago, this newly created team has exceeded its initial aim and reached an astonishing 16,700 suburi cuts! Hats off to OBUKENDO for their innovative contributions to Movember.
Throughout Movember, Brookes sports teams have demonstrated that innovation and collaboration can be extremely rewarding. Movember will have £26,107 more to fund projects to change the face of men’s health and for that, everyone should be very proud!
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