AU Pedals for Pudsey

Throughout the day Sports Office staff got in the Children in Need spirit, wearing fancy dress and raising funds from a cake sale. Members of the Athletic Union also teamed up with volunteers from Cornwall to complete a bike ride between Tremough and Streatham campuses.

The ride was a joint effort between the Exeter Students Guild and the Falmouth and Exeter Students Union (XFU). Seven students from the Athletic Union, including President Joe Batten took part in the 105 mile journey, alongside eight riders from Cornwall.

Volunteers from Exeter spent Thursday night in Falmouth before the team set off early on Friday morning with the assistance of two support vehicles. Despite difficult weather conditions all 15 members successfully completed the 11 hour journey, which ended at the Forum.

Joe Batten commented “We had a brilliant day cycling from Falmouth to Exeter. The hills, fog and rain made for a tough day, but it was for an excellent cause and everyone really enjoyed it. It was great to meet students from Falmouth and be able to collaborate on this event. A huge thank you must go out to the support team for planning the route and ensuring that all the cyclists remained safe throughout the journey. It feels brilliant to have been able to do something to support the Guild’s Children in Need fundraising, it is a fantastic cause and we hope that our efforts will help support vulnerable children throughout Britain.”

Children in Need is the BBC’s corporate charity that works to help children across the UK. The charity provides grants to projects to help disadvantaged children stay safe, happy and reach their full potential. 

Every year Children in Need hold and appeal night which features an evening of entertainment at various locations across the country. The Forum Project on Streatham Campus was the venue of this year’s Children in Need South West event which saw a showcase of music, singing and dancing alongside interactive activities.

Throughout the night there a number of sporting activities took place, allowing visitors and young people the opportunity to experience a new sport.

Current University of Exeter PhD student Robin Williams and teammate Dan James who formed part of Team GB’s Paralympic football team at London 2012 helped to run a blindfolded penalty shootout. This offered participants the opportunity to experience Paralympic football against a national goal keeper.

Professional stunt rider Andrei Burton, who receives training from the Sports Office’s high performance unit, wowed spectators with his gravity defying stunts while the tennis department, table tennis society and golf club also offered a range of fun activities and win prize winning opportunities.

Despite heavy rain for much of the evening the event was a huge success. Throughout the week and during the evening Exeter students raised a colossal £5257.66 with staff members adding a further £1000.00 to the total. These funds were added to the South West total which amounted to £722,586 which contributed to a record nationwide total of £26,757,446

The Sports Office would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who took part in the event and helped to make it so successful.