24 hours for Mind
Hey! Ibbo here, GB freestyle paddler and part of the Peak UK family! 2020 and the start of 2021 has been hard for us all. Unable to meet up with friends and family, escape on holiday, or even grab a cold pint at the pub. Covid-19 has and still is taking it’s toll on all of our daily lives, and this will impact all of our mental health. So with this in mind, I gathered a small team of Nottingham paddlers who were eager to do what they can to help .
What we have decided to do to our part for mental health is a 24 hour paddle challenge around the Nottingham loop. The Nottingham loop is a stretch of river and canal that take you from Beeston weir into the heart of the city and back up to Beeston lock, just 50 metre away from the weir. All of this is flat water, and we intend on completing this challenge in our river boats.
This challenge will be gruelling both physically and mentally, so we couldn’t think of a better challenge to raise money for the charity Mind. Mind is a mental health charity that provides support to anyone in need. They are one of the biggest mental health charities in the UK and have done great work for many years now.
The team coming together for this challenge is Me (Ibbo), Del Read, Sam Valman, and Matt Stephenson. All of us are experienced whitewater paddlers, with GB freestyle team members, one of the biggest female names in British whitewater…… and Sam. Last year I did the Dart 24 hour challenge, paddling the upper dart river for the 24 hours, and that was hard! Where the flat water offers an easier paddle, it will be constant paddling and take a lot more determination and mental strength to get through.
The challenge is set to take place on the 27th March, starting at 10am, finishing 11am on the 28th (the clocks actually go forward that night!). This is of course cover regulations depending. It would be great to get as much support as possible in anyway possible to help us get through the night and raise as much money as we can for a great cause.
Peak UK have also very kindly donated a full set of kit to both Sam and I to use for the 24 hour challenge that we will then be raffling off! All you need to do is donate on our just giving page (link at the end). A £10 donation will get you a ticket into the raffle to win a full set of kit, thats a Marathon H2O, Marathon racer PFD, and a standard deck. There will be my set (XL jacket, L/XL PFD, M/L keyhole deck) and Sam's (Medium jacket, S/M PFD, M/L big deck). Just drop your donation with a note saying raffle for Ibbo's kit or Sam's kit. We will stick your name on a numbered list, then the day after the challenge (29th March) we will use a random number generator to pick our two winners! You can get as many tickets as you want, split them between kit too. If you have already generously donated just get in touch with ibbo (or pass a message through any of the team) and we will get you on the list!
Please help us out and donate anything you can to the just giving page (link below), help spread the word, and cheer us on! Remember this is a tough time for us all, so if you ever need a chat all of us are here and happy to listen.
