Who are we?
Mike Burks (1000 games for the club plus three tries and a drop goal ) former county tennis player and 1st XV coach Steve Devoto, Geoff Churchill Bar Manager of the year 1982 and someone who has also played in every position in the forwards plus outside half at Bracknell and Club Chairman Mike Trew are cycling 1136 kilometers ( 705 miles )
across France leaving on Thursday 29th August and hope to raise funds towards the cost of new rugby posts for the main pitch . Training has been poor and the chances of success slim however three of the group have completed Lands End to John O Groats a few year back but for Steve Devoto this is new challenge and for someone whose longest training run so far is the Bradford Abbas/Thornford loop circa 9 miles (with refreshment halfway) its going to be a serious challenge
Steve is in charge of the route and will be using the original black and white photocopies of 2nd World War maps from the records of Dave Devoto and Alan Fall who did a similar trip five decades ago. Steve is also fluent in French and so will handle any local difficulties . Mike Burks is in charge of morale and keeping everyone focused on the goal despite the long hours , huge hills and confusion and anger when the group get lost . Geoffrey Churchill is of course the tour mechanic and will personally carry everything needed for a long unsupported bike ride and Mike Trew will just go along with the ride as he thinks it could be fun!
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Why are we crowdfunding?
Sherborne Rugby Club are just a few weeks away from completing a major clubhouse alteration and so the timing of the goal post problem could not have come at a worse time . The clubs fiscal priorities have been committed to finish the clubhouse works but must now find £4000 to replace broken goal posts on the main pitch and do it by September 7th 2024 . All the cyclists are former players and volunteers at the club and so to organise a 1136 kilometer sponsored bike ride seemed the perfect idea .
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How we’ll spend the money raised
.All the funds raised from the bike ride will be committed to the project in full and whatever support we get will help the club fund the costs
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Community impact
The main pitch at Sherborne is used for 1st XV games for men and ladies. We use it for important youth matches and we use it for important school games . The pitch is first class, its floodlit brilliantly and its the best place to play and watch rugby!
How you can play your part
There are four simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.
1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success!
2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.
3. Offer rewards. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out!
4. Fundraise for us. If you want to run your own fundraiser – maybe a sponsored activity or similar – use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!