⛰️ Merthyr Mustangs Pen y Fan Endurance Challenge

Aim

Raising funds through our Pen y Fan challenge, with 50% supporting Merthyr Mustangs and 50% donated to a charity called Mind.

Who are we? 🏀

We are Iwan and Simon from Merthyr Mustangs Basketball Club,  on the 5th September 2026, we’ll be taking on the Pen y Fan Endurance Challenge to raise money for two great causes.

Merthyr Mustangs is a basketball club based in Merthyr Tydfil, providing opportunities for players to enjoy basketball, compete, develop their skills and be part of a positive team environment.

For this challenge, we’ll be attempting to complete as many ascents of Pen y Fan as we can within our set timeframe. Rather than setting ourselves a specific number, we want to push ourselves and see just how many times we can reach the summit. ⛰️🥾

For me, Iwan, there is also an added personal challenge as I have Cerebral Palsy. A physical endurance challenge like this will push me both physically and mentally.

For me, Simon, Merthyr Mustangs is about more than basketball. We want the club to provide a positive outlet for anyone struggling with their mental health, somewhere to play, connect with others, switch off from everyday pressures and feel part of a supportive community. 

Why are we crowdfunding?

We want this challenge to make a difference both inside and outside of our basketball club.

Everything raised will be split equally between two causes:

🏀 50% – Merthyr Mustangs Basketball Club

❤️ 50% – Mind Charity (Mental Health Charity)

The club is looking to purchase an XbotGo sports camera, which would give our coaches and players the ability to record games and make much greater use of video within the club.

Being able to regularly record our games will provide valuable footage for game analysis, coaching and player development, helping players understand their performances and giving coaches another tool to support their development.

At the same time, we wanted our challenge to benefit a cause beyond basketball. That's why 50% of everything we raise will be donated to Mind Charity.

The Mind Mental Health Charity provides advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. They also campaign to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding of mental health.

Mental health can affect anyone, and we're proud to use this challenge to help support the important work Mind does while also supporting the future of our basketball club.

How we’ll spend the money raised:

We want everyone supporting us to know exactly where their donation is going.

50% of the final amount raised will go towards Merthyr Mustangs Basketball Club and the purchase of an XbotGo sports camera and the equipment required to use it for the club.

This will support:

🏀 Recording senior and club games
📹 Game and performance analysis
📈 Player development
🧠 Coaching and tactical development
🎥 Creating better-quality club content

The remaining 50% of the final amount raised will be donated to The Mind Mental Health Charity

Whether we raise £100, £500, £1,000 or more, the money will always be divided 50/50 between the two causes.

Community impact 💙

Merthyr Mustangs is about more than simply playing basketball.

The club provides an environment where people can play sport, develop, build friendships, improve confidence and feel part of a team and community.

Investing in equipment such as the XbotGo will allow us to improve the experience we provide to players and coaches and give us something that can benefit the club for seasons to come.

Taking on Pen y Fan also gives us an opportunity to use basketball to support something bigger than ourselves by raising money for charity at the same time.

We hope the challenge can bring together players, coaches, families, supporters and the wider Merthyr community to get behind two worthwhile causes.

How you can play your part 🙌

There are a few simple ways you can support our challenge:

1. Make a donation.
Every donation counts. Whether it's £1, £5, £10 or more, every contribution gets us closer to our goal.

2. Share our fundraiser.
Share the Crowdfunder with friends, family, colleagues and across social media. The more people we reach, the bigger the difference we can make.

3. Get behind the challenge.
Follow our progress as we prepare for Pen y Fan and see just how many times we can make it to the summit!

4. Local businesses can support us too.
If you're a local business that would like to support or get involved with the challenge, we'd love to hear from you.

This is going to be a tough challenge, but knowing people are supporting us will give us even more motivation every time we head back up the mountain.

Thank you for supporting us, Merthyr Mustangs Basketball Club and The Mind Mental Health Charity

Now let's see how many times we can reach the summit! ⛰️🥾

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 16th September 2026 at 10:54am