We held our 24-hour 2023 Sportathon  on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th of May at David Lloyd Newbury with over 1250 people coming through the doors over the weekend.  Members and non-members were able to sign up for challenges including spinning, swimming, tennis, a triathlon, and a great selection of high-intensity and well-being classes.  One intrepid cyclist, Ash Naik managed 100 miles on the spin bike!

The TENNISathon, sponsored by Donnington New Homes was a huge success with four teams playing a full 24 hours of tennis.  Teams were sponsored by Azego TS Ltd, Roc Search, Donnington New Homes and winning team DCE Agency with an apt team name of Full Metal Racquets.  The winning team comprised Jim Anderson, Steve Masters, Richard Pool, Josh Streak, Samantha Marchelli, Claire Whitehouse and John Hartley   

Other highlights of the weekend were the auction which was brilliantly compered by Racquets Manager Adam Chadwick raising £9,600, a cake from the cake stall which sold for £1000 and the Saturday night PARTYathon with entertainment provided by ABBA tribute band ABBA LOVE who got the crowds up dancing.

The focus this year was on funding two specialist ventilators, one for the Buscot Unit at The Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading and one for the Children's Emergency Department at The Great Western Hospital Swindon.  The SLE6000 ventilator for The Royal Berks is optimised for the smallest of babies to improve outcomes.  Premature and very tiny babies will often be attached to a ventilator from the moment they are born because their lungs will not have fully developed.  Many babies will remain on a ventilator for weeks, sometimes months.  

We were also delighted to see members of the Brighter Futures Team from Swindon joining in some of the activities.  Major Gifts Manager Tina Outlaw said, "It's hard to find the words to express how grateful we are and what wonderful news this is for the Children's Emergency Department."