Isle of Wight Randonnee 2022 at Ventnor RFC

By GH

Isle of Wight Randonnee 2022 at Ventnor RFC

A band of hard-working volunteers from Ventnor Rugby Club became caterers for the day when their Watcombe Bottom base was selected as an official marshalling point for the Isle of Wight Randonnee 2022 on Sunday 1st May 2022.

More than a thousand cyclists took advantage of the facilities and refreshments available at the club.

Isle of Wight Randonnee 2022 at Ventnor RFC
Isle of Wight Randonnee 2022 at Ventnor RFC

The group’s leader, Roly Toombs, would especially like to thank Morrisons in Lake for somehow producing an extra 700 bread rolls and 200 hot cross buns on Friday night!

The Ventnor Rugby Club Randonnee Volunteers 1st May 2022
The Ventnor Rugby Club Randonnee Volunteers 1st May 2022

Above image: Some of the Ventnor RFC Randonnee Volunteers namely:- Left to Right – Roly Toombs, Karen Macey, Kay Engelgardt, Warren Riches, Archie Tyler, Indra James, Bob Engelgardt, Steve Macey and Angie Newbery with Evie and Finn upfront.

From the proceeds, donations of £250 have been pledged to each of two charities, namely St Catherine’s in Ventnor and to the Mermaid Atlantic campaign which – among other aims – hopes to raise awareness to the damaging effects of plastics in our oceans and for the environmental benefits of seagrass.

As a focus point to this campaign, Islanders Paul Berry, Xavier Baker and Chris Mannion will take part in next year’s Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge in which 30 rowing boat crews will race across 3000 nautical miles from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean.

“We would like to thank Ventnor Rugby Club for their kind donation of £250 to support the students at St Catherine’s who have speech, language and communications needs. Donations such as this are so important as they help us buy specialist equipment to support our students”.

On behalf of St Catherine’s, Susan Graves, Fundraising and Marketing Manager said,