Deloitte puts wheels in motion to raise £1m for ParalympicsGB |
A new cycle race that takes riders from John O’Groats to Lands End will aim to raise £1m for ParalympicsGB. Cyclists up for the challenge in the ‘Deloitte Ride Across Britain’ event will tackle the 1,000 mile route in a relay over nine daily stages. Deloitte, the business advisory firm and sponsor of the new corporate challenge, aims to get over 500 people on their bikes for a good cause in the first year.
Open to Deloitte clients and members of the public, the business advisory firm has 80 places in the race for its staff and over 1,000 have already signed up to take part in some capacity.
The challenge route has been carefully mapped to take cyclists through some of Britain’s most iconic countryside, as well as past some of Deloitte’s 21 regional offices.
As part of the firm’s commitment to Disability Sport, Deloitte has chosen ParalympicsGB as the benefiting charity of Ride Across Britain. As the event sponsor, Deloitte aims to raise a total of £1million for the charity from the riders taking part over the next four years.
Building on existing disability sport initiatives, including Deloitte Parasport, the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme and sponsorship of ParalympicsGB, it is the firm’s ambition is to get disabled people active, competing and winning in sport across the length of the UK.
Heather Hancock, Managing Partner for Innovation & Brand at Deloitte, said: “The Deloitte Ride Across Britain is an exciting initiative for us. It’s an innovative way for us to engage not just our people, but also our clients and bring these groups together to help to raise funds for disability sport in Great Britain and for our future Paralympians.”
ParalympicsGB Chief Executive Phil Lane welcomed the news, saying: "Across Britain, young people with a disability have been inspired by the achievements of Britain’s Paralympians and the dreams of London 2012. Deloitte’s decision to make ParalympicsGB the beneficiary charity of the Deloitte Ride Across Britain will enable a new generation of Paralympians to emerge with not just dreams, but realistic hopes, built on solid foundations."
Ride Across Britain will be run and managed by Threshold Sports. The first event will take place from the 12th-20th June 2010. James Cracknell, Olympian and co-founding director of Threshold Sports, said: “We’re delighted to be supported by Deloitte for the Deloitte Ride Across Britain from 2010 through to 2013.
“We wanted to create a cycling event that would give everybody the opportunity to get outdoors and achieve something new and exciting. Selecting ParalympicsGB as the benefiting charity will give disability sport that extra boost to help nurture and develop future Paralympians. Deloitte’s contribution will have a lasting impact for years to come.”
Notes to editors
Find out more about the Deloitte Ride Across Britain at www.rideacrossbritain.com
Deloitte Parasport enables disabled athletes to find out what sport is right for them. See www.parasport.org.uk for more information.
The Talented Athlete Sponsorship Scheme assists 500 disabled athletes to progress to world class performance. See www.sportsaid.org.uk/tass/ for more information.
About Deloitte
In this press release references to Deloitte are references to Deloitte LLP, which is among the country's leading professional services firms. Deloitte LLP is the United Kingdom member firm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (‘DTT’), a Swiss Verein, whose member firms are legally separate and independent entities. Please see www.deloitte.co.uk/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of DTT and its member firms. The information contained in this press release is correct at the time of going to press.
About Threshold Sports
Threshold Sports is a sports marketing consultancy & event creation company working with clients such as Adidas, Nokia and The Saudi Football Federation. They exist to help brands & charities invest in sport against business objectives and to encourage people whatever their level of fitness to get involved in sport.
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