Funraisers...who are we and what do we do? The Bewl Funraisers Dragon Boat event was started in 1998 by myself and the legendary award winning fundraiser, Pip Lightbody. It grew rapidly in popularity, largely under Pip s direction, from a 22 team one-day event to an 80 team two-day Festival. According to Roger Irwin, from the excellent Dragon Boat Events - our long term partners, the Bewl event is the largest in Europe, and no other event in the UK has a 10-boat final. The Funraisers team who organise the Bewl Dragon Boat Festival is pretty small...in fact there are just eight of us. All of us organise it on a purely voluntary basis, and we all have day jobs. We are not a charity...we are just eight individuals who want to put on an event that will enable charities to make money whilst having a good time. It seems to work. One of the biggest challenges each year is balancing the books. Our aim is to be able to run the event at the lowest possible cost for the charities. Our main overheads are organising all the boats, first aid and insurance. If possible, we subsidise these costs through sponsorship. Compared to almost all other dragon boat events in the UK, we are the cheapest...simply because as an organisation, we don t want to make any money. So a big thank you to the team who has put all this on, in their spare time... Dragon Boat Festival 2013 Proudly sponsored by Caroline - our unbelievable site manager who somehow locates everyone in the right plots each year...believe me, it is like a very tricky jigsaw puzzle! Geo! - who amazingly finds sponsors in these times when money is tight, and liaises with the press to keep the event profile up. Also owner of Ruby, Funraisers mascot! Diana - the remarkable para-olympic C4 commentator and equestrian superstar. Also seen calmly registering the teams whilst I go into meltdown! Sarah - Caroline s trusty helper on the site, and without doubt has dazzling marquee construction skills...and the biggest smile. Susie - This year has been the champion of the volleyball...previous years has been the organiser of the bands. Versatile and full of ideas! Julie - keeps our finances in order and ticks us o! if the income and expenditure is not balancing...it s a tricky job this one. Rob - Indispensable over the weekend...you ll see him flying up and down the slope in the buggies, moving marquees, crates of beer, and people in strange outfits! Finally, Charles Fuggle has been, and continues to be, our hero...each year helping to set up, and also storing all the bits and pieces on his farm after the event. Enjoy the day and thank you for your support...kevin 14th-15th September 2013 www.funraisers.org.uk
Welcome! Charities Supported Welcome to the 16th Funraisers Dragon Boat Festival at Bewl Water, proudly sponsored by Barchester. This year we are hosting 71 teams over the weekend, who will be raising much needed funds for their chosen charities. I d also like to welcome the hundreds of spectators who all make the day extra special. Since the event began in 1998, over 2.2 million has been raised for over 500 charities. Today, over 60 charities will benefit from how the we monies work...no raised profit... by all the teams taking part, as well as donations from the side shows. The Funraisers team would like to extend a huge thank you to all the team captains who have worked so hard to make this event actually happen. Without the teams, there would be no festival. Also a big thank you to Dragon Boat Events. Roger Irwin and his team have been with us since the very first event in 1998, which emerged from a meeting in the Little Chef on the A21 (now closed down...but we are still going strong!) Finally a huge thank you to Barchester, who are our main sponsors this year. Without our sponsors we would have to increase our entry fees, which of course means a cost to all the charities that the event is supporting. In many ways, Funraisers is an unusual organisation, and we are often asked if we are a charity, a business or an event organiser. We are none of these...but merely a group of friends that organise an event! On the back page there is a bit more about ourselves. We are always on the lookout for extra help and funding, so if you are interested in sponsoring future events, or helping out in any way, please get in touch. We are also always interested in comments and ideas about how to make the event better, so please keep us posted on how we are doing! Have fun and enjoy the day! These are just some of the charities that are being supported by teams and individuals involved in the 2013 Dragon Boat Festival... 3H Action for Children Alcohol Concern Alcohol Concern Barchester Foundation Benenden PTA Bidborough C of E Primary School Brenchley Pre-School Canterbury Oast Trust Chestnut Tree Hospice chyps Crohns and Colitis UK Cystic Fibrosis Trust DAVSS Demelza Children's Hospice Dementia UK Dreamflight Emily Jackson Care Home Ewing's Sarcoma Research Trust Football 4 Africa Friends of Broomhill Bank School Friends of Oakley School Friends of St Barnabas Great Ormond Street Hospital Guide Dogs Tunbridge Wells Hearing Dogs for Deaf People Help for Heroes HI Kent Horsmonden Kindergarten Hospice in the Weald Jubilee Sailing Trust Lady Boswells PTA Local People NSPCC Pilgrim's Hospice Round Table Rwanda Aid Samaritans Sands (Stillborn) Seaview Project Sevenoaks Primary School St Michael's Hospice St Wilfrid's Hospice Tandridge Heights Voluntary Action Within Kent Windmill Manor Care Wolfram Syndrome UK World In Need
Previous Sightings at Bewl... Sponsors 2013 Main event sponsors for 2013 Thank you for keeping the entry fee down...all the teams appreciate this. You have helped over 60 charities. Spreading the Word 1 Thank you for enabling us to reach out to the community to promote the event and make this the biggest Dragon Boat event in the UK. Spreading the Word 2 Thank you putting up all the Dragon Boat signs around Kent and East Sussex. The spectators create the atmosphere at the festivals. Transport Thank you for providing the buggies to help the teams move all their equipment. Lubrication Thank you for keeping our VIP guests in good spirits throughout the long weekend! Seating Thank you for making our VIP guests comfy! Please contact Kevin on kevin@funraisers.org.uk if you would be interested in sponsoring next year s event.
Race Order: Saturday Race Order: Sunday (cont...) Races to start at approximately 10am 4-Boat Grand Final
Race Order: Sunday Race Order: Saturday (cont...) Races to start at approximately 10am
Race Order: Saturday (cont...) Race Order: Saturday (cont...) 10-Boat Grand Final