Tees Rowing Club plays starring role in Blue Peter’s Children In Need challenge
As part of a challenge for BBC Children In Need, three Blue Peter presenters rowed four miles on the Tees with Olympic champion Helen Glover
Tees Rowing Club played a starring role in Blue Peter’s TRY-atholon in a bid to inspire people to take on a challenge and raise money for Children In Need.
The extreme challenge saw Blue Peter presenters Barney, Lindsey and Radzi attempt to cover 111 miles by air, rowing, cycling and running; collecting cake ingredients from Pudsey along the way to turn into a cake to be sold at a school’s Children In Need bake sale.
As it was the first time all three presenters had undertaken such a challenge as a team, they supported each other as, one-by-one, Pudsey waved them off before they bungee jumped off the iconic Tees Transporter Bridge in Middlesbrough.
Assisted by members of Stockton-on-Tees based Tees RC and Paralympic champion Laurence Whiteley, they then took to the river in a coxed quad scull. They were joined by double Olympic champion Helen Glover in the bow seat and Erin Wysocki Jones as cox.
The presenters had previously enjoyed a handful of training outings at Agecroft Rowing Club and Tees Rowing Club under instruction from Will Stockton, who coaches for the GB Start Programme at Agecroft.
They were quick to master the stroke and, despite having to row four miles against the tide, they successfully completed the row quicker than had been expected. Not only did the presenters complete it, they really enjoyed taking to the water and giving rowing a go.
Whiteley and his Tees RC teammates were on hand to give the crew a deserved cheer as they crossed the finish line at the Tees Barrage Lock.
Kate O’Sullivan, Tees RC Club President and Junior Coordinator, commented: “It was a privilege to be part of the team that helped Barney, Lindsey and Radzi achieve this special challenge for Children In Need. It is a great way for us to showcase our area and rowing to more people and help to raise money for such a worthy cause. I am very proud of Tees RC and grateful to everyone who took time out to support us with this challenge.”
By completing the rowing challenge, the Blue Peter presenters were able to successfully cover 111 miles by air, rowing, cycling and running, to raise vital funds for Children In Need. If you want to see the challenge in full, tune into Blue Peter’s episode on Thursday 17 November’s via the BBC iPlayer or check out http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/watch/bp-cin-tryathlon.
