St Mary's Calne
As part of our Charity Week, raising money for Lyme Disease UK, we hosted a 24-Hour Tennis Coachathon, where Mr Hayes was coaching the students, staff and pupils at St Margaret's for a non-stop 24 hours!
On Wednesday, straight after Chapel, we rushed to the tennis courts, excited to begin Calne’s very first charity '24-Hour Tennis Coachathon' to raise money for Lyme Disease UK, which helps to raise awareness and improve treatment for the highly misunderstood disease. The Coachathon involved tennis sessions taking place for a full 24 hours, with students each participating in an hour-long slot, and Mr Hayes staying awake for the entire 24 hours.
Players persevered through torrential rain and fatigue, especially for those who were playing at 3am, and Mr Hayes managed to maintain morale despite his lack of sleep. During the night, the tennis took place in the Sports Hall, where we had a 'glow in the dark' court and fluorescent lighting set up. We had a huge range of students and teachers participate, with St Margaret’s pupils getting involved for the very first session, and a very competitive session with members of staff at lunch time.
Whilst battling the elements on Thursday morning, we livestreamed the final moments directly to Chapel, where Mr Hayes spoke about how he had overcome the challenge of extreme tiredness to help him 'win his own race'! This tennis took a huge amount of effort, particularly from Mr Hayes, the students who played, and all of those who helped.
Mr Hayes said of the event, 'During the day, I was absolutely fine until about 6am when I hit the dreaded wall! My legs were very wobbly and all I could see was colours, and this is when I realised it might not have been an as easy as I first thought. After some food, I was back on my feet and ready to finish the challenge. There was a massive sense of pride at the end for all of the girls who took part, especially through the night, to raise money for such a good cause.'
Well done to all of the winners of the awards throughout the session:
Most Helpful - Claire D, Lara W & Honor B (all LVI)
Most Energetic - Amber D (UVI)
Best Night Owl - Felicity J (LVI)
Most Competitive - Evie T (UIV)
Best Shot - Mrs Kerry Brown, Bursary
We would therefore be incredibly grateful for any donations made to LDUK via the Enthuse link: https://lymediseaseuk.enthuse.com/pf/stmaryscalnecharityweek2024
Mary G, LVI