In March of 2012 four teams of celebrated sports people and celebrities representing England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales will race over 1,000 miles around the UK and Ireland in the biggest ever Sport Relief Challenge. The teams will start simultaneously in their home cities of Cardiff, Dublin, Edinburgh and London as they run, row, cycle and sail their way clockwise around the UK and Ireland from the 10th to the 17th of March 2012. For eight days they will push their bodies to the extreme as they raise a stack of money for Sport Relief. Every turn of the pedal, every stroke of the oar, will carry the hopes of a nation.
You’ll watch this challenge unfold from your sofa, gently stretching and limbering up as you prepare for Sunday the 25th of March when YOU will join your celebrity team mates. Side-by-side you’ll run the final 6 miles of this journey with them, as fast as you can for your country and a better world. Your efforts will ultimately determine who wins the challenge and is crowned the First Nation Home!
Go to http://www.firstnationhome.com/the-challenge and register to represent your country!
DHL FIRST NATION HOME FOR SPORT RELIEF 2012 LAUNCH
Celebrity Competitors:
Josh Lewsey former English rugby union footballer, Craig Doyle TV Presenter, Thom Evans – Former Scotland Rugby International, Iwan Thomas – Former Olympic medallist and Commonwealth Champion now TV presenter, Gemma Atkinson – Model & Actress, Chris Boardman MBE – Olympic Champion Cyclist, Diarmuid Gavin – BBC & RTE Presenter, Paddy Johns – Former Irish Rugby Captain, Andrea McLean – TV Presenter, Graeme Obree – Former World Champion Cyclist, Joe Calzaghe – World Boxing Champion, Gareth Thomas – Former Welsh Captain and British Lions Rugby Player, Gethin Jones TV Presenter.
Four thousand members of the public get the opportunity to join top sports stars in exciting new challenge
Video Launch:
[youtube ozJyIXwhfnw]
THE biggest ever UK Challenge, pitting four nations against each other and starring a host of well-known celebrities, top sportsmen and women and 4000 sport-loving members of the public is to be one of the highlights of next year’s Sport Relief.
The newly-formed DHL First Nation Home will be the ultimate sporting showdown between England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales as the celebrity teams run, row, cycle and sail their way around the UK and Ireland.
The four Teams, which will be made up of celebrities and sports stars representing their “home” country will race over 1000 miles around the UK and Ireland over a seven day period from 10th -17th March 2012.
On Sunday 25th March, ONE THOUSAND members of the public who each secured one of the limited places to represent their country will run the final SIX mile to the finish, alongside the many famous faces in their individual teams. In doing so these members of the public will determine which nation is the first winner of the inaugural First Nation Home challenge.
Members of the public will be able to secure one of the limited places from today (26th October 2011) at www.firstnationhome.com. They will have to pay an entry fee of £60 and commit to raise a minimum sponsorship of £450 each between now and the final run on March 25th 2012.
Each national team will consists of 10 members including international rugby players and an Olympic hero from one of the sports, sailing, running and cycling who will join their home national team as ‘ringer’ for their particular discipline – this year raising money for Sport Relief.
Dame Ellen MacArthur will be at the helm of Team England’s 72 foot challenger yacht from Northern Ireland to Scotland, while Team Scotland will benefit from the skill and expertise of World Champion cycling time trialist Graeme “The Flying Scotsman” Obree who will line up against his great friend and rival Chris Boardman MBE, Team England’s own World Champion and Olympic Gold medal-winning cyclist.
The national teams will start the race simultaneously from their home cities of Cardiff, Dublin, Edinburgh and London and will head off clockwise around the UK and Ireland via the other four capital cities as they battle their way to be the First Nation Home.
Participants include top TV presenters and celebrities Gethin Jones, celebrity gardener Diarmuid Gavin, presenters Andrea MacLean and Craig Doyle, actress and model Gemma Atkinson, Olympians Sonia O’Sullivan, Iwan Thomas and Chris Boardman and rugby stars Thom Evans, Josh Lewsey and Gareth Thomas. More names will be announced in the coming weeks.
The challenge is sponsored by the world’s leading logistics company, DHL and supported by top sports clothing company Adidas, who will kit out the celebrity teams and the 4000 public participants in their national colours. The challenge is also supported by the UK’s leading Brewer Heineken and Halfords – The UK and Ireland’s largest cycling retailer. Ocean Youth Trust Scotland will also be supplying two yachts for use in the challenge race.
Challenge Director, former Scottish Rugby International, Cameron Mather said: “This challenge is all about legacy, encouraging active participation in sport and giving the general public a chance to represent their country alongside their sporting legends and heroes as well as a few very keen and very fit celebrities! It’s a unique event because of the public’s participation and they will be the people who will ultimately determine if their country wins the challenge and, at the same time, raising a mountain of cash for Sport Relief. What more motivation do you need!
“We are combining the natural patriotic pride and the competitive spirit of the four Home Nations which is the basis of the Six Nations Rugby Championship and the rare opportunity to get sweaty and up close and personal with a lot of famous faces.”
Sport Relief supporters from all over the country will get the opportunity to cheer their home teams on as they pass through major cities such as Edinburgh, Cardiff, London, Liverpool, Dublin, Belfast, Larne and Stranraer as well as sponsor their own Home Nation. The full route will also be available at www.firstnationhome.com
Iwan Thomas, Olympian and Welsh Team member: “I was always very proud to compete in a Welsh vest and am looking forward to representing this great sporting nation again in the DHL First Nation Home. I know we are going to have some amazing support from the Welsh people and I am already in training to make sure I am on the winning team”.
Craig Doyle, TV Presenter and Irish Captain: “I’m really looking forward to competing alongside and against so many of the sportsmen and women I’ve reported on over the years. Some of my good friends are in the other national teams – the banter is slowly building and I get the feeling some friendships will be tested!”
Josh Lewsey, England Captain: “Representing England was always a very special time in my life and to get the chance to do it again while having fun and raising money for an incredible cause was an opportunity I just couldn’t turn down!”
Heineken marketing manager Rick Lawrence said: “We are delighted to support the DHL First Nation Home event in aid of Sport Relief. 2012 will be a massive year for our sport sponsorship portfolio with UEFA Champions League football, Heineken Cup rugby and the London 2012 Games. This unique Home Nations challenge promises to be an engaging and exciting addition to the Heineken sporting calendar.”
Karl Reynolds, Sport Relief Project Director said: “We are delighted to be the benefiting charity of the inaugural DHL First Nation Home challenge. We wish all those taking part good luck with the huge task they are undertaking and await with baited breath to find out who will be the FIRST NATION HOME! Everyone who takes part can take extra pride in the knowledge that all the money they raise will help change the lives of people living in unimaginably tough circumstances, all over the UK and the world’s poorest countries.”
Nick Craggs, Marketing Director for adidas UK & Ireland said: “We are proud to support the DHL First Nation Home event in aid of Sport Relief 2012. Sports participation is at the heart of the adidas brand and the event is a great addition to our portfolio for 2012 as we build up to the start of the Olympic and Paralympic Games”.
Phil Couchman, CEO of DHL Express UK & Ireland, comments: “We are delighted to be part of the inaugural DHL First Nation Home challenge in aid of Sport Relief which shares our core business characteristics of teamwork, passion and a can-do-spirit. We’re also confident that the event will raise a great deal of money for Sport Relief, as well as encouraging active participation in sport amongst the general public.”
