Some of the biggest businesses in the Midlands put it all on the line this summer in a bid to be crowned champions in an exciting charity dragon boat race.
The community event, sponsored by multi-disciplined engineering firm adi Group, raised over £15,000 for Heart Research UK, to pay for pioneering medical research across the region.
Overall, 14 teams took part in the 200-metre event, which started at Stratford Boat Club on the river Avon, with five teams and 55 employees entered by Birmingham-based adi Group.
The winning boat was skippered by Jaguar Land Rover’s Chris Harris, while entries from BMW, Ocado, Lloyds Bank and Ascot Lloyd pushed the champions to their limits.
Speaking about the occasion, adi Automotive Services MD and event organiser Ritchie Webb said: “At adi, we’re all hugely aware of the role we can play in helping improve the lives of people across the Midlands.
“The race not only saw everyone have fun and take part in healthy competition, but also raised money for vital heart research and community projects. I’d like to thank everyone who took part and helped support such a worthy cause.”
Heart Research UK is a long-standing beneficiary of adi’s community activity. Last year, a team of engineers scaled Ben Nevis, Snowden and Scafell Pike in The Three Peaks Challenge to successfully raise over £9,800 for the charity, while a recent Birmingham Velo ride added over £3500 to the pot. To date, the adi Group has helped raise a staggering £70,000 for the charity over a four-year period.
Its Midlands regional executive, John Lloyd, said the latest event was a huge success: “We’re absolutely thrilled with the response to our first dragon boat race - it was a wonderful day out and everyone had an amazing time.
“Congratulations to all of our teams, especially JLR captained by Chris Harris, who rowed their way to victory.
“Thanks to adi Group, all the teams, and people who donated, we have raised over £15,000 to fund Heart Research UK's pioneering research into the prevention, treatment and cure of heart disease.
“The money we’ve raised will go a long way in helping improve the heart health of people living in the Midlands.”
If you would like to make a donation please visit our JustGiving page here: https://www.justgiving.com/companyteams/adi-Dragon-Boat-2019