The Wistow Poolathon
Information on the 2023 event can be found here
The report for the 2021 Poolathon:
At 3pm on the 3rd of December, thanks to the Scott family from the Three Horseshoes in Wistow, the 24 hour Poolathon began!
The poolathan represented the end of a month of fundraising across the Wistow community. An interesting element of the fundraising, leading up to the Poolathon, the Horseshoes patrons were deciding the hair colour that Al would be sporting leading up to the poolathon, via their fundraising vote. Pink was the obvious winner and an incredible £800 was raised before a single ball was potted. Thanks Al, you looked lovely!
The first break off of the Poolathon was at 3pm under the watchful eye of Del who refereed the first frame, and then 24 hours later, the last frame. The format, was a team of pool professionals (without any of the professional credentials) made up of Al, Leon, Percy, Colin and Steve (arguably more comfortable with a pint in hand rather than a cue), would rotate, and for a small donation, would take on all comers for 24 straight hours.
The event was a resounding success with so many highlights and slightly blurry lights throughout the marathon. The support was non-stop with patrons visiting throughout the small hours of Saturday morning, some still in their pyjamas! The breadth of support included some of the youngest in the community through to some of the oldest. The quality of the pool ranged from fairly respectable, to ‘well tried’ and everything in between. The event attracted people from across the county, so many people dropped in, put their name on the play list and offered their challenge.
The TMWF merchandise was sold (forced) to all comers, the generosity from so many was astonishing and very appreciated! The awareness side of the charity had hit overdrive.
As I said at the time, a huge thank you needs to go to everyone that took part in the event. Events of this nature work when people turn up and just do a little bit. In this case go for a drink and a game of pool. It does of course requires significant effort and energy in the background – in particular I would like to extend my thanks to Charlie and Steve who were the driving force behind the event.
As I am always keen to state, the fundraising is only a part of what TMWF events are about. As a charity we are all about bringing groups of people together to work as a team. Creating events that are enjoyable and rewarding whilst raising money is the recipe for success, this was a prime example! At the end of play alongside all the pub fun, the total raised was an incredible £2600, a truly incredible amount of money.
Lastly from me, people often say that the pub is the heart of a village. As a community we are so fortunate to have a pub like the Three Horseshoes, a true community asset! On behalf of TMWF thank you for the support, we truly appreciate it.
If you want to see more pictures please follow this link: https://youtu.be/-ac0LFz33I4