Sports Therapy students volunteer at the London Marathon and Tour De Vale to support two charities
22 Sports Therapy students from Buckinghamshire New University recently gave up their weekends to volunteer at two high profile sporting events.
The trainees provided treatments and supported fundraising efforts at the Tour De Vale on 19 September and at the London Marathon on 3 October.
The first of the two events, the Tour De Vale, kicked off the new academic year. 10 students went along to Stoke Mandeville Stadium in Aylesbury to offer free sports massage treatments to cyclists in Buckinghamshire鈥檚 biggest charity bike ride.
The students supported the competitors in fundraising for , the national charity for wheelchair sport which provides opportunities for disabled people to play sport and lead healthy active lives.
Associate Professor Dr Kevin Campbell-Karn, who organised the volunteering opportunity, said: 鈥淲e had riders of all ages and abilities who were very grateful for the treatment. We raised an additional 拢139.80 for the charity in donations from the massage.
鈥淭his was a fantastic way to start the new academic year, providing students with essential hands-on experience that is a corner stone to the course and preparing them to restart their studies after the summer break.鈥
Two weeks later, 12 students headed to the London Marathon, where they joined fundraising efforts for the .
The team of students provided sports massage to MNDA fundraisers after they completed the marathon.
Kevin said: 鈥淲e had a good volume of runners coming through and at one point we had a waiting list of 8 people jostling for a space on our couches!
鈥淲e have supported the charity since 2017 by taking students to provide essential recovery massage treatments to the runners who raise in excess of 拢500,000 at the event.
鈥淢y father was diagnosed with Parkinson's and Motor Neurone Disease in 2016 and I attend this event each year with pride in our students as they give back and support a charity that does so much for those in need.鈥
Amy Johnston, second-year BSc Sports Therapy student, said: 鈥淚t was a privilege to be a part of such a well-known event, and have the opportunity to help the runners complete the course for their charity.
鈥淚 particularly enjoyed talking to the marathon runners to learn their stories and find out why they were running for the Motor Neurone Disease Association. Having good communication with clients is a key part of being a sports therapist, so this was great experience that will support my development. I鈥檓 looking forward to taking part in the next event.鈥
