Sunninghill New Years Day Wheelbarrow Race 2011

15th Annual Sunninghill Wheelbarrow Race, 1st January 2011 - Ascot Rotary

Wow – what a race!  This year’s Annual Sunninghill Wheelbarrow Race, organised by the Rotary Club of Ascot in conjunction with the local community and run in aid of the Ascot Day Centre, certainly brought the event to a new level.
25 teams competed, providing great entertainment for the hundreds of spectators who turned out to enjoy the spectacle.   
Particular congratulations are due to the following prize-winners :-
•    Fastest Men’s Team - ‘The Swinley Pub’
•    Fastest Ladies Team – ‘St. Michael’s Angels’
•    Fancy Dress Competition – ‘The Royal Wedding, Bride & Groom’   
•    Most Sponsorship Raised – ‘Casualty’
Four teams this year completed the course in under 9 minutes. ‘Taking the St Michael’ (last year’s winners) in second place were only pipped to the post by 15 seconds.
The Fancy Dress was a difficult decision, the efforts and imagination shown being extraordinary. The runners up were ‘Cool Running’ and the ‘Sunningdale Savoy Chorus’.
President of the Rotary Club of Ascot, Beverley Williams, said at the Fancy Dress judging “This is a wonderful event supporting our local community, providing fun and fellowship as well as being a great fund raiser – that’s what Rotary is all about!”
Team sponsorship this year has far exceeded previous years, and our thanks go to them all for their efforts. Together with an Auction to be held in February, we have every chance of bettering last year’s total which was in excess of £7000.
To cope with the greater number of team entries, the Start and Finish lines were separated this year, with some misgivings. However, in the event this proved to be a success as some teams were back at the Finish well before others had started. Also successful was the provision of a ‘warm clothing’ deposit table which was suggested a couple of weeks before Christmas, when it seemed possible we would be running the Race in Arctic conditions! On the day it was fortunate that the snow had gone and the weather was a lot milder with only the hint of rain which did not dampen spirits.
Our thanks are offered to the Dukes Head, Carpenter’s Arms, Dog & Partridge and the Comrades Club for the provision of the refreshment stops on the Race route.  Also to the Carpenter’s Arms for their provision of a Hog Roast outside which was a great success, and for making space inside for the prize giving and raffle which were enjoyed by large numbers of team members and spectators. The Dog and Partridge should be thanked for providing lunch for about 45 Rotarians and their families, which brought a fun day to a very satisfactory conclusion.