Old Boys are Good Sports

“Our rowing coach at Tideway Scullers School challenged us to test ourselves over the Christmas break. I completed my first 24-hour row in 2020 to raise money for Bolton Hospice, rowing for 240,000m, and that was tough, both mentally and physically; afterwards I was drained. So why on earth would I do it again? Well, this time I was going for the British record, which stood at 277,423m. “At midday on 18th December I took my first stroke towards the record at Agecroft Rowing Club. With my support team around me, I had set myself hourly targets, with a certain distance to cover to ensure I was on track. This meant that for the first 12 hours I was rowing for 57 minutes of every hour. Each rest period was like a pit stop, with food being consumed, seat pad being changed and, if I was lucky, a little massage for my legs. The first 12 hours flew by and I sat comfortably at my target distance, I had visits from various former Bolton School

teachers of mine, and Mr Teasdale even joined me for a short stint (his technique needs work, but the company was very much appreciated!). “Later on, as the early hours of the morning approached, the fatigue and negative thoughts started to creep in. I was very lucky to have my friends and family around me to keep me distracted at this point. They helped me push through and, by 7am, the rowing club started to get busy with people coming to do their Sunday morning Lewis celebrates his training, from this point I had people rowing with me the record-breaking row whole way through. “The final hour approached, and the end was in sight, with the record in reaching distance. I pushed on and, with 12 minutes to go, I managed to break through the old record, eventually beating it by three kilometres. I had a whole week of recovering from DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness), as well as being mentally drained for a little while longer, but it was all worth it. I raised nearly £4,000 for Bolton Hospice, a charity very close to our family’s heart. A big thank you goes out to my support team, Agecroft Rowing Club, Bolton School and Bolton Hospice for all their support through this challenge. Let’s see what 2022 holds!”

Lewis clocks up the miles

Ian (second left) and Chris (fifth left) Festival in celebrate their win! October 2021. The

This time they not only made the trip, but returned home with the coveted European trophy after two days of intense competition. They played a number of sides representing some of Europe’s bestknown teams.

The group stages on day one included fixtures against Olympique Marseille, Feyenoord and FC den Haag, among others. The knockout matches followed a rest day and in the quarter finals the team overcame RAC Genk, from Belgium, and a semi-final victory over Nottingham Forest came courtesy of a penalty shootout. The final had all the pageantry of a major event, which none of the participants will ever forget. In a hard-fought contest against Boldmere St Michael’s, from Birmingham, the Wanderers came out on top 2-1. Bolton Wanderers invited the team to celebrate a rare trophy success at their televised home game against Crewe Alexandra in November, and a great time was had by all.

The team with their fabulous trophy

“In the second week of December I was talking to a friend who was going on the trip to the Everest base camp with a charity called Adventure Aid UK and he mentioned that a member of the party had unfortunately fallen and broken their ankle. Half an hour later and I had volunteered to step into the place of the unfortunate individual.

“The trip departed on 15th January from London Heathrow and via Kathmandu we arrived at Lukla – seemingly voted the most dangerous airport in the world. After eight days of trekking in some of the most unbelievable scenery and we arrived at base camp in glorious (but cold) conditions. The trek was made all the more difficult due to the time of year, with temperatures regularly reaching -25oC at night; water bottles in the room froze, phone/camera batteries lost power and, with every day’s ascent, we slept in more and more clothes!

“The day after base camp we climbed the peak at Kala Patthar and were fortunate enough to see the sun rise over the Himalayas. On arrival back at Kathmandu we had the opportunity to visit a school in the Sindhupalchowk District and distribute school clothing, stationery and hygiene products to over 50 children. “The trip raised over £10,000 for the charity and helped fund a school extension, new desks and benches, a teacher training programme, a scholarship programme and livelihood support for flood affected families. “I signed up for this as I felt it was the ‘trip of a lifetime’ and it certainly didn’t disappoint!”

Ike, a super-heavyweight, has been boxing since he was a teenager and represented his university during his medical training; he now trains at Border City ABC in Carlisle. In an interview with ITV Cumbria, he talked about the

Patrick (left) and Jordan Riders while Jordan was in the went face-to-face Manchester Giants team as

The boys grew up in Culcheth near Warrington and were well-known for their basketball prowess – they were often spotted battling it out on their driveway! Ahead of the match, both players remembered their brother, symbiotic relationship between his two passions: ‘They both feed into one another. So the pressure of competing and training and being in that very intense environment of being able to make quick-fire decisions in the ring carries over directly Champion Ike! to my clinical practice where I’m making those emergency decisions.’ Ike’s victory, earned after two impressive wins in Birmingham the weekend before, could be a possible stepping stone to represent England or Team GB in the next Olympics.

Ike celebrates his victory

Daniel, who died aged 18 in 2010 after contracting meningitis. Daniel had been a role model to his younger brothers and had played basketball and rugby for Bolton School. Jordan says: “I think Pat and I always play for him in a way … when it happened, our vision of basketball and our dreams picked up where his dreams were and what he wanted to do when he was playing basketball. It gave us that extra motivation to push ourselves to get better and to be more disciplined.” The final was a big day for the Whelan family. Patrick acknowledged the support of his parents, recalling how they drove the brothers to regular basketball practice, and was pleased that they were able to watch him and Jordan in the final.

The final itself was hard-fought, but eventually Leicester Riders defeated Manchester Giants with a 83-69 scoreline. The Riders remain on course for a league and cup double as they also lead the Championship standings.