The Coracle World Championships in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, is just days away with 40 teams competing for the winning trophy, nearly three years since the last competition took place.
The event, which has been supported by local business Invertek Drives, will see teams of four battling to be the quickest to row their coracles across the River Severn and back on Friday, 16th September 2022.
The championships, which raise thousands of pounds for Macmillan Cancer Support, have competitors racing across the river in small, round-shaped coracles, once traditionally used for fishing in Wales and other parts of the UK, as well as India, Vietnam and Tibet.
Spectators can watch the event from beside Pengwern Boat House, the base for competitors. Racing starts at 2.30pm and continues until around 6pm.
“We’re pleased to be supporting the championships, helping raise much needed money for Macmillan Cancer Support,” said Glyn Jones, Technical Director at Invertek Drives. “It’s going to be a great day for all involved with some great competition between businesses and organisations entered.”
Invertek Drives, a global innovator and manufacturer of variable frequency drives used to control electric motors used in a range motion control and HVACR applications, has become the main sponsor of the championships following the pandemic which saw the competition cancelled in 2020 and 2021.
A major fundraising event for Macmillan
The company is a major employer located near Shrewsbury at Welshpool, Powys, employing more than 300 people in a range of manufacturing, innovation and technical roles.
Event chairperson, Jayney Davies, said she hoped as many people as possible would go along to watch the event. “There’s always a great deal to see and plenty of entertainment for spectators. Some of the teams have practised in advance while others haven’t. So, you’re bound to see some competitors getting wetter than they’d hoped.”
Kate Thomas, Macmillan Relationship Fundraising Manager for the West Midlands, said: “This is a major fundraising event for us. It’s raised a staggering £320,000 since its inception and we’re very grateful to the event organising team for all the work they put in. Events such as this help raise awareness of Macmillan and raise vital money in a fun way so that we can continue to do whatever it takes to support people living with cancer.”
More details can be found at www.coracleworldchampionship.co.uk.
Photo: Some of the Invertek Drives team members taking part in the Macmillan Coracle World Championships on Friday, 16 September 2022.
For media information, contact:
Owain Betts, PR and Communications Manager
t: +44 (0)1938 558 253
m: +44 (0)7483 072 739
e: Owain.Betts@shi-g.com
