Lions up the mountains

NOTTINGHAM, UK – The age old question has reared it’s ugly head again “What do hockey players do during the summer?” Well for one group of players it’s simply answered with “Raising money for charity while doing an incredibly tough task”. The Nottingham Lions ice hockey team in the English National League North 1 are a close knit group of players and came second in the league this season, coming runners up to the dominant Whitley Warriors. Chris Colegate, club captain, recently lost a neighbour and lifelong friend to heart disease and he wanted to give something to the British Heart Foundation to remember his friend ‘Ray’. “As any kid playing hockey will tell you, having understanding neighbours is a massive bonus. Ones that don’t mind you whacking balls around all hours of the day in the street playing street hockey are few and far between and ‘Ray’ was one of the few. He always encouraged us to play and never minded me and my brothers and friends skating around in the street. He always supported us and never complained when we made noise or broke something or damaged his flowers in his garden. He was a really nice guy and genuinely a top bloke. Me and my family will certainly miss him now he’s no longer with us. A real friend to us all and definitely the type of neighbour everyone should have living next door”. So, what’s this challenge the Lions are doing? Colegate explained it “It’s basically climbing 3 mountains in 24hours. We start off climbing Ben Nevis, which is the highest mountain in Scotland, and then we drive to Scafell Pike in Cumbria and climb that. Once we’ve completed those two we drive to Mount Snowdon in Wales and climb that one too. We’re starting at the base of Ben Nevis at 5pm on the June 3 ^rd and we will climb it then drive overnight to Scafell Pike. We aim to start climbing Scafell Pike at 4am on the 4 ^th and then once we’ve done that we drive across to Snowdon and climb that! Just to give you an idea of how tough it is Ben Nevis is over 4400ft high, Scafell Pike over 3200ft and Snowdon is over 3500ft high.” “The guys who are doing it have all volunteered to do so and we’re aiming to raise a large amount of money for the British Heart Foundation. The support we’ve gained from the British hockey community so far has been excellent, but any more support financially via donations to the BHF will be gratefully received. If you want to donate, please visit www.justgiving.com/lions3peaks “The players doing the challenge are: Myself, Ben Bliss, Stewart Bliss, Mark Corfield, Gareth O’Flaherty, Dean Mills, Mike Davie, Nick Whyatt, Alan Levers and Tom Soar. All will be ably assisted by minibus driver Mick Colegate who will be driving over 1000miles to complete the challenge!” “The other players on the team who are unable to go have been really supportive and have been out raising money locally for us and we’re really happy they are involved too. It really is a team effort. The only problem we foresee, other than bad weather, is that none of us can read a map!” Pro Hockey News wishes the Lions all the best and urges everyone to help support them by donating at www.justgiving.com/lions3peaks Contact the author Pete.Lewis@Prohockeynews.com