Important Information about Oxted Pram Race
Oxted Rotary Pram Race 2013 – The Race Must Go On !!
The Oxted Rotary Pram Race is one of the best events in the Oxted calendar.
This year it is changing from a Friday night to Sunday 14th July.
There are many reasons for this but the main reason is that Pram Race on a Friday has been a victim of its own success. It is now a large event and a small committee of 10 people (and 100 marshals on the night) can not contain such a massive happening. Every year requests are asked in the press for additional help in volunteering – however in this day and age people are busy and volunteering is low down on peoples priorities.
The alternative is to stop the event all together.
However the committee feel very strongly that this is not an option. Because...
- it is becoming more of a family event with children, families and groups of friends spending weeks if not months building and planning their prams and costumes.
- it is a great community spirit event
- the many charities that the Pram Race supports would not receive funds and some actually whole heartedly rely on the Pram Race. The following are the charities and local organisations which YOU supported and raised money for last year:
- Rotary Kids Club – to take underprivileged children out for a day trip
- Woodhouse Centre – to assist with the running of the much needed day center in central Oxted
- Master Park – maintenance and upkeep of the community park and buying of playground equipment
- Oxted Christmas Lights – maintenance and replacement of the Christmas lights in the high street to change to cost effective and energy saving lighting
- Oxted School – assistance of sports equipment
- Tandridge Fund – raising funds for the local community
- Limpsfield C of E School – assistance with IT equipment
- Matthews Friends – to help with redesigning of medical booklets
- Link Porter – to assist underprivileged people in the RH8 area
- Oxted Football Club and Holland Sports Club – raising funds for sports equipment
- LimbPower – raising funds to support Para-olympics atheletes in the RH8 area
- St Johns Ambulance – assist with daily funding
… to name a few.
An amazing £9,400 was raised last year which makes the Oxted Pram Race one of the most successful charity organisations locally – and all funds go directly back to the local community.
The Pram Race Committee have had to make the difficult decision to change the day “For the event to continue then it needs to change. Sustainability is what is important to us as a committee and for the community – at the present time it has grown too big to manage and the small committee of people who do organise it, do so under increasing pressure of red tape, constraints and inability to find enough marshals. We are aware changing to a Sunday will not suit everybody. However, we feel that a daytime event by definition will be easier to manage. It will be easier to find marshals as more people will be freer on a Sunday rather than rushing back from work on a Friday. Being a Sunday afternoon people will be able to enjoy the whole day at a leisurely, relaxed and chilled pace”
The Committee also ask “If you are a local organisation or charity then we are looking for groups who would benefit from this year’s funds. The Oxted Pram Race website will be updated with 2013 application forms for beneficiaries in March. We are also looking for local companies that would like to sponsor the event and in addition we are also looking for volunteers to help run the event or marshal on the evening. Please contact us directly on info@oxtedpramrace.co.uk “
Many thanks to all who came, sponsored, gave money, competed, volunteered, spectated, hope you had as much fun as we did!
See the results and fancy dress winners from 2012.
The Pram Race has been run since 1977. The ultimate objective of the Pram Race is to raise money for local causes, but having fun in the process.
In fact participating in the event is quite simple – all you have to pay is an entry fee and ask family and friends to sponsor you to run the two thirds of a mile from Master Park to The Bell in Old Oxted High Street, however…
…you do need to push a pram in fancy dress and stop at each of the seven licensed premises on the way, where you have to down a drink as fast as you can! There are prizes as well as penalties for how well you do.