‘Tipsy tour’ raises over £2,800 for local charity
AN event that saw alcohol, orienteering and fancy dress bring people together and raise thousands of pounds for charity took place in Ynysybwl at the weekend.
The annual Tipsy 10 Challenge hit the village on Saturday, with each team given a map and told to find checkpoints across the 8km course.
That cause was the Noa J Charitable Trust, a charity close to the heart of the Cwm Clydach village, as it was founded by the families of two local boys from the area who suddenly passed away last year.
The charity aims to give back to the communities who supported the two boys and their families over the last eighteen months, and wishes to help sports clubs by sponsoring local teams and sporting events.
And fancy dress outfit choices for the day ranged from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to cardinals.
Neil Griffiths was the brains behind Saturday’s event, which he openly confessed “came from a drunken idea at Ynysybwl RFC”, which he soon realised would be a fantastic event to get the whole village together.
Neil and club steward John Reed were discussing the layout of Ynysybwl and how it would be perfect for an orienteering activity. He said that this gave them the foundations of the event.
“Add in the alcohol, fancy dress and activities, and we had the Tipsy 10 Challenge,” said Neil.
In 2015, he proposed it to rugby players at Ynysybwl RFC, as well as committee members and won over the village.
The first year the event took place was with the story of Lochlan Olden in mind. Lochlan was a seven-year-old boy from Pontypridd that had to have his leg amputated after being hit by a quad bike.
So Ynysybwl RFC advertised The Tipsy Ten Challenge in order to raise money for Lochlan and within a fortnight, sixteen teams had signed up to the event.
The team who completes the course in the quickest time are the winners, however, penalties are easy to pick up – if anyone tips out their drink they face a fine of an hour added on to their time.
There was huge support for the event from the village and surrounding areas, with 30 teams of 150 people taking part. There were also 40 volunteers, 30 sponsors and a huge £2,860 was raised.
Neil said “it was great to see the community coming together” as people came along to Ynysybwl RFC that evening to hear emotional talks from the bereaved families. He is already planning next year’s Tipsy 10.