Livi help raise cash for F1 team
Livingston FC players and fans have helped raise funds for a school’s trip to Singapore by wearing special t- shirts for the club’s play- off matches.
Velocity Racing, an all- girl group from Inveralmond High School in Livingston, have qualified for the F1 in Schools World Championship finals in September.
They need to raise £30,000 for the trip - but the Lions were more than happy to help out as each player donated to the cause and wore the special ‘In Hoppy We Trust’ t-shirts during the warm-up of their televised game against Dundee United on Friday night.
Teacher Emma Potter admitted she has been overwhelmed by the support they have received and thanked the club for their help.
She commented: “The girls were approached by a fan who had an idea of making t-shirts for the play-offs and using that as a way to raise funds. We thought it was a brilliant idea but we didn’t really expect to get the reaction we have done.
“We’ve sold over 70 of them so far at £10 each, so it’s been a terrific fundraiser for them.”
She said Livingston have been very helpful in getting fans involved in the fundraising and the Velocity team members have enjoyed hearing about their efforts.
Emma Potter added: “The club have been incredibly supportive with all the players wearing them before the game and the fans getting behind the idea, too.
“The girls are all studying for their exams just now so it’s been good fun for them to do something other than revising, but at the same time we’ve had a much greater response than we thought so it’s been a challenge keeping up with it all.”
She added: “The girls came second in their Scottish regional event to progress and then became Scottish champions.
“They also travelled down to Silverstone and competed down there which was a great occasion for them all.
“They get to compete against about 40 teams from all over the world to try and be crowned F1 in Schools world champion, which would be amazing.
“There’s different awards like best engineered car and best pit, where they had to do a big display of a pit like in the F1.
“They actually won that award at the nationals but now they have a bigger pit to do in Singapore.
“At the end of it they’ll get to attend the Grand Prix as well, which is a nice reward for all the hard work.”
Livingston manager David Hopkin added: “It says a lot about the players that they wanted to help out - and that they were willing to wear a t-shirt with their manager’s name on them.
“It was a great idea and the club were more than happy to help the cause.”
If you want to get your hands on one of the t-shirts, email velocityracing78@gmail.com.
The club have been incredibly supportive