Thousands were spinning the wheel of fortune for charity at one of the kingdom’s most popular family fundraising events, rolling in around BD4,200.
Now in its 10th year, the annual Wheelathon was a stunning success on Friday where the young, the not-so-young and the disabled took to the Bahrain International Circuit’s (BIC) race track.
The event was organised on behalf of St Christopher’s Cathedral work, but the proceeds will also be shared with Bahrain Mobility International, Bahrain Down’s Syndrome Society, the Think Pink breast cancer awareness campaign and the Migrant Workers Protection Society.
Organiser David Axtell said: “We just wanted to make sure it was a fun charitable day out. It was great to see everyone mixing together and enjoying themselves, especially because the disabled participants felt a real part of the gathering.
“This year we had a lot more variety of bikes. Part of the event is to outreach and raise awareness, so we had a lot of the participants taking the disabled bikes out and riding them around. It’s a great opportunity to experience life from someone-else’s perspective.
“This year participants got to choose which charity they wanted their money to go towards.”
The event started with the hospital bed race, where groups of six raced to the finish line pushing beds donated by Ibn Al Nafees Hospital along a stretch of track and back again.
BIC took the first place with a time of 1:16 with St Christopher’s Cathedral rolling in not far behind with 1:21 and last year’s winners G4S A team coming in third with a time of 1:22. GulfWeekly’s valiant efforts, led by editor Stan Szecowka, were too embarrassing to record.
Head of nurse training and education at Ibn Al Nafees Emma Gardner said: “This is the third year we have sponsored the event and will donate our hospital beds. It’s become a famous part of the Wheelathon and is a lot of fun, especially for the younger children, so it is important to us.
“This is for charity and our number one objective is to help the community.”
The main event attracted fundraisers riding a collection of wheels including bikes, rollerblades, scooters, skateboards, wheelchairs and even tricycles.
For the first time this year bikes for the disabled were available.
President of Bahrain Disability Challenging Youth Society (BDCYS) and director of the Bahrain Disabled Sports Federation, Essam Kamal, purchased 19 specialist cycles which were shipped in from the US.
He said: “The event was incredible. I am so happy to be able to give the disabled participants proper equipment to use.
“We have bikes for everyone. Three-wheel bikes, hand-pedal bikes and even bikes for the blind to ride with a friend are available, so everyone could experience the thrill of the race. Even paraplegics can participate and have a good time.
“It is great to see everyone open to the idea of these disabled participants joining in. It cost BD120 to bring these bikes in from the centre in Isa Town to the BIC, but it was worth it.”
Roba Yousif pushed herself towards the finish line in a hand pedal bike. Supporting the BDCYS, she has attended many charitable events, such as the Cherry Tree Trot, and explained that she is always looking for an opportunity to raise awareness about the disabled society in Bahrain.
Roba, 22, from Hamad Town, said: “This is the third time I have taken part in the Wheelathon. I don’t just do it to raise awareness, but it’s also extremely fun. I love racing and try to get involved as much as I can.
“This year has been amazing and it was actually my first time riding a proper disabled bike. I can’t wait to take part again next year.”
St Christopher’s School staff members, sporting fancy dress, took to the track riding children’s tricycles. Although they took their time coming down the finish line, they still attracted enough attention to get the crowd cheering along.
Nursery teacher Alyaa Bataineh, 25, from A’ali, said: “We all decided to dress up and have a good time. I was exhausted after wheeling my tiny tricycle down the circuit but it’s for a good cause and I’m glad I did it. I’ll be back again next year!”
Puna Hanson has taken part in the Wheelathon once before and thought the hospital bed race would be an easy ride.
Puna, 18, from Janabiya, said: “The hospital bed race was absolutely tiring. I still had enough energy though to get around the track on my rollerblades for the main race, friends also took part and we rolled through together.”
Entertainment was provided throughout the day with music played by DJ Stevie George, a bouncy castle, a skate park and a clown for the children.
The Wheelathon was supported by the BIC, Bahrain Down Syndrome Society, Bahrain Mobility International, GPIC, HSBC, International Hospital of Bahrain and Ibn Al Nafees Hospital.
