MONMOUTH Rowing Club chose a charity close to their heart last year when they picked Velindre Cancer Hospital as their charity of the year.

The hospital had provided invaluable support to the club’s former men’s captain Colin Lewis when he was diagnosed with cancer in the summer of 2015.

The club decided to donate part of the seat fees paid by competitors at the club’s regatta and head races, and the whole club has signed up to a fund-raising “Row to Rio” challenge in which they are trying to clock up enough kilometres to get to Rio (9,206 kilometres).

Lewis and a group of like-minded club-mates aged between 22 and 70 have also just competed in a 90km sculling race in Holland to raise money for the charity, and have raised a massive £4,000 for Velindre. It wasn’t just the distance that was challenging – competitors had to navigate complicated routes, cross a major waterway with the support of a lifeboat and squeeze through gaps that required them to lie flat on their backs with their oars pulled parallel to the boat.

Despite the challenges, the team enjoyed the event. “It was a great race and good to experience another culture, and we raised lots of money,” says Lewis.

To donate to the club’s charity go to www.justgiving.com/teams/MRC