Waterlooville CrossFit rowathon raises £14,000 for mental health and veterans' charities

The CrossFit Iron Duke gym in Waterlooville held a charity rowathon last month for Solent Mind, Hampshire’s leading mental health charity, and ReORG, an organisation that supports veterans to reintegrate into the community. 144 members and non-members of the gym took part, with support also provided by crews from Cosham Fire Station. The event even spanned the globe, with one rowing from Bahrain, one from Gibraltar, and another skiing 21km in Vancouver. Together, the 36 teams of four people rowed an astounding 3,741,000 metres, whilst also smashing their donation target, raising £14,376 for the two charities.

Kerry Cooley, affiliate owner who took part in the event, said: “It’s humbling and mind-blowing. I can’t thank everyone enough for their support. We had people on those rowers constantly, and the fact we had fire crews turn up as well! The support was amazing, we can never believe people get behind our crazy ideas.”

The gym has recently begun working alongside armed forces charity ReORG to assist with the rehabilitation of active and retired armed forces members. The charity funds veteran participation in fitness and jujitsu programmes in gyms, such as the CrossFit Iron Duke, to tackle severe mental and physical difficulties. Kerry said: “We have accepted people on the programme here, and we’re giving back to them as they need as much credit and recognition possible. The money they’re getting from our donation will fund at least twenty people on the programme.”

This was not the gym’s first charity event, with their previous 2020 rowathon for Rowans Hospice raising £9,500, and it will not be their last. In August, the gym will be leading a 24-hour WODathon, where participants will take part in a workout on the hour every hour, with charities receiving donations still to be decided. The donation page for the rowathon can be found here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/crossfit-iron-duke-charity-row-2024.