Two tennis coaches from Hartford braved sub-zero temperatures to take part in a tennis-a-thon in aid of Sport Relief over the weekend.
Jarrod Wood and John Walsh took to the astro turf at Hartford Tennis Club in blizzard conditions to complete the 24-hour tennis marathon.
They began at 9am on Saturday morning and didn’t stop playing until a whole day later.
Their efforts inspired 70 sponsors to (so far) serve up more than £2,000 to Sport Relief.
“We do play all through the year here at Hartford, but not normally in these conditions,” quipped Jarrod, who lives in Winnington.
“We have to thank everyone who sponsored us and those who came out to play with us in the worse conditions possible.”
Their day started with the usual junior coaching sessions on Saturday morning, but as the day rolled on different club members came down to set up a volley or two with the pair.
Not even horizontal snow could force them off court as they were determined to complete the challenge.
The snow started at around lunchtime and continued on and off for the remainder of the tennis-a-thon challenge.
“One of the best things to come out of this is it shows what brilliant club spirit we have at Hartford because over 20 people helped out during all hours of the night,” said John.
“One of our juniors was even with us at 3am so we have to thank his mum for bringing him down to the club for that.”
As well as playing tennis with John and Jarrod, members also cooked and delivered food for the pair as well as making the pair some much-needed hot drinks.
Jarrod, who is also a personal trainer in Northwich, had set a target of £500 for the challenge, but their efforts have already exceeded four times that goal.
In a tribute to the fundraisers, on Facebook parent Cali Hannon Woods posted: “Not only will this help those in need, it gave me an opportunity to show my son that real superheroes do exist and what is possible when you put your mind to it.”
