Underwater 'Nuns' Biking In Chiswick

'Sister Act' goes the extra mile for Sport Relief

An underwater cycle event in Chiswick has raised over £6000 for charity as volunteers dressed up as nuns and pedalled underwater for over one hundred miles.

Employees from Ryman, Robert Dyas and Boux Avenue took part in the underwater cycle event at the London Diving School in a bid to help raise money in support of Sport Relief.

Over 40 colleagues from three of the businesses owned by long time Dragons’ Den star Theo Paphitis, donned habits and scuba gear then dived to the bottom of a 3.2 metre tank, to sit on specially fixed bikes and pedal a mile under water.

Over the course of the weekend, the ‘Nuns’ cycled a total of 132 miles and raised over £6,000 for Sport Relief.

Theo said: “I am extremely proud of what all our ‘nuns’ have achieved – it’s been a real sister act! They’ve really gone the extra mile on this one for the fantastic Sport Relief cause.

The original ‘nuns’ and organisers of the event, Ray Winter and Michael Brown have been in the ‘habit’ of raising money for Comic Relief since 2009. In previous years they have gathered ‘sisters’ to pull cars, trucks, trains and even planes and a tank!

“For Sport Relief 2014 we decided to embrace the Run, Swim, Cycle theme and take the ‘Nuns Down Under’. We are so appreciative of our Ryman, Robert Dyas and Boux Avenue employees who were brave enough to put on scuba gear and cycle a mile or two under water.”

“We would also like to offer our special thanks to our friends from the London School of Diving, who have generously given their facilities and their time to make this event possible.”

Ryman Stationery has been an Official Partner to Comic Relief for the past five years raising over £2 million for the charity. In addition to various staff fundraising activities, Ryman have also created Ryman Sport Relief Pens in red, green and blue - each representing the three big Sport Relief events run, cycle and swim.

This year also sees Robert Dyas join Ryman as an Official Partner to Comic Relief for the first time and continuing the sporting theme, they’ve produced two exclusive Sport Relief Football Torch Key Rings in red and black.

All the pens and keyrings cost just £1 each, with 100 percent of proceeds going to Sport Relief.

Those wishing to donate can visit: my.sportrelief.com/sponsor/nuns-down-under

March 11, 2014