Vets Fest 22

HRH The Princess Royal

Olly Stephens

* The NHS Confederation report

competitive spirits

Over 700 players gathered at Moseley Rugby Club for Vets Fest 22, to play rugby, party until the early hours and raise an incredible £80,000 for Wooden Spoon.

We were honoured our Patron, HRH, The Princess Royal came and met some of the players. The men’s and women’s teams played hard for the triumph of winning the Olly Stephens and Maddy Lawrence Memorial Cups respectively, to commemorate the lives of two young rugby players. Olly, a happy teenager, was killed in a horrific knife attack. Maddy tragically lost her life after developing sepsis in hospital, following an injury at a game. Kent raised The Olly Stephens Memorial Cup, Wales won the Maddy Lawrence Memorial Cup, and mental health charity Brave Mind battled with Wooden Spoon in a charity partners game. This year, the focus was on supporting mental health projects – currently there are 374,000 children waiting for NHS mental health services.*

Wooden Spoon CEO, Sarah Webb, said: “To be here, in memory of Olly and Maddy, is a real honour for us.”

Vets Fest 22: Over 700 players met at Moseley Rugby Club, Birmingham

Maddy’s Mark

The Maddy Lawrence Memorial Cup is dedicated to Maddy, a vibrant 20-yearold, who loved sport and started her rugby career at university, playing for UWE.

Her father, Simon Lawrence, tells us about the charity he set up in her memory: “Maddy believed passionately in the values of teamwork, mutual support and fellowship. We are determined to follow Maddy’s example of hope and perseverance with Maddy’s Mark, to ensure her life continues to encourage others to be kind, bold and to bring love.” The charity aims to promote mental wellbeing through sport, and build young

Maddy Lawrence

women’s confidence, selfimage and self-belief through the values of the rugby community. The whole family is involved in the fundraising; Maddy’s aunt, Janine Gillard, and her fiancé, have just completed a 2,000-mile cycle ride to the Parthenon raising funds for Maddy’s Mark. Read about their challenge at petersfield-

to-the-parthenon.com

Email: maddysmark@gmail.com for more information, or visit: justgiving.com/crowdfunding/janine-gillard