A Message From the Organiser - Andy Spragg - Re-Vitalise Tai Chi

July 2010

Re-Vitalise Tai Chi are working with Breakthrough to raise money for research into breast cancer. Specifically the main aim for the project is focusing on early testing and possible diagnosis, especially those who have cancer sufferers in their family as it can be hereditary.

I lost a good friend to this terrible disease last year, Tracey Kindley. Together with this event, I am working with her husband Angus Kindley, on a number of initiatives (a children’s stage production at the London Palladium –on July 18th 2010 and an Autumn ball at the Dorchester in London in October  

For this initiative, we are looking to break a world record. The largest Tai Chi Lesson ever. We are working with Tai Chi clubs throughout the UK. On the 25th July at 11am a multi-location tai chi lesson will begin. It will last for 30 minutes or more. However, for a 30 minute period the largest ever co-ordinated Tai Chi lesson will be happening.

The Chinese hold the world record for the largest Tai Chi event. 33, 996 people. We are hoping to hit 40,000. The Guinness Book of Records have confirmed that if we satisfy their conditions for confirming numbers, this will be a world record.

The organiser of the event, Andy Spragg, from Re-Vitalise Tai Chi, will be on the main stage of WOMAD at 11.00am on the Sunday morning taking the WOMAD crowd through a Tai Chi session.

 

Update 24th October 2010

OK, to update you all on our world record attempt. Firstly, as you all found, it was actually a lot tougher to get people to take part in this than any of us expected. I have had reported in a total of 4117 across the country. So I’m afraid we don’t break the  world record. We hit about 10% of the numbers we were looking for.

However, don’t be  too disappointed with this. Because, together we raised a mas­sive £14,658.47! How about that. It just shows how generous people are.

I have had about half of the participating clubs (as listed on the web site) submit­ting back your signing sheets. So I will now send the sheets in to the Guiness book of records anyway as I don’t think we can wait any longer. However, the sheer size of the money collected seems to suggest that some of those non-responding clubs did actually run their events or contribute anyway.

Katie Arkle, from Breakthrough has said that it is certainly not too late to send money in if you still have some lying around!. You can contact her at Ka­tieA@breakthrough.org.uk

We would still like to raise money for breakthrough so we are going to co-ordinate clubs across the country for fund raising and join in with World Tai Chi day on Saturday April 30th. So please start thinking how you can help out with this one? Then in 2012 we will be back with another big attempt and we will give you loads of notice of our plans for this.

 

Thank you all again for helping out with this. It was a great day and a pleasure to work with you all

 

Crystal T’ai Chi held a local event at the Latchen Room in Longhope.
We managed 30 heads for the record attempt, including wheelchair disabled and 3 young children, and (with sale of cakes made by my wife Gill), raised £150-50.

(It was the quickest intro to TC & Form from scratch that I've done - another record!)

After 30 minutes everyone including the children had done a warm-up and internal qi gong and "learnt" enough to do  a very passable 3 run-through session of Pt.1 of Dr Paul Lam’s TC for Diabetes.

Thanks everyone - it was fun & rewarding for all.

 

PICTURE click here

To see the current UK running total donated or to make a donation click this link
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/taichirecord

View more pictures with.......