DANCERS, FIGHTERS AND BOXERS JOIN FORCES TO TAKEDOWN CANCER IN DEBRY FUNDRAISING EXTRAVAGANZA

DANCERS, FIGHTERS AND BOXERS JOIN FORCES TO TAKEDOWN CANCER IN DEBRY FUNDRAISING EXTRAVAGANZA

An extravaganza of boxing, mixed martial arts and ballroom dancing held at The Roundhouse in Derby has helped to smash a £10million fundraising milestone. 

Over a hundred beginner boxers, fighters and dancers competed across the weekend in front of a packed out Roundhouse, jiving, punching and grappling their way to victory. 

The three events alone rasied £50,000 for Cancer Research UK, going towards the grand total of £10million raised by Ultra Events and its participants since it began fundraising for the charity in 2013.

Derby-based Ultra Events was was founded in 2009 with the launch of Ultra White Collar Boxing, which now takes place in over 100 towns and cities across the UK and since then 36,000 people have signed up.

This year Ultra Events added Ultra MMA and Ultra Ballroom to its portfolio, with each giving pariticipants the chance to learn one of the disciplines with 8 weeks of free training, provided that they raise money for Cancer Research UK. 

This weekend practising what he preaches was Jon Leonard, founder of Ultra Events, who put on his dancing shoes with his partner Laura Mcpherson as they took to the floor in Ultra Ballroom raising over £5,000 for the charity. 

Jon, 37, said: “Dancing is hard, but it was an incredible experience and was great to see all of our family and friends come and support us. Knowing that Ultra Events has now raised £10 million for Cancer Research UK is an incredible achievement, and a real team effort.”

Jon, who is already looking towards the next milestone of £20million, added: “ I’m extremely proud of all of the effort and hard work everyone in the team and the participants put in to make these events a huge success. 

“I am constantly overwhelmed by the effort put in by the participants and astounded when I think of the reasons why each participant signs up, whether it be in celebration of being all clear of cancer or in memory of a loved one. I feel humbled and inspired by the amazing people that take part in our events and I feel incredibly proud of what we have achieved.” 

Katie Holifield, Conference and Events Manager at The Roundhouse - which is the centrepiece of Derby College's £48 million flagship vocational campus and a popular venue for a wide range of events, exhibitions and conferences- added: “The Roundhouse is the perfect venue for these events - with the space to create a fantastic atmosphere for everyone to enjoy.

Everyone who took part in the event did incredibly well and we wish Ultra Events every success in their fund raising efforts for this extremely worthwhile cause."

Emma Hallas, senior account executive for Cancer Research UK said: “The amount of money raised by Ultra Events is incredible. We are so grateful to each person that signs up to help us beat cancer. While they’re out fighting in the ring our researchers are fighting cancer in the lab and working to find kinder treatments and a cure for this devastating disease.

“We work closely with UWCB to ensure all the participants hear about the work we are doing and the top five UWCB fundraisers on JustGiving are invited to a tour of our labs to see exactly how their money is spent.”

Back to news