Are you aware that cancer kills more teenagers and young adults in the UK than any other disease? Every day at least seven young people hear the words “you have cancer” which turns their world upside down. Raising money for the Teenage Cancer Trust to enable them to provide specialist care and support, both physical and emotional, has never been so important. The charity urgently needs your help.
Rather than just making an online donation, you can add your support to an incredible three day event which is organised by Vince Wooloff and his team of friends and volunteers. The Oddballs Rally takes place on the 1st to 4th August with arrival at the Abingdon Rugby Club, in Lambrook Way, Abingdon where the event is held, from 5pm on the Thursday. This year’s event has the theme of the Walking Dead and Zombies so expect some incredible costumes and regalia. There will be a lot going on for you to get involved in from enjoying the various discos, live music, custom show, games, shopping opportunities and you can even camp so that you do not miss anything!
Each year Vince looks for ways to grow this amazing show from when he held the first event in April 2015. The motivation to organise a fundraiser came at the end of 2014 when he had asked two of his friends to help him put on a custom show for classic scooters in Oxfordshire. He need a couple of judges and asked two of his friends: one was fighting MS but already did charity work in support of the Teenage Cancer Trust, the other was a friend who was actually fighting cancer himself. When that friend lost his battle against the disease later the same year, Vince wanted to stand up and do an event in his memory whilst also supporting the Teenage Cancer Trust as a way of saying thank you to his other friend who had helped him with the classic scooter event.
With links to the Abingdon Rugby Club, the grounds provided the perfect location for the first event and has continued to do so some eight years later. The 2015 event was held in early April and raised £4220.
“When I started, I planned only to do one event as I am arranging everything in my spare time when I finish my day job. However, I got so much satisfaction from the fact that not only had we raised money for the charity but everyone who came along enjoyed themselves and liked the fact they knew exactly where the money raised was going. Following the 2016 event, I realised that as attendance had increased there was a place for the event in the calendar for scooter rallies but in order for it to grow, I had to change the date. Moving it to August attendance figures increased significantly to over 1000 people. Each year it has grown bigger and bigger, and it is only made possible to run Oddballs due to the fact I’ve got good friends who help me out. What started initially as a scooter rally became a mini festival. We attract people from Germany, Spain, France and around the UK, not just from Oxfordshire. We have even had bands come all the way from Denmark. People are attracted by the big bands and the fact they are supporting such a good cause. A group of friends also produced two books highlighting Lambretta Choppers and raised £23,000 via Oddballs and another friend who is in Manchester received a donation of £2,500 from Manchester Scooters. Since our first event which was attended by 400 people, we usually attract 2,000 people now, and would love to see even higher attendance this year. So far, we have raised an incredible £100,000 and I am already planning the 2025 Oddballs Rally to celebrate our 10th anniversary which I intend to make it even more special!”
In case you are wondering why the event is called ‘Oddballs,’ the answer is simple. It is held at a rugby club and rugby is played with ‘odd’ shaped balls!
If you would like to get behind donating or sponsoring any aspect of Oddballs Rally, please drop Vince an email at wooloffvince@aol.com.
Tickets are £30 in advance, £35 on the gate. Tickets can be bought online from oddballs.rally@aol.co.uk
To find out more about the work of the Teenage Cancer Trust please visit teenagecancertrust.org
