Siemens, the High Performance Partner of GB Rowing, hopes the campaign will see participants covering the entire distance around the world (40,076km), raising thousands of pounds for The Stroke Association to fund vital research.
The campaign is open to everyone across the UK with access to a rowing machine, and participants now have four weeks to sign-up at www.siemens.co.uk/s4s and encourage colleagues, friends and family to sponsor them and raise vital funds for The Stroke Association.
Rod Tonna-Barthet, Director, Siemens Financial Services, comments, “This is a great initiative and I will certainly be encouraging our staff to participate. In our busy daily lives, it is all too easy to put off exercise but the benefits of making the effort are far-reaching – both for personal well-being and also from an employer’s perspective. And when it’s for a cause as worthy as The Stoke Association, there really is no excuse!”
Siemens has created Stroke for Stroke Week to encourage the business community to take more regular exercise which can not only improve their health and reduce stress levels, but actually help to reduce the risk of stroke by up to 27%.
James Cracknell commented, “I am delighted to be supporting Siemens Stroke for Stroke Week. Rowing is a great choice of exercise for busy executives and completing a 10k row over the course of the week will be a perfect starting point for people to realise the health benefits rowing can bring. Today we are kick-starting the campaign by rowing the first 10k along our epic journey around the world and I hope many others will follow!”
Laura Funnell, Deputy Director of Communications, The Stroke Association commented, “Stroke for Stroke Week will not only help The Stroke Association to raise vital funds for research into the prevention and treatment of stroke and better methods of rehabilitation for stroke suffers, it will also encourage more people to take up exercise to reduce their risk of stroke. We are asking people to row 10K which people maybe surprised to learn is less than 50 minutes of exercise spread out over a week for an average person.”
Rowing has been identified as an ideal form of exercise for busy, stressed executives, providing an effective cardiovascular workout, without putting stress on the joints. Stroke for Stroke Week will give participants the chance to discover the benefits of regular exercise by completing a sponsored 10k row over the course of the week.
Siemens will be organising a range of activities across the country in the build up to the Stroke for Stroke Week to encourage individuals and businesses across the country to sign up and pledge to row their 10k of the challenging campaign route around the world. Members of the GB Rowing team will also be supporting the campaign, offering tips and advice to participants on how to train for the week. Updates on this activity will be posted on the campaign website: http://www.siemens.co.uk/strokeforstroke