PCA PRESS RELEASE
Essex and England legend to take on the Trust’s fundraising challenge later this year.
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President of the Professional Cricketers’ Association Graham Gooch has expressed his excitement at signing up for the Three Peaks Challenge this October in aid of the Professional Cricketers’ Trust and the Tom Maynard Trust.
The former England captain will scale the highest peaks in England, Scotland and Wales in the space of three days alongside a host of current and former players as well as commercial partners and supporters.
Each participant will be fundraising for both charities, with the final sum split evenly between the two cricketing charities.
The Professional Cricketers’ Trust, previously the PCA Benevolent Fund, supports the lifelong health and wellbeing of PCA members. The Trust assists current and ex-players and their immediate families in times of hardship, with assistance ranging from medical advice to the provision of specialist equipment.
The Tom Maynard Trust was set up to aid in the development of aspiring disadvantaged cricketers. It supports applications from young sportspeople via the provision of bursaries, as well as organising education programmes to raise awareness of the pitfalls of pursuing a career in sport.
Gooch, who previously donated £50,000 to the Professional Cricketers’ Trust on the 50th anniversary of the PCA’s creation, is keen to stress the importance of supporting these two worthy causes.
“I think they’re both very good causes,” said Gooch.
“I passionately believe in what both the Professional Cricketers’ Trust and the Tom Maynard Trust are doing.”
“The Trust supports the PCA to deliver education initiatives for cricketers and run a lot of good schemes to protect the welfare of past, present and future first-class cricketers.
“I’m right behind what the Tom Maynard Trust is doing as well. It was a very sad situation for Tom and his family so I am looking forward to walking for both charities who do a great deal in different areas.”
The 65-year-old is the first household name to be confirmed for this year’s event, and he’s no stranger to the great outdoors. The current PCA President took on the Coast 2 Coast walk last September, raising £23,000 to be split between the Trust and his own scholarship in the process.
“It was a great challenge,” Gooch said of the 13-day hike, “we were very fortunate to receive such great support from people around the country and raise the amount of money that we did.
“It went off really well and all in all it was a great experience.”
Not content with settling on that achievement, Gooch is relishing the challenge presented to him by the Three Peaks Challenge.
“Obviously three days isn’t quite like 13 days but I’m sure we’re going to prepare well and it’s going to be great fun as much as anything else.
“There aren’t many hills where I live in Essex, but we’re going to drive round to Box Hill in Surrey, which has some quite heavy inclines and should be a good place to train.”
Lastly, Gooch had a message for those considering signing up for the 2019 Three Peaks Challenge.
“Sign up now! You’ll be doing something nice and healthy and you’ll get a lot of reward and satisfaction when you know you’ve completed a stiff challenge. You’re doing it for a good cause, so you’ll get a lot of support and encouragement along the way.
“Above all, it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
The Three Peaks Challenge is open to everyone and while there are limited spaces available, the Professional Cricketers’ Trust and Tom Maynard Trust are encouraging sign-ups to join ‘Goochie’ in their biggest fundraiser of the year.
For more details on the walk click here or email Emily Lewis on emily.lewis@thepca.co.uk.
