BlueSKY in the Box seat as Kart Bash sponsors

If you had found yourself in the local village of Burghfield last month, you’d have happened upon a most unusual sight. This year saw the third running of the annual Burghfield Box Kart Bash, and BlueSKY were the proud sponsors of this popular charity event.

Keep reading to find out more about this year’s Bash, and how BlueSKY are helping to raise funds to support the local Air Ambulance service.

Box Kart Bash hopes to smash last year’s £24,000 fundraising effort

If you’ve ever seen the Red Bull Soap Box challenge, then you will be familiar with the concept of the Burghfield event.

Essentially, teams build a handmade kart in a theme of their choice, before racing down Hermitt’s Hill in Burghfield. The course included a few obstacles to test both the engineering skills of the team and the driving prowess of the navigator.

Of course, this perilous route also provided plenty of entertainment for the thousands of locals who turn out to watch the event!

The fastest time at the end of the day won the title of ‘King of the Hill’. There were also other awards up for grabs, including Best Engineered Kart, Best Novelty Kart and Longest Jump.

We have sponsored this event since its inception three years ago, and this year 29 teams took to the course. The money raised is still being counted, but we’re hoping to smash last year’s incredible result of £24,000 raised to support the work of the Thames Valley Air Ambulance.

Claire Redrup, the charity’s Community Fundraising Manager, was completely in awe at the size and scale of the event. She said: “We are delighted to be a part of it and to see so many people getting involved. The generous support of the Burghfield Santas helps to ensure we can continue to deliver advanced care to people in a medical emergency night and day, 365 days a year.”

Supporting local causes all year round

The Burghfield Santas have been raising money to support local causes for more than 14 years. From the original ‘Santa Cruise’ (a pub crawl with participants dressed as Father Christmas) to the annual Burghfest beer festival, the Box Kart Bash is just one way in which we at BlueSKY are helping to support the local community.

The list of events now being held each year is impressive, and the Santas now organise:

  • The Box Kart Bash
  • The Bunny Hop – an Easter event
  • Burghfest
  • The Santa Cruise

Last year, we even helped organise the opening of a pop-up pub, The Bulging Sack, to sell our exclusive Santa Brews ale.

As well as raising a terrific amount of money for the Thames Valley Air Ambulance, these events have also had a hugely positive impact on the local community.

In recent years the local villages have seen the closure of all their pubs, and so the Santa events help to bring back a sense of community spirit. The lack of a local pub also means the Burghfest is heavily attended as it brings good beer back into the village!

In 2020 we hope to further support these efforts by making use of one of the nearby gravel pits to run an event similar to the famous ‘Birdman’ challenge, where contestants will dress up and attempt to fly off the end of a pier.

We have been and will continue to be, a sponsor of these events. We’re proud to help the Santas and Thames Valley Air Ambulance, and to be part of the local community.

Visit the Burghfield Santas website for details of all the forthcoming local events.