Franci looks for team effort on Sutherland cycle fundraiser
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A Lochinver woman is aiming to complete a loop of Sutherland on her bike later this month to raise cash for two local teams she is involved with.
Franci Hutchison plays for Sutherland Women’s Football Club and is also a member of the Assynt Mountain Rescue Team.
It means the 29-year-old is often playing a bit of a juggling act, and she admits: “Sometimes my coach or the girls at the sidelines will have to take my phone and let me know if a call-out has come in while we’re playing!”
Both teams are in need of regular fundraising and Franci, a glazer at Highland Stoneware Pottery in Lochinver, is aiming to complete a 250-mile cycle around the Sutherland Loop, which follows the roads around the edge of the county.
It follows a sponsored dribble from Lochinver to Golspie last year, which took her 26 hours with just a four-hour break for sleep.
Related news:
- Sutherland footballers set wheels in motion for new season with sponsored cycle around county
- Footballer Franci Hutchison completes 64-mile Lochinver to Golspie dribble challenge
She hopes as well as helping to raise money for the two causes it will also raise awareness of the rescue team and attract new players to the football club.
“We’re always looking for new team members but at the moment there are a few girls in the team who have just had babies, so we’re trying to bring people in,” Franci said. “We used to have 20 to 30 coming to training, but that drops off over the winter, so we’re trying to get some momentum going and get more folk involved.”
The women are currently in pre-season training with their first game coming up at the end of the month against Brora. They train weekly on a Thursday with people travelling from across the area to attend – including from Ullapool, Lochinver and Kinlochbervie.
She said: “Last year I did the sponsored dribble, so that was enough to put me off doing something like that again!
“So I thought what else could we do? I wanted something that would promote the team and by using the theme of Sutherland and I thought the cycle would be more do-able than walking that area, and that way it covers the whole patch we’re trying to recruit in.”
Franci is aiming to take on the cycle later this month along with a couple of teammates, and donations are welcome at www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/swfc where more details of the fundraiser are available.
