Team Bearing 360 North, will be participating in the Sony Polar Challenge, an annual race to the North Pole where eight teams compete to raise funds for their chosen charities. Team Bearing 360 North, Jonny Black and Chris Mike, have chosen to raise vital funds for Orchid, a male cancer charity dedicated to fighting prostate and testicular cancer which increasingly threatens men between the ages of 15 and 50. The race commences in April 2007, in Canada, and ends in May 2007, at the North Pole.
“There is a taboo around male cancers,” says Jonny Black, a broker at ICAP. “Us chaps don’t like thinking about problems with our bits, let alone talking about them. Having had a family experience with these diseases, I am determined to complete this challenge to, not only raise money for Orchid, but to also beat the stigma on the subject. Women have no problem talking about their breasts, and checking for problems is often part of their daily routines. As male cancers are particularly life-threatening to the under-50s, it is really important for us to help raise awareness and get rid of the embarrassment.”
All competitors are ordinary people, from all walks of life, who undergo rigorous training in order to qualify for the race. The Sony Polar Challenge will take approximately four weeks to complete and competitors will have to endure temperatures of up to minus 50C, as well as face 80 percent of the world’s polar bear population.
“We are essentially freezing our nuts off to save yours, your families, your friends,” adds Chris Mike, a specialised head-hunter in the financial services community. “Four weeks racing on skis to the North Pole is not many people’s idea of fun, and for us, exposing ourselves to the harsh arctic elements, is the most challenging way we have found to push ourselves to help Orchid. We are very much looking forward to this extraordinary journey, and thank our sponsors for making it possible.”
Team Bearing 360 North will be hosting a fundraising dinner, Bearing All, in London on 22nd March 2007. You can also donate online at: http://www.bmycharity.com/V2/bearing360. Team sponsors include: Reuters, ICAP, Falke and Metia.