The Steve Bernard Foundation

Bournemouth Rowers to undertake Million Metre Row

enquiries@stevebernardfoundation.org — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:17:00 GMT

Bournemouth Rowers to undertake Million Metre Row

A team of committed sportsmen and women from Bournemouth University are to undertake an astonishing fundraising feat to raise funds for Children in Need and their club this week. Bournemouth University Boating Club will use two rowing machines to complete their million metre row over sixty hours starting on Wednesday 18th November.

The team, who are proudly supported by the Steve Bernard Foundation have recently relocated from the Westover Rowing Club and will split the money raised between the BBC’s Children in Need appeal and their club’s efforts to purchase new indoor rowers.

BUBC President Toby Horner acknowledged the difficulty of the task ahead , “I hope that the public will appreciate the scale of the task ahead, but we are confident that the club will pull together to make the event a massive success”.

“We have had a massive intake of new students this year taking club numbers above 60, all members including coxes and coaches will be contributing at some point.”

The Steve Bernard Foundation has recently pledged £2000 to support the club and is hopeful of developing a strong working relationship with the club in the future. Since it was formed in 2006, the foundation has raised more than £90,000 for local sporting projects. The fund which is backed by the Daily Echo and Fire Radio was formed following the tragic passing of the affectionately named Stevie B in November 2005.

Jacques' Great Run for Stevie

enquiries@stevebernardfoundation.org — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:37:00 GMT

Jacques' Great Run for Stevie

Steve's younger brother, Jacques who is currently studying at Bournemouth School, is to undertake the Great South Run on Sunday 25th October in support of the Steve Bernard Foundation.

Jacques made the following plea on his facebook site,

"Basically guys, I am running in the Great South
Run on Sunday October 25th which is a 10 mile run through the streets of Portsmouth, for my brother's froundation: the Steve Bernard Foundation. I am wondering if any of you would be willing to sponsor me for this run. I am currently thinking of running in my pink ballerina outfit that i ran in for the Fancy Dress Fun Run that some of you may remember, but if people have any ideas i would be welcome to all of them. Dont feel you have to sponsor me as some people said they would but didnt for the cycle ride so dont feel pressured :) if you dont like me then completely ignore this message haha!
If people are willing to sponsor me please could you put how much for please :)
Thanks!!"

To pledge your support please click here

Portchester School leads the way!

enquiries@stevebernardfoundation.org — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 12:59:00 GMT

Porchester School leads the way!

Since its formation in 2006, the Steve Bernard Foundation has supported more than 40 projects across 16 sports and 4 continents . However, not many of our supported projects can claim to have had the success of Portchester School's indoor rowing team.

The team, which has been running for little more than two years has had a fantastically succesful year in 2009, sweeping aside almost everything and everyone which was put in their way. The school is righfully proud to boast a junior world record holder, two National Junior Championship winning teams and a squad that is the envy of Dorset's school system.

The foundation contributed two of the six rowing machines which the team currently uses and the boys really have made the very best of their opportunities. In August 2008, Tom Clark broke the under 15 world record in front of a crowd at the Littledown Centre. Subsequently, the team won all five boys individual titles and all five year group relays at the Dorset Championships in February 2009.

This was followed, in March, by a silver medal at the National Championships in London for the year 10 and below Sprint Relay boat race and a fourth place in the year 13 and below Boat Race Relay. The latter performance is made all the more impressive by the fact that the team consisted of year 10 & 11 boys.

However, the main cause for celebration was the whole team's showing in the Concept 2 National Schools League in which all of the teams came either first or second in each age group in both fours and eights. This is a stunning achievement and the Steve Bernard Foundation would like to commend Paul Sawyer and his team on their incredible feat.

The Foundation conquers Bayeux

enquiries@stevebernardfoundation.org — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 20:43:00 GMT

The Foundation conquers Bayeux

Slowly, wearily but with a deserved sense of achievement, 37 supporters of the Steve Bernard Foundation emerged from the dilapidated arrivals hall at Poole Harbour on Sunday. All 37 were greeted by an assembled group of friends and family, rightly proud of their not inconsiderable achievement over the previous three days.

These thirty seven men and women, many of whom had never before rode a bike for more than 10 miles, had just completed an epic journey from Bournemouth on the South Coast of England to Bayeux some 90 miles along the Normandy Coast in Northern France and back again in aid of the foundation set up in memory of local sports-man Stephen Bernard.

The ride had been suggested by Steve’s father Tony just over a year ago, and was laughed off as something that was beyond the foundation in organisational terms and unthinkable for all but a few of our amateur supporters. However, after months of detailed planning and just a few reality checks, the party assembled at Poole Harbour late in the evening of Wednesday 3^rd June. Whilst it felt oddly like the first day at school, so diverse was the group in its makeup, any angst quickly subsided as the group enjoyed a casual beer aboard the Cherbourg-bound Barfleur.

Having docked in Cherbourg, the group set out on the 63 mile route along the Normandy Coast to Grandcamp Maisy, where our tented accommodation was meticulously set up by our support team of Chris and Jules. The route which seemed to have taken in each hill in the Normandy area had asked a lot of the cyclists but as the afternoon passed, small pockets of tired participants arrived at the camp very ready for some well deserved rest and relaxation.

The following day saw the final run into Bayeux, along a route which took in the World famous D-day Landing Beaches. Unintentionally, the ride had coincided with the 65^th anniversary of the day which would bring world leaders including Barrack Obama and Gordon Brown to the same region of France the following day. The whole region was overrun with war enthusiasts from across Europe adorned predominantly in American war apparel and driving the impressive vehicles which had supported the incredible effort some 65 years prior.

Having posed for a commemorative photo in front of Bayeux Cathedral earlier in the day, the group paid an emotional visit to both the British and American War Cemeteries. Both are truly evocative places. The scale of loss and hurt which is made scarily evident by the number of perfectly kept headstones at the American war memorial at Coleville-sur-Mer is indescribable. The sense of loss suffered by the friends and family of the nearly 9,400 young heroes laid to rest here is unimaginable and was made all the more poignant by the sense of loss which still remains following Steve’s tragic passing some 3 years previous.

Following the visit to the emotive war memorials, the party returned in small groups to Grandcamp Maisy for a second night. The majority seemed to have benefited from a slightly less gruelling second day and proceeded to the local karaoke bar for a cheeky pint or two. Saturday saw the final major leg of the journey back up the Normandy coast to Maupertus-sur-Mer just five miles outside of Cherbourg for an evening of presentations and celebration. First however, we had to conquer the same hills which we had loved speeding down two days previous.

The welcome party at Poole Harbour was a welcome sight for weary eyes and summed up perfectly the level of support which we received for the duration of the trip. Local radio station Fire Radio offered the ride substantial media coverage including interviews along the route whilst the ‘Tour de Bayeux’ was also afforded great coverage in the French media. This trip truly caught the imagination of everyone who we met both along the route and in the run up to the event. As time moves on, people of course do the same. Therefore it is vital to the foundation that Steve’s name remains at the centre of everything which it does. The support of the media and through it the local community is essential in ensuring that the foundation continues to prosper.

The foundation would like to thank:

The Solent Group, the premier sponsors of the ‘Road to Bayeux’.

The Hendy Group who supplied two support vehicles and Chris Steele and Julian Hiscock for driving them and setting up camp.

Primera for providing us with a mechanic for the trip. Our thanks go particularly to James Horton.

Jon Kilburn who sponsored the bike ride t-shirts

Fire Radio and the Daily Echo for their coverage of the event.

Jodie Jumps for Dad

enquiries@stevebernardfoundation.org — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 19:45:00 GMT

Jodie Jumps for Dad

Jodie Watton, who's father tragically passed away from a massive heart attack on 7th December 2008, is to undertake a skydive in his memory.

Mark Watton and Jodie had planned to do a charity skydive before he passed away so Jodie has now decided to do the jump to raise funds for the Steve Bernard Foundation and the British Heart Foundation.

The jump will take place on Father's day. For more information please visit Jodie's fundraising page https://www.bmycharity.com/V2/jodiesfathersdayskydive

We would like to thank Jodie and her family for their fantastic support and wish her the very best of luck for the skydive.

Fancy Dress Fun on Bournemouth Sea Front

enquiries@stevebernardfoundation.org — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 22:31:00 GMT

Fancy Dress Fun on Bournemouth Sea Front

People walking along Bournemouth sea front on Sunday 15th February witnessed some extraordinary sights. The Fancy Dress Fun Run & Walk 2009 saw some 400 people assemble at Pier Approach for the second annual fun run along the promenade.

There was a huge array of fancy dress outfits, all of which contributed to the fantastic carnival atmosphere. The event was jointly hosted by MC Scott Charlton, a local comedian and DJ Plank, a resident DJ currently working his way up the ladder across London and the South East. Some of the pictures from the event can be seen in the video above.

The event, which was sponsored by the Hendy Group, will contribute funds to the Foundation's work for local sport. To date, the foundation has raised some £50,000 for sporting projects across some 16 different sports.

We would like to thank everyone who took part in the event, without your continued support we would not be able to succeed in the way that we undoubtedly are.

Downloads and Links

Click here to download the list of finishing places and times.

All of the pictures from the event can be found on the foundation's Facebook page here

Click here to view a video containing some of the best images from the fun run.

Countdown to the Fun Run!!

enquiries@stevebernardfoundation.org — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 19:25:00 GMT

Fun Run Just Hours Away!

The Steve Bernard Foundation's first event of 2009 is just hours away. The event which will take place on Sunday 15th at 1pm is the foundation's largest mass participation event and is looking to build on the considerable success of last year.

Despite a slow start, the number of participants has almost reached last years quota, so we very much hoping for the same carnival atmosphere we all experienced in 2008.

Across the town, enthusiastic supporters of our work are no doubt putting the first or final touches to their outfir for this showpiece event. We are once again offering prizes for the best fancy dress, which I am sure is serving as a considerable incentive!!

The teams from Fire FM and the Daily Echo will be providing us with considerable local coverage and we have a team of photographers who will be taking your photo for our website and facebook pages. Fire FM will also be doing live updates from the route so make sure your friends and family are tuned in!

Post race drinks will be available in both the club house at Westover rowing club and Bar Me on Old Christchurch Road.

This year, the start line will be at Pier Approach! Registration opens at 12pm for entrants who wish to sign up on the day and all of the action will kick off from about half 12.

Thank you for your support and here's to a sunny day!

Huge Events Planned for 2009

enquiries@stevebernardfoundation.org — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 16:45:00 GMT

Huge Events Planned for 09!

The Steve Bernard Foundation is delighted to announce a full programme of events for the coming year. Details of each of these events can be found on the event page, which can be found on the navigation bar on the left.

February sees the return of the Fancy Dress Fun Run which was such a considerable success in 2008! The Bournemouth beach front fun run and walk will this year start from the pier approach. The event, which is sponsored by the Hendy Group will take place on Sunday 15th Feburary at 1pm. We are extremely hopeful that we will be able to attract similar numbers to last year in order to achieve the same carnival atmosphere!

The "Road to Bayeux" Cycle Ride was the brain child of Tony Bernard. We will be cycling 180 miles through Normandy to the home of the world famous Bayeux Tapestry. The event will take place from the 3rd to the 8th of June 2009. It costs £100 to enter but this will be refunded if you can raise £500 in sponsorship money.

For more details of the events coming up this year, please go to the events page.

The Steve Bernard Foundation Limited launches new website

enquiries@stevebernardfoundation.org — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 18:19:00 GMT

The Steve Bernard Foundation Limited launches a new website hosted by terapad.com. We hope that this will continue the development of the foundation both professionally and in communication terms.

Barney & Kevin Excel in Marathon

enquiries@stevebernardfoundation.org — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:07:00 GMT

Two Bournemouth men had great success running Flora London Marathon for the Steve Bernard Foundation. The race which tookplace on Sunday 13th April brought together months of training and hard work.

Kevin Dowsett (pictured below) who runs competitively for Littledown Harriers ran the race in a highly commendable time of 3.54. Kevin is linked to the foundation through his son, who was a close friend to Steve, and has helped us out a few times in the past!

Barney Dean, 19, is a former student at Bournemouth School and was running the marathon for the first time. Barney, who is pictured left, finished an amazing 67th in his age group completing the race in a similar time of 3 hours 58 minutes.

All of us at the foundation would like to extend both our thanks and congratulations to both Barney and Kevin for their fantastic times and effort .

The Big 21 Fun Run

enquiries@stevebernardfoundation.org — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 13:15:00 GMT

In excess of 350 people gathered on Bournemouth's glorious seafront on Sunday to remember a dearly missed friend in the most appropriate fashion possible. Friends and family of Steve Bernard, who was tragically killed in November 2005, joined together for a fancy dress fun run along the promenade to Boscomber pier.

The race was the latest in a long line of fundraisers carried out by the Steve Bernard Foundation, a sporting charity which raises money for sporting projects and causes in the Bournemouth and wider Dorset area. There were a stunning array of Fancy dress outfits with awards being presented for the best male and female outfits.

Roger Johnson, of BBC South Today was generous enough to start the race and expressed his delight at being involed with the event. Roger also presented the prizes to the first finishers; Jacques Bernard picked up the trophy for first male finisher, Sarah Wood picked up the female prize and Christine Doyle the junior award.

The foundation would like to thank each and every person who took part in the fun run and in particular Steve Hendy of the Hendy Group and the teams at the Daily Echo and Fire FM who helped to promote the event. Particular congratulations go to Tony Bernard, without whom the event would not have got off the ground.

Click here to read the Daily Echo's coverage

Click here to see pictures from the event

Nathan and Alex Shine in Canada

enquiries@stevebernardfoundation.org — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 13:18:00 GMT

The Steve Bernard Foundation is delighted to announce that two of its supported athletes, Nathan Bailey and Alex Foster, recently returned from a succesful stint at the Trampoling World Age Games in Canada.

Nathan (pictured below far left), who trains with the Ringwood and Bournemouth Trampoline Club, won a silver medal with partner Luke Strong in the synchronised competition. This represents a huge achievement for a young performer who was involved in a serious training accident just 1 year ago.

Nathan also attained 18th place in the individual competition and 13th in the Double Mini Trampoline Competition.

Alex Foster also had an extremely successful competition, coming 20th in the highly competitive 15/16 age group.

Everyone at the Steve Bernard Foundation would like to extend their congratulations to both boys and wish them the very best for the future. Truly world class!

Kay's Great Run for Steve

enquiries@stevebernardfoundation.org — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 16:11:00 GMT

Everyone at the Steve Bernard Foundation would like to extend their thanks and congratulations to Kay Ferguson who ran the Great South Run on Sunday 28th October.

Kay raised £174.50 for the foundation and its sporting projects. Kay (pictured right), who works at the Bournemouth Sports Club, Chapel Gate ran the 10 mile race in a highly commendable time of 1 hour and 51 minutes. Kay was raising funds for the SBF and we would like to thank her for her efforts.

St Mark's Leaps for Glory

enquiries@stevebernardfoundation.org — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 15:57:00 GMT

The Steve Bernard Foundation in conjunction with the Parents Association of St Mark's Junior School today opened the long awaited long jump pit and run up at the Talbot Village school.

The pit was officially opened by members of the foundation at the primary school's annual sports day. Jacques Bernard took the first jump in the pit, closely followed by the newly crowned sports person of the year.

The opening marked the end of the foundation's longest running project. The school was earmarked for a donation as early as November 2005 when it was a recipient of donations received at Steve's funeral

The school played a fundamental role in the young development of Stevie and the family felt it was approriate that the school should benefit from the fundraising done in Steve's name.

The foundation would like to thank staff and pupils at the school who have worked tirelessly to get to this point, in particular Claire Philips who suggested the pit and worked with us through to its completion.

Memorial Dinner 07 A Tremendous Success

enquiries@stevebernardfoundation.org — Sun, 20 May 2007 16:06:00 GMT

The Steve Bernard Foundation is proud to announce that in excess of £9000 was raised for the foundations sporting projects at the Memorial Dinner on the 19th May. We would like to extend our thanks to everyone who came along and contributed towards the success. The night was once again hosted by comedian Scott Charlton who struck an eloquent balance on a night which still tugs at the heart strings. The now traditional heads and tails game returned for another year, starting off a spree of generous donations.

There was once again a wide variety of shirts and memorabilia auctioned on the evening. The foundation would like to thank Nick O' Hara who donated the 1999 Olé Gunnar Solskjaer shirt as this raised over £1000 for the charity at the dinner.

Other interesting lots included a signed Wayne Rooney Manchester United shirt and a Brazil shirt signed by the prodigal Brazilian star Ronaldinho.

Another Item of note was a cricket bat signed by the Hampshire County Cricket XI. Kacj Sheppard, a member of the youth team at Hampshire approached the foundation, requesting some help with his fundraising for the tour. We were more than happy to oblige and he raised £450 towards his total.

In conclusion, we would like to thank everyone who contributed to a fantastic evening and we hope to see you again next year!