Eighties twist for charity ‘spinathon’

The gym at the leisure centre was the venue for a 1980s themed spin cycle night in aid of Northern Ireland’s Children’s Hospice.

The novel fundraiser was organised by Amphitheatre staff members Mark Stockman and William McQuade, with headbands, Lycra and neon tutus the order of the day as 25 people joined in to raise much-needed cash for the charity.

“We had been talking about doing something for the Hospice for a while, so we put our heads together and eventually decided on a charity spin cycle night,” said Mark, an instructor at the Prince William Way facility.

“To make it a bit more interesting for anyone who would be taking part, we thought we’d have the 80s theme, get people to dress up and decorate the room a bit as well.

“How it worked was that each person paid £10 for the use of the bike and we had a few donations.

“People took it at their own pace; it wasn’t a hard core session like the spin cycle usually would be but a one-off special class to raise money and have a bit of fun.

“It lasted about two hours or so with a 15 minute break in between and we had some refreshments at the end.

“We’ve raised £350 so far so I’d like to thank everybody who took part.”

Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice is currently the only service of its type within the province, providing specialist care to children and young people with life-limiting illness.