THRILLS and spills are set to be the order of the day this Sunday in Monmouth as the annual Raft Race takes place.
For the first time, a live streaming of the start of the event will take place on its Facebook page from 10am to 12 noon.
The all-day event sees people from across over the country descend on the River Wye to test out their prototype and see if they can claim the quickest time over the 6.5 mile course on the day.
Currently, there are 92 teams that have paid the £60 entrance fee, which is slightly down on the 107 in last year’s 50th edition of the race but the organises at the Rotary Club of Monmouth expect it to be as much a fun-filled day as 12 months ago.
Norman Williams, of the Rotary Club, said: “It is great seeing some weird and wonderful rafts take to the water, sometimes you see things going down the river that you could never imagine.
“One that really stands out is that last year we had a wedding themed raft full with a bride and groomsmen. It always amazes me how far some people come and we have entrants from as far away as Yorkshire, Cornwall, Manchester and Basingstoke.”
More than 85 volunteers are set to help out on the day, which raises money for St David’s Hospice whilst there are also donations to several other charities that send people to help out.
Last year the event raised a record £42,000 for charity, £4k more than 2014 and it is expected to raise a similar figure this weekend.
From 9am teams of rafts will be setting up on the fields by Monmouth Rowing Club as scrutineering takes place and before they enter the water at 11.30am. Last year introduced a new staggered starting system, which will begin from 12.30am.
Mr Williams added: “More than 700 people take part of the water so a few will end up in the river during the launch but it’s all great fun. We put a lot of hard work in so to see the amount we raise is always a sense of job well done.”
The race was originally started by the Young Farmers, then the Conservative Club of Monmouth took it over and now the Rotary Club have been running it for the past thirteen years.
The best places to view the race are either by the rowing club, on Redbrook footbridge or on the path up to Monmouth.
For more information visit monmouthraftrace.com
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