The 2019 OSCAR Dragon Boat Race will take place on 13th September in London’s Docklands as the finale event of London International Shipping Week 2019.
What is the OSCAR Campaign?
The OSCAR Campaign supports treatments and research within the bone marrow specialism at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children. The Campaign is named after my son, Oscar Parry, who received life-saving care from GOSH when he was very young. Oscar endured two forms of leukaemia, two bone marrow transplants, the first ever childhood mesenchymal stem cell transplant in the UK, over 100 blood transfusions, five brain haemorrhages and five years of chemotherapy. Thanks to the pioneering work of the bone marrow transplant team at GOSH, Oscar is now 19, and the shipping community is saving the lives of other children by supporting more and more new treatments for children with previously incurable diseases.
On the surface, GOSH is a normally-funded NHS hospital, but beneath the surface it is a world-leading living breathing research laboratory that treats – and saves – the sickest children from all over the globe. It does this thanks to its ability to hire the best people and to invest in their work. And that is thanks to the charitable funds it raises from supporters, again all over the globe.
It is that international aspect of GOSH that lends itself to partnership with the shipping industry. And despite the fact that the OSCAR Campaign was set up during a terrible shipping recession, the industry has responded as I hoped it would… and then some.
About the OSCAR Dragon Boat Race
This annual event has already raised over half a million pounds towards the total raised by the OSCAR Campaign which now exceeds £1.8m. 25 teams compete against other companies in two heats of 250m races and the top six teams battle it out in a final. There is a bar, BBQ, coffee truck and band …as well as the racing. It’s an excellent networking event and good fun. Please see the enclosed information sheet for more about taking part in the event. Most importantly, no training is required.
Previous teams…
Union Maritime (our 2018 winners), Oldendorff, Lloyds Register, NEPIA, Lomar Shipping, A.M.Nomikos, The Baltic Exchange, Arrow Shipbroking, Augustea, Ince & Co, Shipowners P&I, HFW, Thomas Miller, John Swire & Sons, North P&I, Waves Group, Steamship Mutual, K Line, Spinnaker Global, Scorpio, Teekay, JLT, Graypage, C Solutions.
The 2018 race was sponsored by The Liberian Registry, Borealis Maritime, Blue Seas Adjusters and hosted by Spinnaker Global.
Get involved
If you’re at all interested in supporting OSCAR in 2019 – entering a team, sponsoring, or some other form of support – do please get in touch by emailing Lauren Thipthorpe at [email protected] and I would be delighted to come in to see you to explain more and answer any questions. I would be equally happy to give a talk to your charity committee or staff about the campaign and to arrange a visit to GOSH to see first-hand the remarkable work they do.
Phil Parry, Chairman, Spinnaker Global & Founder, The OSCAR Campaign
