A new 5 a-side football tournament, The William Ramsay Cup, is being held at the U-Mix Centre this Saturday, 18th August, from 2pm.
This is a friendly, yet fiercely competitive, competition named and organised in honour of Jack Ritchie, who sadly took his own life last year as a direct result of a gambling addiction.
The competition is being organised by Jack's friends and aims to help raise money and awareness for two key charities:
Sheffield Mind, a local mental health charity with strong links amongst the community who do excellent work offering a range of services to promote better mental health.
You Don't Know Jack, set up by Jack's parents which has become part of the wider Gambling With Lives charity. This was co-founded by Jack's parents and other similarly bereaved families in the UK. It aims to raise awareness of the effects that gambling addiction can have and lobby for change in regulations to stop and further prevent its exploitation by the gambling industry.
The tournament fits very well with the U Mix Centre's vision as, besides raising money for these charities, it is also about bringing people together through sport and a shared purpose, with an acknowledgement of the benefits that participation in sport and exercise can bring to people both mentally and physically. It is both a reflection of this and Jack's life which have resulted in all manner of participants wanting to get involved from different backgrounds and age groups.
2018 is the inaugural year of the William Ramsay Cup, but the organisers already have an eye on the future and hope to make it an annual event which will grow in stature and size over time.
There are still one or two places available for teams to sign up.
Follow the links below to the tournament event page and for more information about the Gambling With Lives charity.