Bowlers strike form in Haiti quake fundraiser (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Bowlers strike form in Haiti quake fundraiser

3:10pm Wednesday 10th March 2010 in

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BOWLERS turned out in record numbers to raise money for Haiti earthquake survivors.

At this year’s mayor’s charity ten-pin bowling event at Bowlplex in Basingstoke Leisure Park, 276 competitors raised £5,000 which the Salvation Army will put to good use in the devastated Caribbean country.

The Mayor’s Marauders came bottom of the 46 teams taking part, but team leader Councillor Brian Gurden, mayor of Basingstoke and Deane, was not disheartened.

“The bowling event was a fantastic success,” he said.

Striking a rich vein of form was Full Beaumonty, a team of borough council officers who racked up more than 700 points to win the event.

Team entries brought in more than £1,600 and a raffle made £400. The amount was more than matched by Barclays Asset Management to bring the total up to £5,000.

Captain Fred Eardley, co-leader of the Salvation Army in Basingstoke, is out in Haiti, helping with the relief effort in the town of Petit Goave.

The mayor said: “He’s said that this money will go a long way towards rebuilding a school in Petit Goave, using low-cost local labour and materials, and that will be a massive benefit for that community.”