Swap your beers for brews this month
Fleetwood Town Football Club is urging supporters to put down their pints and pick up Cancer Research UK's Dryathlon challenge in January.Managers at the football club are calling on fans to swap beers for a brew in January and raise funds for life-saving research.
Dryathlon is Cancer Research UK's popular fundraising campaign which invites social drinkers to take a month-long break from alcohol.
'Dryathletes' pledge to banish the booze for a month and either get sponsored or donate the money they would have spent on alcohol to the charity.
Mike Lee, Community Champion at the club, is just one of the club members planning to take up the challenge.
He has the backing of Fleetwood Town's managers and players to help keep him on the wagon over the 31-day challenge.
Mike said: "So many people know someone who has been touched by cancer and the Club felt we needed to do something to help others affected by this terrible disease.
"Dryathlon is the ideal challenge. It's going to be tough but raising money to help more people survive cancer is the ultimate inspiration to stay committed throughout January.
"So that's why we're calling on men and women across Fleetwood, Blackpool and the Fylde coast to be 'dry and mighty' with me and take on Dryathlon for one month to help beat cancer sooner."
An impressive 9,841 men and women across the North West took on the Dryathlon 2015 challenge, raising a fantastic £656,556 to help beat 200 types of cancer.
Cancer Research UK hopes that even more people across the region will join Mike and Fleetwood Town FC and pledge to give up alcohol in January 2016.
Supporters can register to take part in Dryathlon as individuals or set up a team and get their friends, colleagues or relatives involved to motivate each other along the way.
And for those who find the one month challenge a bit too daunting, there's the 'tipple tax' which allows Dryathletes to donate a £20 penalty if they fall off the wagon for a day.
Alison Barbuti, Cancer Research UK spokesperson for Blackpool and the Fylde coast, said: "We're thrilled that members of Fleetwood Town FC will be taking on Dryathlon and urging their supporters to do the same.
"Despite what people might think – going dry doesn't need to be dull. We're challenging people to embrace a month with one less sin by giving up the sauce, not their social life.
"There are still plenty of fun ways to enjoy 31 hangover-free days."
Every day, 110 people are diagnosed with cancer in the North West. Dryathlon aims to raise money to accelerate groundbreaking research to help more people survive and ensure more families stay together.
Alison added: "It may be the height of the party season, but we're urging people to sign up now so they're ready and raring to go on January 1.
"By bidding farewell to their favourite tipple, our Dryathletes will be helping to fund research to help beat 200 different types of cancer."
One in two people in the UK will be diagnosed with cancer at some stage in their lives, but the good news is more people are surviving the disease now than ever before. Survival has doubled since the early 1970s.
Since it launched in 2013, over 170,000 people have taken part in Dryathlon across the UK and helped raise a fantastic £17 million to help beat cancer sooner.
To sign up now and take on Dryathlon in January, visit www.dryathlon.org