Martial Arts clubs to come together for fundraising festival in aid of Ukrainian refugees

On Saturday, April 30 the Martial Aid - Ukraine Festival event will take place from 11.30am to 2.20pm at Andover Leisure Centre.

The festival aims to raise funds to help children affected by war in Ukraine to find safe homes. All funds raised from the event will be sent to Hope and Homes for Children – the charity which helps to find homes for Ukrainian refugee children.

A range of martial arts schools from Andover, Basingstoke and other Hampshire areas will be taking part in the event, with organisers continuing to invite participants from across the county and beyond.

A spokesperson for the planning team said: “It will be great to see our children coming together to display their skills in aid of Ukrainian children.”

The festival will start at 11:30 with an opening ceremony which will consist of a small speech about the festival and its purpose.

This will be followed by demonstrations of Jujitsu, Judo, Kung Fu, Tae Kwon Do and Kickboxing skills and techniques to spectators.

In the afternoon, there will be a 90-minute spar-a-thon session which will be open to all clubs in the region. There will be two matted areas, one for the stand-up athletes and the second for grapplers to roll. Round timers will be set up in each area and participants can spar as much or as little as they see fit.

Throughout the demonstrations and spar-a-thon, an activity area for children will be on offer, to give them a chance to try out some fun martial arts skills with qualified coaches from all the local clubs.

#ThereWithUkraine

There will also be stalls located near the entrance, including a bake sale and an Easter Hamper raffle.

For more information about the festival programme and organisation, contact Gordon Mitchell (Fighting Falcons Head Coach) on gordon@fighting-falcons.co.uk or 07799006453, or Victoria Sharova on victoriasharova@yahoo.com or 07792911017.