The One Ball Rally!

A while ago, Regtransfers was approached by David Cook, a 23 year old man who had recently recovered from combined testicular and stomach cancer. David invited us to sponsor a charity endeavour that he referred to as the ‘One Ball Rally' an adaptation of the phrase Gumball Rally. The relevance
of this play on words to testicular cancer patients should be fairly obvious.

The One Ball Rally is to be a 2,350-mile charity drive across Europe, from Ormskirk in Lancashire to Istanbul, Turkey. It will take place in April 2008, and will aim to raise the profile of various UK oncology departments, and raise money for research into testicular cancer, an illness that many men are still reluctant to talk, or even think, about.

The request David made of Regtransfers was that we might consider providing an appropriate and memorable private number plate for the vehicle, a London black cab. It was clear that David wanted to approach the whole thing in a upbeat manner, and with a sense of humour, so Regtransfers was happy to suggest X60 NAD ('ex gonad').

David said, “I like it, the X GONAD plate does bring a smile to your face which is what it’s all about!”
Why a classic London taxi as the vehicle? Originally we had heard that he was approaching car manufacturers to sponsor the Rally, and maybe to supply a vehicle.

“Car firms will not allow the required amount of leeway in regards to decorating the car and getting our sponsors on the vehicle,” David said. “So we decided to get the comedy element of the One Ball Rally starting with the vehicle!”

There is more work involved in arranging a project of this nature than one might initially appreciate, and not even charity events escape the irritating intrusion of “red tape”. David has had to change the rally's destination from his original choice of Azerbaijan due to travel insurance issues. Readers of our Regwise newsletter will, no doubt, spot the differences between the original plan as described there and the new schedule.

The new route is confirmed as including the cities of Ormskirk, London, Brussels, Frankfurt, Salzburg, Budapest, Szeged, Bucharest, Burgas and Istanbul.

David said, “The people who got me through this tough period in my life were the nurses and consultants of the various oncology wards around the UK. I am now determined to raise the profile of these amazing people and also raise money to help understand testicular cancer.”

The Rally is still very much in need of assistance with funding. In addition to the cost of purchasing the taxi (which will be auctioned after the drive, with proceeds going to the charities), there is also the cost of food and accommodation to be covered.

Anyone wishing to donate to the charity can do so by visiting www.justgiving.com/oneballrally.
Further details are available at www.oneballrally.blogspot.com

To offer other support, or contact David about the rally, please email oneballrally@hotmail.co.uk.
Regtransfers is very happy to be a sponsor for this worthy venture, and we wish David the best of luck. We will publish One Ball Rally updates on our blog and in our newsletters to keep readers informed of progress.

Rick Cadger