A 24-hour bowlathon at Ellon Bowling Club has raised more than £24,000 for charity.
The event, which took place from 7pm last Friday until 7pm on Saturday, was organised by Mike Stephen with the money generated being donated to Clan cancer support.
A team of 14 bowlers from Ellon alternated across two rinks with new teams from elsewhere arriving every hour to play them.
The money was raised through a combination of a justgiving page, donations and sponsorship from businesses such as NorthLink Ferries and Phil Anderson Financial Services, as well as a raffle.
Explaining how the idea came about Stephen, 55, said: “The plan was hatched in 2019 because my friends Alistair and Shirley Campbell were celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary in 2020.
“They were planning to do 30 things for their 30 years and they came to me and said they were thinking about a bowlathon.
“But because of Covid we had to suspend it, but at the start of this year I approached our club to see if we could do it.
“Alistair and Shirley came to me because I got through lymphoma in 2019 and they asked what charity I would like to donate to.
“I chose Clan because I got a lot of help from them coming through my treatment and they helped me get through the bad times.”
Robertson lends a hand
The event was also supported by former Aberdeen, Rangers and Scotland footballer David Robertson.
Stephen added: “David’s brother-in-law is a member here so we asked if he’d come along and he was receptive to it and seemed to really enjoy it.
“It was good to see David and we really appreciated his support.
“We had a tremendous response from a lot of people. Initially I was surprised by the response we had.
“It was an incredible effort from everyone and an amazing weekend we had.
“We’re also thankful to Ellon Bowling Club who gave us use of the the facility.”
Anyone who wishes to donate can still do so at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/bowlsupforcancer24
