Charitable ride 450ft above Brighton beach to encourage girls into sports

A spokesman said: “The event on May 30 aims to raise both funds and awareness for the Sweaty Betty Foundation which works to encourage girls into sports. Seven individuals will have the opportunity to participate in the class by purchasing a seat on one of the seven available charity bikes.

“Tickets are available to purchase at a cost of £360 on Brighton i360’s website, with all proceeds donated to the Sweaty Betty Foundation, which focuses on supporting girls aged 10-18 from underrepresented communities such as lower-income families, ethnically diverse backgrounds, girls with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ young people.”

Tamara Hill Norton, the founder of the sports brand Sweaty Betty and the Sweaty Betty Foundation, said: “I'm incredibly excited to be taking part in the event hosted at Brighton i360. It's such a fantastic location! I'll be cycling next to Dr Zoe William’s and Mica Moore to raise funds for the Sweaty Betty Foundation. All the funds raised from the event will go directly to girls, inspiring the next generation to find activities they'll love.”

Recently named on the Pulse Power 50 list as one of the most influential GP’s in the country, Dr Zoe Williams is the resident GP on ITV’s popular daytime TV show, This Morning, and has featured as an expert on the BBC’s The One Show, Horizon and Trust Me I’m a Doctor. Prior to this, Zoe featured in the popular TV show Gladiators as the character ‘Amazon’. Zoe is an NHS General Practitioner in London, as well as an advisor to Public Health England, the NHS, the Royal College of GPs as well as some of the UK’s largest brands, including BUPA, Garmin, Estee Lauder, Elastoplast and Tesco.

Dr Zoe Williams said: “I’m really excited to take part in the Sweaty Betty foundation bike ride. Supporting and empowering girls to be active has always been something that I’ve been passionately involved in, so I’m delighted to get behind the handlebars to support this wonderful initiative.”

Mica Moore is a British women's sprinter and bobsleigher who competed for Wales at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, as well as the 2-women bobsleigh event at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. Since 2018, Mica completed a masters in sports broadcasting and took on a new challenge, moving to the front seat of a bobsleigh becoming a pilot.

Speaking about the event, Mica said: “I can’t wait to be part of the Sweaty Betty foundation bike ride! I’m actually very much afraid of heights so maybe I’ll have to close my eyes, but it just shows how important it is to me to encourage and support young people and girls into sport!”

Chief Executive Officer Ian Hart, from Brighton i360, says: “Hosting the class inside the Brighton i360 pod is a small gesture for a meaningful and worthwhile cause. Encouraging girls to participate in sports is important for their physical and mental health, as well as their personal growth and development. It's also great that some lucky individuals will have the opportunity to participate in the event. It will surely be an unforgettable experience.”

The athletes will ride alongside Elaine Hart, Chief Banana Officer, and Founder of POWER Fitness Events. POWER is an immersive group-ride experience that combines movement, with positive, inspiring bikechat from Elaine, spoken over a high-energy playlist, and bananas. "Every rider arrives to find a banana and a pen on their handlebars; it's an invitation to write a word that expresses how they feel or motivates them,” says Elaine. “By sharing banana words whilst we ride, it encourages reflection, focus, play, and inspires my bikechat. POWER is so much more than a workout, it's an invitation to shift; mentally, physically, and energetically. It's a playful, brave space, that everybody can be part of. I've delivered POWER on land, and on water, but never in the air. Since I set foot on the i360, I had high hopes to ride above Brighton. Riding alongside such an inspiring bunch, in support of the brilliant Sweaty Betty Foundation will be incredible."

Taking place inside the Brighton i360 glass observation pod, which was designed by the creators of the London Eye, the glass pod will glide from ground level to 450ft above Brighton beach showcasing unprecedented unfolding views across Brighton and Hove, the South Downs and the beautiful Sussex coast.

The Sweaty Betty Foundation was launched in March 2021 with the support of its partner and founder Sweaty Betty, the activewear brand for women. The Foundation’s mission is to empower women and girls from every background to get active by supporting girls aged 10–18 to try new activities at school, at home and in their communities, so that they can discover the ways they love to get active.

Although just two years old, the foundation has already made huge strides in its mission to empower girls into sports. Examples include the foundation partnering with the Youth Sport Trust to create fun co-curricular programmes, in which girls can try new activities like dance, boxing, fitness and yoga. Another collaboration has been with Greenhouse Sports to create the role of a Female Participation Officer to work with teenage girls in focus group sessions to design tactical plans to increase the number of girls taking part in sport exercises. A partnership has also taken place with This Girl Can, in which a group of young girls were able to redesign a sports hijab alongside Sweaty Betty designers. For International Women’s Day in 2022 & 2023, Sweaty Betty stores across the UK ran a campaign in which for each bra purchased by a customer, Sweaty Betty donated a bra to the Sweaty Betty Foundation to then donate to teenage girls who need them the most, with a total of 8,000 bras donated. Bra workshops were also held in schools across London to educate students on breast health and sports bras to ensure the donation was met with impactful change.

To purchase a seat at the class please visit – https://www.brightoni360.co.uk/tickets/sweaty-betty-foundation-ride-in-the-sky/ All of the proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to the Sweaty Betty Foundation.