MONMOUTH Rotary Club will once again raise funds for St David’s Hospice Care through its staging of the 52nd Monmouth Raft Race.

And organisers, who have staged the annual River Wye Raft race for the past 15 years, are now looking for sponsors to support the annual event in 2017.

The popular event will be staged on Sunday 3rd September this year with St David’s Hospice Care as the principal beneficiary.

The annual event sees teams of four or more build rafts and then paddle them 6.5 miles down the River Wye from the rowing club steps at Monmouth to Whitebrook.

Rotary President, Roger Finn, said: “We are very grateful to our existing sponsors and we are now trying to persuade more sponsors to dip their toes in the water, so to speak, and to back this hugely popular, very high profile event in 2017.

“Monmouth Rotary Club have been organising the Monmouth Raft Race for 15 years and in that time the event has gone from strength to strength. We have developed a strong bond with St David’s Hospice Care who remain the principle beneficiaries of the money raised through the event.”

Emma Saysell, Chief Executive of St David’s Hospice Care, said: “The continued support we get from Monmouth Rotary Club and our sponsors is truly amazing and important to us especially as our commitments will soon be considerably increased with the opening this year of the new 15-bed in patient centre in Malpas.”

Entry for the 2017 Monmouth Raft Race cost £75 per raft including a commitment to raise a minimum of £100 in sponsorship. Early bird entrants, who sign up before 1st June, pay just £50. For full details about the event, including online or postal entries, visit www.monmouthraftrace.com or call Monmouth Raft Race secretary, Rotarian David Forbes on 01600 712665 or Kris Broome at St David’s Hospice Care on 01633 851051.