How to organise a Scootathon
Words by Micro ScootersOctober 01, 2024
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3 minutes
How to organise a Scootathon.
Organising a sponsored scoot (or Scootathon or even a Scootathlon) is a fun way to raise money for charity. We have sponsored scootathlons run by Human Race in the past, and over the years, we have also sponsored smaller, local events often organised and run by parents.
Sophie Morgan at Herne Hill School is one such parent. Her school’s Scootathon raised over £7,000 for charity.
If you fancy giving it a go yourself, here are Sophie’s tips on how to organise a Scootathon.
Five months before the event:
• Decide which charity your school scootathon is going to raise money for.
• Contact the park where you wish to hold the event to secure the date. A Scootathon generally isn’t classified as an “official” event as it doesn’t involve erecting tables/tents in the park. However, it will be added to the park’s events calendar so they don’t book another event on the same morning.
Four months before the event:
• Start contacting local companies, other school parents, etc., to ask if they will donate some prizes.
Three months before the event:
• Send a Scootathon letter to Parents and place it in the school’s newsletter.
• Brief class teachers (and parent reps if your school has them) on the event and engage their help in rallying support for it. Also, encourage the setting up of online sponsorship pages.
• Potential to customize class tee-shirts in class. (This might need approval from your school’s head teacher).
• Ask the school office (or any willing parents) if they can arrange certificates. It’s good to ask early and then remind them nearer the event.
One month before the event:
• Setting up Sponsorship pages online—either individually or as a class—can be good so that raising money doesn’t become too competitive, with some children feeling embarrassed if they haven’t raised as much as other children. These pages can be personalised with messages and photos.
• Give weekly updates to the teachers and class reps on how much has been raised so they can let their class team know. The idea is to encourage and support without parents feeling pressured.
The month of the Scootathon
On your marks, get set… Go!
• Communicate to the teachers or class reps the week before about where starting from/time, etc., and they will be able to send this information to their classes. (It might be an idea to print small flyers for teachers to put in bookbags.)
For the day, you can look at some / all of the below:
• Balloons to mark the starting spot.
• Flags or banners from your chosen charity.
• Starting / finish flag.
• Medals/badges for all competitors.
• Buckets with sweeties for all competitors
• Ice Lollies.
• First Aid Kit (Most parks will insist on this, and it is better to have and not need.)
Actual Scootathon:
• It’s a good idea to set the teams off by class.
• Generally, every child will have to have a parent or carer accompanying then around the entire lap. This can be on foot, or on wheels.
• The event is generally not covered by insurance and is not an “official” school event, so each parent must take full responsibility for their child’s safety. Helmets are recommended.
• Each teacher starts their class's race.
• One parent per class should be asked to record the first three over the line.
• Each child receives a lolly/sweetie on completion.
• At the end, everyone is presented with a medal.
• Thank you, small speech.
• Headteacher awarded the prizes and certificates in assembly.
And that, as they say, is how it’s done. A massive thank you and congratulations to Sophie and all the children, staff and parents at Herne Hill school.
Has your school taken part in a Scootathon? Have you competed in a Scootathlon (scoot, cycle & run)? Do you have any tips to share? Join the conversation by following us on social media @microscooters.