Daisy, Jemima, Imogen and Lella are all superheroes proving that no challenge is too huge to take on! These four inspiring girls came together last year and created their team Brookham Batgirls, fundraising and taking part in the Flight Centre Schools Triathlon. These girls were the top fundraising team at Highfield and Brookham, raising an incredible £635.

Katherine and Charlotte had the pleasure of interviewing the team when they went to visit for an assembly this year.

What motivated you to take part in the Schools Triathlon?

The team told Katherine and Charlotte how they were motivated by raising money to help solve issues they see around the world. ‘I want to solve the amount of litter, it’s horrid how people throw litter’ stated one member. ‘Homelessness is the biggest issue, it makes me sad when I see people on the street’ announced another.

Another member explained that she was inspired after watching ‘seven worlds one planet, where all the walruses running from the polar bears would fall down the cliff, so over 150 walruses died,’ that she wants to help the planet from rising sea levels and save all the endangered animals.

The girls know the change they wanted to see, so they have taken action. By raising money for Restless Development, they are helping young girls like Neema get off the street. Neema joined a peer leadership group where she gained skills for employment as well as leading her own group and using this to get other young girls permanently off the streets.

One girl describes how she wrote a letter to the Prime Minister, she directly challenged the people in power, telling him ‘I don’t like it when I see litter in the road’ and asking him to take action on this.

Last year the team organised a litter pick on the local beach, they contacted the council and got hold of the ‘tweezer things, and put the litter in our bucket, and put it in a thing that you tap so the sand drops out and the litter stays in there.’

From helping homelessness in Tanzania, to writing to the prime minister to impose litter laws and organising litter picks on their local beach, these girls are already making a huge impact in the world and helping to achieve the Global Goals.

The team also talked about starting an eco council in schools, using this as a way to motivate other young people to organise litter picks. After getting very excited about their influential idea, they triumphantly declared ‘LET’S DO IT!’

You are never too young or too few to make a difference!

Litter pick fundraisers are easy to arrange; contact your local council and they will send pickers, high vis jackets and bin bags, then ask people to sponsor you. It is a great way to help the community and go beyond your fundraising targets. And that’s exactly what the Batgirls did. Here’s there top fundraising tips.

What is your top fundraising tip for new Schools Triathlon participants?

This year the team have come up with new tactics to raise even more money than they did last year, ‘let’s make so much cookies and cake so we can sell them.’ They even suggested organising a game that the whole school can get involved in. ‘Guess the name of the bear, then charge people each time they have a go – think about the money that could be raised from this!’

What training advice would you give?

Last year was the first time the majority of the Brookham Batgirls had taken part in a triathlon, they explained ‘I knew what they were but never did one.’ The team advised other budding triathletes to ‘go to a training place and train because it’s hard and if you don’t train it’s really hard,’ but they also said they enjoyed the push (and were encouraged by their mums screaming at the side lines).

They also give tips on how you can fit training into your everyday life; ‘if you go to the park you could cycle instead of going in the car.’ Also demonstrating the incredible health and environmental benefits to the triathlon too.

The triathlons are great for getting young people to be more active in general, ‘now I go for a run in the village with my dad.’ Another girl furthered this point by saying how she went to visit a teacher the day before; ‘I ran to his house whilst my mum drove and I was faster.’

As the triathlon consists of three sports it means it is far more accessible to a range of partakers, the chances are higher of doing a sport each team member really likes, when asked what their favourite part was they all answered in unison…with a different sport.