SUPPORTERS GET BEHIND PIRATES

It might be a few weeks until Paisley Pirates fans have the chance to see their favourites back on the ice, but that’s not stopping them from getting right behind the team as the Supporters Club continues to use the close season to raise vital funds to help keep the Pirates on the ice.

Supporters Club Chairwoman Marie Cadenhead explained, “Over the close season the club committee has been streamlined, but that hasn’t stopped us from pushing ahead with the fundraising which nowadays is as essential for keeping the main club on the ice as any other activity.”

“We know as well how important it is too for the Pirates to be seen in the community which they’re very much part of. We took part in the Barshaw Gala Day towards the end of June, organized a bag pack in Morrison’s at the beginning of July which raised a lot of money, we’ve got a stall at the Ferguslie Open Day on Saturday 11 August, and we’ve got a bunch of supporters taking part in the annual Fun Run organized by the local council on Sunday 19 August.”

“There’s none of us will ever be described as athletes, but we’ve had a lot of fun taking part in it in previous years, as well as raising a bucketful of cash for the club funds, and we’re hoping to do the same this year. We’ve set up a JustGiving page at www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/paisley-pirates for anyone able and willing to support those folk who will maybe not be running, the whole distance (3k) on the day, but will certainly be attempting a fast stroll around the town centre on the day. We’re hoping supporters will feel able to take part in the Fun Run, there’s still time to register. It is certainly a lot of fun, as the title suggests, and from our perspective it gives us another opportunity to take part in a community activity and raise money at the same time.”

“It’s not too long now until the main event for us, namely, seeing the Pirates back on the ice, gets underway, and we know it makes a big difference to the club management and players to know the supporters are backing us by bringing in much needed cash. It costs more than people maybe think to keep the show on the road, when you consider costly items like booking buses for far away road trips, so contributors to the cause, either in donations to the page, or by taking part in the event, know that every penny raised goes to help the Pirates, Renfrewshire’s only senior ice hockey team.”