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Rugby fan flies flag for Bulldogs
Neil Fox climbed mount Kilimanjaro wearing his Batley Bulldogs shirt. Pictured with his guide, Thomas.
RUGBY fan Neil Fox has gone to extreme heights to put his favourite team on the map.
Neil spent seven days climbing 19,340ft up Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, wearing his Batley Bulldogs shirt and flying his team’s flag from his backpack.
His self-imposed trek started off as a personal mission, but soon became a small fundraising feat for the Batley Independent Supporters Squadbuilder Association, and helped raise awareness for Bulldog player Danny Maun’s testimonial year.
Neil’s guide, Thomas, was even presented with a Danny Maun shirt after they reached the summit.
Neil, a Bulldogs supporter from the ‘wrong side of the border’ in Dewsbury, said: “At first it was just something I wanted to do for me. I didn’t want to make it a charity thing in case I ended up letting people down by not completing the climb.”
In fact, it was only at the last minute that Neil decided to wear his club’s shirt for the duration of his climb.
“I’m a big fan of the team, and thought I would get a real kick out of doing it,” he said.
“I wanted to get the name of the club out there, and I was actually the only person wearing a rugby shirt during the whole trip, which was great.”
For keen walker Neil, who became known as Bulldog on his trip, Kilimanjaro was the most dangerous trek he’s done.
He walked through five eco-systems, from a rainforest, to 30 degrees heat to the snowy summit. The first thing an emotional Neil did when he reached the top was get his Bulldogs flag out!
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Weather for Batley
Saturday 18 May 2013
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Light rain
Temperature: 7 C to 12 C
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