Established in 2015, The Harlequins Foundation is the embodiment of the Harlequin FC belief to put our communities at the heart of everything we do. As the charitable arm of the Club, our focus is on solutions that tackle inequality, poor health and the challenges facing the most vulnerable in society using education, skills development and entrepreneurship.
Vicki is one of the UK’s leading fitness experts and founder of London’s original barre and ballet studio, Barreworks. She trains a vast array of clientele from ‘everyday’ individuals to elite-level athletes and everyone in-between. She believes that every sport and every individual keen to improve their performance or movement patterns can learn a tremendous amount from ballet.
Since her participation in the TV show SAS: Who Dares Wins, Vicki has become an advocate for women’s resilience, grit and determination, inspiring others to exploit their genetic potential (physical and mental). She believes in training for general physical preparedness, and that achievement doesn’t have to be constrained by talent – we all have it in us to succeed if we are driven to do so.
Next June, Vicki and three other ‘ordinary’ women will participate in The Great Pacific Race in an attempt to secure a new World Record. The team will row 2,400 miles, 2 hours on, two hours off from San Francisco to Hawaii. Vicki has never rowed on water until now and will rely on her physical strength and mental resilience to complete this extraordinary challenge.
Vicki’s inspirational achievements make her a perfect advocate of The Harlequins Foundation. Amongst other areas, she can utilise her experience for our SWITCH programme supporting and enabling girls to grow and develop their skills using sport.
SWITCH is a multi-tiered programme aimed at encouraging girls to get involved in the sport by:
- Increasing accessibility and participation – providing opportunities for girls to take part in rugby.
- Inspiring and Excelling – using our coaches to nurture and develop girls’ progression within the game.
- Developing and Sustaining – educating staff, supporting schools, and providing an onward pathway.
Vicki says “As a rugby fan for as long as I can remember and with strong local ties to Harlequins with my business in Richmond, I’m honoured to be asked to be an Ambassador for The Harlequins Foundation. I have participated in the brilliant ‘Rival Ride’ for the past two years, met many of the Harlequins ‘Legends’ and learned about the invaluable projects The Harlequins Foundation supports. I hope to be able to spread awareness and encourage engagement in their activities in the future as well as loudly cheer on the Women and Men’s squads as they achieve success year after year.”
Vicki’s inspiring personal story and journey to success in business and physical adventure supports the aims and goals of The Harlequins Foundation and we are delighted to be working with her.
Marc Leckie, Head of the Foundation said, ‘Vicki has been a strong supporter of ours over the last couple of years, through her participation in The Rival Ride and we are incredibly grateful she has agreed to be an ambassador for us. Her positive approach to life and the resilience she demonstrates when taking on challenges is to be hugely admired and something we know will resonate with the participants on our programmes.’
You can read more about Vicki here.