Selwood is one of the official sponsors of the Hull-timate Challenge, organised by the Living With Water partnership

Leading pump provider Selwood is backing a unique public event in Hull that aims to raise awareness about flooding and ensure residents are better prepared.

Selwood is one of the official sponsors of the Hull-timate Challenge, which will see hundreds of people take on a 30-piece urban obstacle course next to the city’s iconic locations, including a giant “take-off” slide outside Hull Minster and a “Tarzan” rope swing next to the city’s tidal barrier. The race, taking place over the weekend of 20 and 21 October, is the brainchild of the Living With Water partnership, made up of Yorkshire Water, Hull City Council, East Riding of Yorkshire Council and the Environment Agency.

The race has a strong environmental focus and many of the obstacles will tie in with the local area, which can be affected by flooding.

As part of its sponsorship, Selwood will be providing 250 child and school place tickets to the event.

Richard Brown, Managing Director – Pump Solutions at Selwood, said: “We are delighted to be sponsoring this event alongside some of our key partners, including Yorkshire Water and the Environment Agency.

“It promises to be a fun and exciting weekend, but beneath this is a very important educational message. Hull’s level of flood risk is second only to London, so it is vital that residents, and particularly the younger generation, are aware of the challenges and how they can be overcome.

“Being a major supplier in flood alleviation projects across the UK and around the world, we see it as part of our corporate responsibility to help raise awareness. I would like to wish the best of luck to all those taking part!”

Lee Pitcher, Head of Resilience for Yorkshire Water, Living With Water, said: “This is a great opportunity for people to visit Hull and take part in a unique race never seen before through the streets. However, the wider message for the whole community is to understand how we all need to tackle where we live and work to be more resilient to flooding in the future.”

Obstacles will also include water butt hurdles and a flood barrier trough. Important messages about reducing plastics in our oceans will be featured, through challenges such ducking under single use plastics in ice-filled skips and each entrant receiving a reusable plastic bottle for rehydration. For more information, click here