A week before fifty cyclists set off from Brisbane to Townsville on the annual 1600 km cancer fundraiser, the Smiling For Smiddy Challenge, a documentary about the cause is set to screen on Win Television.
The documentary – Smiling for Smiddy The Long Road – is set to air on WIN television throughout Queensland on Sunday 28 August at 2pm.
This inspiring film is narrated by Maria, the mother of Adam Smiddy, a young man who died of Melanoma Cancer in 2006 at the age of just 26 in who’s memory the ride and the charity was founded.
Through “The Long Road”, Maria tells not only of her own powerful story of losing her son but also the unforgettable legacy created by his friends to ensure Adam is never forgotten and that a cure is found for this insidious disease.
Smiling for Smiddy was created by Adam’s close friend and coach, Mark Smoothy, soon after Adam’s death when he took to his bicycle with two friends to undertake the first Smiddy ride raising $26,000. Each year the number of riders and road crew has grown, along with the number of people donating to the charity and the money raised. Adam, a physiotherapist and triathlon coach at the University of Queensland was passionate about and would have loved the challenge created in his name. To date the charity has raised over 1.9 million dollars.
All the money raised from the challenges help fund ongoing world-class cancer research and health care through the Mater Foundation.
Documentary producer, Ryan Early, from Reflected Image PRoductions led a crew of four who followed the 5th annual Smiling for Smiddy Challenge, a gruelling eight-day 1600km bicycle ride by 60 cyclists from Brisbane to Townsville in September.
“This is the second documentary we have made about this amazing group of people, but this year I wanted to capture the intensely personal journey that this challenge is for everyone involved,” Ryan said.
The Long Road also features a segment covering the annual Midi Smiddy ride, a bicycyle ride each June that covers 570 kilometres from Brisbane to Toowoomba, Warwick and back.
“I heard Maria speak on the Midi Smiddy and the room fell silent, so I knew that she was the perfect choice to help tell this story,” Ryan said.
The first documentary, Smiling for Smiddy: A Journey of Friends was created during the 2009 ride and won Best Documentary at the 2010 Queensland Multi Media Awards after airing on Win Television in December 2009 where it won the ratings for its timeslot.
“The documentaries are a vital device in raising awareness of the Smiddy cause. Following the airing of the documentary on WIN, a special directors cut was shown at special screenings along the Smiddy Challenge route helping significantly with the Smiling for Smiddy fundraising efforts, which now total over $1.9 million since the rides began in 2006,” Ryan said.
We called this years documentary the Long Road because the charity has achieved a lot in it’s time and also because of the strong bonds created between the riders and the volunteers in the many towns they ride through. The connection between all of these towns has been that many people in them have been affected by cancer.
So gear up for this year’s Smiling for Smiddy challenge by watching the documentary on Sunday 28 August at 2pm on Win. Then support the riders as they once again hit the road:
- Day One – 3 September – 212km Brisbane – Blackbutt – Nanango
- Day Two – 4 September – 242km Nanango – Gayndah – Eidsvold
- Day Three – 5 September – 200km Eidsvold – Biloela
- Day Four – 6 September – 205km Biloela – Blackwater
- Day Five – 7 September – 181km Blackwater – Emerald – Clermont
- Day Six – 8 September – 175km Clermont – Belyando Crossing
- Day Seven – 9 September – 202km Belyando Crossing – Charters Towers
- Day Eight – 10 September – 179km Charters Towers – Townsville
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgvJ09dJOsc&sns=em[/youtube]
