Casting for Recovery
Friday, February 22nd, 2008
Last week we bumped into Jill Grieve from the Countryside Alliance and she told us about a great project they have got involved with called Casting for Recovery, which is a non-profit support and educational programme providing fly fishing retreats specifically tailored for women who have or have had breast cancer.
It was founded in the US in 1996 and, having helped more than 2,500 breast cancer survivors since then, has been such a success that the England Ladies Fly Fishing Association decided to launch Casting for Recovery UK & Ireland over here.
At first it might be hard to make the connection between breast cancer and fly fishing but the gentle exercise is great for joint and soft tissue mobility and for getting moving again after invasive surgery. It is also wonderful way to relax and unwind during what is undoubtedly a very stressful and upsetting time in someone’s life. The retreats combine counselling, educational services and fishing to promote mental and physical healing and offer a forum for women with similar experiences to meet and support each other.
Amazingly, the UK & Ireland Programme Co-ordinator, Sue Hunter, only discovered the sport after her second diagnosis of breast cancer at the end of the 90s and in 2007 she was Captain of the England Ladies fly fishing team!
They ran their first retreat last September at Duncton Mill in Sussex and have already got three confirmed retreats going on this year:
- 28-30 March 2008 – The Arundell Arms , Lifton, Devon
- 11-13 April 2008 – Caer Beris Manor Hotel , Builth Wells, Powys, with the fishing at the nearby Llyn Gwyn fishery
- 28th-30th September 2008 – Duncton Mill Retreat , Petworth, West Sussex
The project relies on a number of things, including funding from the Countryside Alliance, fly fishing equipment from Orvis UK and a wide range of volunteers. If you think you could help, click here for more information about volunteering.
