Virtual balloon race

Join us in our attempt at the world's biggest virtual balloon race and be in with the chance of winning £1,000.

There are literally hundreds of ways you can fundraise for us, but buying a balloon is by far the easiest way to get involved! It's fun, safe and environmentally friendly but best of all it is raising vital funds to support all those with the lifelong, complex conditions of spina bifida and hydrocephalus.

First things first – you’ll need to Buy a Balloon before 14:00 on 30 November 2016. You can buy one balloon for £3, or buy more to give yourself more chances to win.

Balloons can also be bought by calling the Fundraising Team on 03455 211 600.

You can personalise your virtual balloon by choosing the size, shape and even the thickness of the rubber. A larger, more aerodynamic balloon may fly faster – but it is also at a greater risk of exploding!

Balloons made of latex rubber are notoriously vulnerable. So if you chose thin rubber to make your balloon fly higher and therefore faster, your balloon could just explode if the wind speeds become excessive! But if your balloon is flying low towards rocky ground, it could strike an electricity pylon or be burst by a church spire. Choose your balloon carefully.

We will release all the virtual balloons from St Andrews Cathedral, Scotland on Wednesday 30 November 2016 shortly after 14:00.

The wind will blow, the rain will pour and over one week the balloons will fly or fall. Whoever has the balloon that flies the farthest from the launch location will win £1,000. There is also a mystery prize for the runner up.

Where the balloons fly to will all depend on the real weather during race week. Over the week of the race, our system will cleverly track where each balloon would have flown to according to the Yahoo Weather for the week. Will it fly far and wide? Or will it crash into the nearest hill?

Throughout the race you can track your balloon’s progress online by signing into your account. Where will your balloon fly to?

Environmentally friendly balloon race

Our virtual balloon race will be 100% environmentally friendly as there are no real balloons! Traditional balloon races can be environmentally damaging. Even balloons which are released miles inland can be blown away, littering the countryside and leaving debris in the sea. When they fall into the sea, the bits can be mistaken for food by marine life and cause problems for turtles and sea birds.