This weekend I will be
photographing the longest match of rugby ever played!
Leicester Tigers'
Welford Road Stadium will be the venue for this 26hr feat of
endurance as 44 brave souls take on this extreme challenge in the
name of forces' charity “Scotty's Little Soldiers”.
Each player in the
squad of 22 will have just 20 minutes rest every 4 hours as they seek
to set an Official Guinness world record and raise as much as they
can for the children of fallen soldiers.
There are two reasons
why I call this “my biggest match”, the first is obviously the
length of the game, but the second is of far more significance.
To date I’ve
photographed rugby on 201 occasions and covered everything from local
school matches to full Wales Rugby League Internationals but after 6
years I’m left asking “What's the purpose of it all?”
Sure it's fun to
capture a cool Facebook profile picture for a local player and feel
the rush of popularity as the players huddle around to digest the
photos from that day's match. And equally it's a buzz to strut around
the edge of a pitch at a Rugby League International wearing official
“stash” and feel part of the occasion.
The reality however is
that for many of the players you are just seen as the provider of
photographs and nothing more, turning up at a game without your
camera is seen as a cardinal sin as everywhere you go you are greeted
with “where's your camera?” Then despite the surface vernier of
being the photographer of a Wales Rugby League International, the
truth is that you have bought the stash yourself on eBay, you pass
the photos on for free, and never receive a single penny for your
efforts.
For me photographing
rugby started as a hobby and I think that is where it's destined to
return. The only way to make it anything like financially viable is
to work for a soulless agency whose photographers appear to go
through the motions as if it's just any other job, once they have the
photo their office require they send if off via their laptops and
head out of the ground as soon as they can, caring little for the
outcome of the match.
When the offer to
photograph for Scotty's Little Soldiers came along I jumped at the
chance to be part of something that mattered. Sure it will be hard
work, I get back ache after just 40 minutes so 26hrs will be a
journey into the unknown but still nothing compared to the challenge
faced by the heroic players. My hope is that sales of prints after
the game via my website www.PaulHartPhotography.co.uk
will enable me to make my own contribution to the fund of £40,000
already raised by the players and other supporters.
If you are able to
attend, the match kicks-off at 11am on Friday May 31st at
Leicester RFC. All profits from my prints will be donated to the
cause via http://www.bmycharity.com/paulhart
please visit my page and donate too if you are able.
