Polar Challenge

Yoyo Schepers is preparing for the gruelling 2008 Polar Challenge. And she is using the challenge to raise funds for UWC scholarships aimed at young women from countries in crisis in the Middle East and Africa.

The Polar Challenge is a competitive, 350 mile team-race across the Arctic, competitors race on skis, pulling their supplies in 120lb pulks (ski sleds), finishing just beyond the 1996 location of the Magnetic North Pole.

The Arctic is one of the world's most extreme environments, with temperatures as low as -50 degrees Celsius and 80% of the world's Polar Bears. The race takes place between April and May each year. Including the final weeks of training the competitors will normally spend over a month in the Arctic.

Yoyo, whose husband Manfred Schepers (AC 77-79) is a member of the UWC International Board and introduced her to UWC, has wanted to go to the North Pole for many years: “It’s a dream to embark on this adventure and even more so to be able to raise money to allow female students from conflict and post conflict societies the opportunity of a UWC education”.

Click here to sponsor Yoyo and help raise money for UWC scholarships.