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More than 400 people attended a charity football
match in Keynsham in memory of talented teenage sportsman Jack Boulton, who
collapsed and died while training.
The event, held at Keynsham Football Club on
Thursday evening, raised £6,800 for the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young
(CRY) which raises awareness of and funds for research into sudden deaths
among young people from undiagnosed heart conditions.
Jack, who was 17, died in August after collapsing
during training with his village team in Salford.
Salford AFC beat Keynsham under-18's 6 - 1 on the
night.
Salford AFC manager Chris Dudbride said there were
mixed feelings at the match.
He said: "We were all looking forward to it but
then it brought back memories of Jack. It was a strange feeling.
"We had just wanted to go out to perform for
Jack."
Among the spectators were Jack's parents David and
June, and his sister Lucy, 16.
They chose the charity which will benefit from the
memorial match.
Mr Dudbridge said he wanted to thank everyone who
had supported the event or taken part, especially Keynsham FC, Salford AFC,
Rotork Controls Ltd of Bath and Carillion Plc.
He said: "A big thank you to everyone who had a
hand in the event and came and gave their support. It was a really
good night and hopefully we did Jack proud."
Every week 12 apparently fit and healthy young
people under the age of 35 die from an undiagnosed heart condition.
CRY helps their families come to terms with what
has happened and arranges fast-track testing for other family members where
appropriate.
The charity has just announced the first
initiative in the UK to screen every 14-year-old in the South East of the
country. Dr Steve Cox, director of screening at CRY, said: "We are
currently screening 1,000's of young people every year aged between 14 and
35. However, this is just the start. We need to know more about
what a national screening programme will look like, when it is best to
introduce screening and how to make this process as easy as possible for
every young person who wants to be tested."
The screening initiative will help to lay the
foundations for a national programme in the future. The focus on
14-year-olds is because post-puberty is the earliest age that screening is
viable.
Earlier this year, CRY launched a 10-week mobile
screening programme testing around 2,500 young people in locations across
the UK and 14 were found to have serious cardiac conditions.
Parents, young people, teachers or sports clubs
can access CRY's specialist service by logging on to its website at
www.c-r-y.org.uk
Subsidised screening costs £35 per person but will
be free of charge for all children born in 1995, starting early next year.
Call 01737 363 222 for more details.
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