Zumbathon to raise cash for cancer charities

Debs Horsham-Batley has always been fitness mad.

Having spent 18 years in the RAF she prided herself on her level of fitness.

But when she was diagnosed with breast cancer five years ago it shook her confidence.

Having successfully gone through the gruelling surgery and treatment the mother-of-two from Scarborough struggled to lose the weight she gained around her middle as a result.

“I tried everything but couldn’t shift the weight form around my middle,” explains Debs.

“I started to feel self-conscious about going to the gym and I think looking back I was starting to get depressed. Nobody would have known; I hid it well. On the outside I was still the same old bubbly Debs, but on the inside I was suffering.

“It wasn’t a vain thing; it was the lack of control I had over that part of my body.”

It was during a trip to the Netherlands where Debs and her family had lived for sometime that a friend suggested she and her daughter try Zumba.

“She had a DVD and we gave it a go and had such a laugh that when I got home I bought a couple of the DVDs and would do them at home. I was amazed how quickly my body shape started to change.”

Zumba is a dance fitness work-out that fuses Latin rhythms with easy-to-follow moves to create a calorie-burning exercise class that’s more like a party than a work-out. It mixes together a number of dance styles including salsa, samba, merengue, rumba, mambo and even street.

“I’d never had a dance lesson in my life, but I had always loved music and Zumba was such good fun.”

At the end of the DVD Debs saw details for people wanting to become instructors.

“I liked it so much that I really wanted to pass on what it had done for me not just physically but emotionally. It all sounds a bit soppy, but it did change my life.”

There were no Zumba classes operating in the Scarborough areas at the time so Debs thought she’d give it a go and launched Zumba Fever.

She first enrolled on an exercise to music aerobics course and then a one-day Zumba course.

“My aim was to get 12 people to a class but the response was amazing. I now have over 50 people four nights a week. I have girls as young as 12 and one lady aged 82. Everyone can work out together but do it at their own pace.”

Debs has just been given her five year all clear from cancer and as a way of celebrating and giving something back she is organising an all-day Zumba event believed to be the first of its kind in North Yorkshire.

The Zumba by the Sea Zumbathon will take place on Saturday at the recently refurbished Scarborough Spa. Debs has invited other instructors from around the country to come and present the various classes that will run throughout the day.

She has been overwhelmed with the response that she has had and now has more than 30 instructors (local and national) giving up their time free of charge to support the event.

Debs hopes the day will raise thousands of pounds for Cancer Research UK and for Saint Catherine’s Hospice.

She explained that she’s so grateful for all of the support and care that has been shown to her over the last five years that she wants to do something to say thank you, and hopes that the money raised, will help more and more people survive cancer.

She also wants to help fund the wonderful care provided by Saint Catherine’s Hospice for the people of Scarborough and the surrounding areas.

“It’s phenomenal how it’s changed my life and since starting classes so many people have come up to me and said how it has helped them too,” explains Debs.

“It is like a big community with everyone helping each other and a really fun way to get and keep fit as well.”

All welcome to Zumba event

Zumba by the Sea take place in the spectacular Grand Hall and also outside in the glorious Sun Court Enclosure on Saturday, August 13.

There will be Speciality Classes in salsa and merengue, Bollywood and bhangra, Caribbean reggaeton and soca as well as burlesque fitness and Zumba Party sessions too. Everyone is welcome but there are only 600 tickets available through the Spa Box Office (01723 357869).

There will also be a range of Zumba Wear available for sale. Registration on the day is from 8am. Further details can be found at www.zumba-fever.co.uk.