The Black Coal Challenge Cup 2012

The Black Coal Challenge Cup is set up to raise funds for the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service

Unity Bank has been a proud gold sponsor for this event in the past years

The day provides an occasion where a large number of participants from the mining and energy industry, small businesses, the wider community and children from the local schools in the hunter region join together for an enjoyable social occasion as well as fund raising for the Westpac Rescue Helicopter.

The Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service is a community owned and operated aero medical search and rescue service, serving the Hunter, Central Coast, Mid North Coast, New England and North West regions.

It is one of six helicopter services contracted by NSW Health to perform emergency services in the New South Wales community.

Each year the Helicopter Service performs over 1200 missions, rescuing people from accident scenes and transporting critically ill patients from small, rural hospitals to large tertiary hospitals, primarily the John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle and the Base Hospital in Tamworth.

The Helicopter Service provides a free service to over one million people, covering a region of 132,000 square kilometres. Two helicopters are based in Newcastle and one in Tamworth.

Some interesting facts:  

• The Service began in 1975.
• No patient has ever had to pay to be helped by Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service.
• Over 50% of the missions flown by the Rescue Helicopters each year are to attend motor vehicle, bike, rural and industrial accidents. The most common of these are to attend the scene of motor vehicle accidents.
• More than 1,250 missions are undertaken by the Service in our local community each year.
• It costs around $11 million a year to keep the helicopters and their crews in the Hunter - Central Coast - Mid North Coast - New England - North West able to respond when needed.
• Most of the cost to run the Service is funded through donations, Volunteer Support Group activities and sponsorships by the community.
• The remainder is funded through contracts with the NSW Department of Health.
• There are three helicopters. Two operate from Broadmeadow and one from Tamworth.
• Each helicopter has a team highly trained pilots, crew members and in many instances paramedics