The origins of XIII Heroes lie in the 210 mile London to Leeds fund raiser undertaken by Chris Hawkins in September of 2004.

Chris is a lifelong rugby league supporter from Oldham - a town whose amateur scene has produced some of the most talented players of recent years

Lots of fund raising events were taking place for the lads during the 2004 season, but Chris had the idea of trying to pull as many clubs, sponsors and fans as possible together for one big event.

The London to Leeds bike ride and prize competition was the only thing he could think of that would generate the level of interest he felt the cause deserved in the time available.

Whilst training for and organising the event, and nagging people to help, it was suggested to Chris by Honor James at League Publications that a charity might be a suitable vehicle for such future events.

At the time it wasn’t something that could be considered due to the lack of knowledge on Chris’ part, the number of hours in the day and the work that was being put into the event being run at the time.

Since then a lot of research, form filling, phone calls and organisation has gone into setting up and organising the fund and events planned to date.

The name XIII Heroes is self explanatory. Anyone who supports any club will agree that the players on the field are exactly that.