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100 Squats a Day in August Challenge FAQs

We're here to help. Here you'll find answers to our most frequently asked questions. From how to sign up to the challenge to proper squat form.

About the challenge

What does the 100 Squats a Day in August Challenge involve

Supporters raise money for Cancer Research UK by challenging themselves to do 100 squats a day across the month of August.

 Signing up

You can sign up using our challenge form dedicated to this challenge and create your Cancer Research UK online Giving Page to receive your free Cancer Research UK T-shirt and start fundraising. Once you have signed up and set up your page you can join our Facebook group to get tips for completing your challenge, be inspired by other fundraisers and find out anything you want to know about the challenge.  

I don’t have Facebook. Can I still join the challenge?   

Yes! If you don’t have Facebook, you can set up a Cancer Research UK online Giving Page and collect sponsorship for your 100 Squats a Day in August Challenge.

Is there an entry fee? 

There is no entry fee for this challenge, but we do ask that you fundraise for Cancer Research UK through your online Giving Page. All donations to the page will automatically be sent to us. 

How to take part

How do I complete the challenge?

There are people of all levels of fitness doing this challenge. The important thing is that you're doing something that challenges you. This will vary from person to person, so tailor the challenge however you like. For example, you can break up your squats into chunks of 10 throughoout the day. It should be tough, but doable. However you choose to complete the challenge and raise money, you’ll be helping us beat cancer.  

Do I have to start the challenge in August? Can I start my challenge later or earlier? 

While we encourage everyone to complete this challenge in August, this is a personal challenge and you can start and finish at a time that’s convenient for you. You can make up your squats at any point of the month and continue the challenge into September.

What if I miss a day?

Don’t worry! You can make up your squats on another day or extend your challenge into the following month if needed. Complete the challenge in a way that suits you.

What if I don't complete the challenge?  

The only thing that matters is that you try your best to complete as much of the challenge as you can. Whether that’s completing 100 squats a day in August or not, the money you raise will help us to keep funding life-saving research. Whatever you manage to achieve, we can’t thank you enough.   

Do I need to provide evidence that I have completed the challenge?

We trust you! You don’t need to provide evidence that you’ve completed the challenge to us, but your friends and family will want some updates. Make sure you keep them posted on your progress and share videos, photos and your online Giving Page throughout August – the more updates the better. Supporters who regularly post about their progress raise 40% more on average.

How do I track my squats?  

We recommend using our squats calendar(PDF) to keep track of your progress.

Tick off each day you’ve completed your squats and track the number of squats you’ve done so you can see your overall total.

How do I squat correctly? 

There are many ways to squat and different types of squats for different levels of experience. There are some great resources online to guide you on how to squat with the correct form to avoid injuries. For example this page: Proper Squat Form.

Free Cancer Research UK T-shirt

How do I get my free Cancer Research UK T-shirt? 

Complete this form to receive your free t-shirt in the post. Once completed, please allow 15 working days for it to arrive.

What if I don’t want a Cancer Research UK t-shirt?  

When filling out your sign-up form, select ‘no’ where it asks if you’d like to receive an item. You’ll still receive an online Giving Page, be able to join the challenge group and take part!

Sign up to the challenge  

If you have any further questions, email supporter.services@cancer.org.uk or call 0300 1231022 (lines open 8am–8pm, Monday to Friday and 9am–5pm at weekends)    

My Cancer Research UK t-shirt doesn’t fit, what shall I do?

Unfortunately, returning Cancer Research UK t-shirt comes at a cost to us, therefore, we ask that you keep hold of it for personal use - for example, as a pajama top, gym kit or give it to a friend.

Can I order my family/friends a Cancer Research UK t-shirt too?

Sending out your Cancer Research UK t-shirt comes at a cost to Cancer Research UK so please only order one Cancer Research UK t-shirt per fundraiser to ensure as much money goes towards our world-class research as possible. We ask for everyone requesting a Cancer Research UK t-shirt that they donate something to their fundraising page.

Who can take part

Can under 18s take part? If they can, how should under 18s register and does this have to be with their guardian’s consent? 

Yes, under 18s can take part in this challenge, but we do not market to them and any third-party platform forum (e.g. a Facebook group ) is only available to over 18s. If under 18s are taking part, their parent/guardian must consent to the child’s participation, supervise the challenge, and accept responsibility for complying with the challenge rules. Currently we are unable to accept registrations for a child, so the child’s parent/guardian have to register on the child’s behalf. Similarly, if a child wants to raise money online and/or join a forum, the child’s parent/guardian must register for an online fundraising page and/or join the forum on the child’s behalf.

Can we sign up as a team

Participants must register as individuals, but you can then set up a team Giving Page to take on the challenge and raise money together.

Here’s how:  

All your team will need to sign up to the 100 Squats a Day in August Challenge so you each have your own online Giving Page 

Once everyone has signed up, log into your account 

Hit the 'Create new team' button and follow the instructions 

Once you've created your team, you can send the team page URL to friends and family so they can join too! 

Find more information about setting up a team.

Once you’ve created your team, you can either split up your squats between the group, or you can complete 100 Squats a day across the month.

Will I get a medal?

For this challenge, if you have raised at least £150.00 you will be sent a medal. You’ll also be sent a certificate in your completion email at the end of your challenge. You can also access downloadable digital badges to shout about your achievement on social media.

How do I raise money?

Using our Online Fundraising Platform is the easiest way to raise money. You will receive an online Giving Page once you’ve registered here.

You can then share the page with your friends and family to gather sponsorship for your challenge.

How do I close my online Giving Page?

If you're happy to keep the page online, but want to stop taking donations, you can change the closing date of your page.

How to close an online Giving Page:

You'll need to go to your Giving Page (make sure you're logged in) and scroll down and select ‘Page settings’.

Then select ‘Page closure date’. You can choose to close the page now or set a future date to close your page.

Tap ‘Save’ for the changes to come into effect. People can still view a closed page but can’t donate to it.

You can reopen a closed page by selecting ‘Keep your page open indefinitely’.

Please note, you don't need to close your page for the money you have raised to transfer to Cancer Research UK. This happens automatically when each donation is made.

How to delete a page:

If you'd like to take the page off the site completely, you can email us at OnlineFundraisingQueries@cancer.org.uk and we'll get that sorted for you.

How do I edit/ extend the closing date of my page?

By default, Giving Pages stay open indefinitely unless you set a date to close your page.

If you selected a date for your fundraising page to close and would like to extend this closure date follow these instructions.

Is there a minimum sponsorship amount?

We don’t set a fundraising target for participants, but we recommend that supporters set themselves a reasonable target of raising £150 or more.

Can I split my sponsorship money between Cancer Research UK and another charity?

This challenge is a fundraising initiative specifically developed by Cancer Research UK, and therefore all fundraising must go solely to the charity.

I’m struggling to get any donations; do you have any fundraising tips?

The first tip is to log in to your page and take a few minutes to personalise it. You can add a photo, update the 'My Story' section to share why raising funds for this cause is important to you.

Second tip is, if you're able to, kick-start the fundraising by adding your own donation to your Online giving page. It can often help to get things going - it's a bit like making sure your friends aren't the first guests at a party.

And the third and final tip is to share a post on your social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, anything you use) to tell people about your challenge - and make sure to share the link to your Online giving page in the post.

Remember, any donation can make a difference. As little as £3 could buy a pair of safety goggles to keep our scientists safe while they conduct their cutting-edge experiments.

Let us know how you get on by posting on the group, and we can offer further help if you want it. You've got this!

What could my money fund/how can I encourage my family and friends to donate?

£5 can fund a lab technician for over 30 minutes, ensuring researchers are equipped with everything they need to beat cancer.

£10 can buy 250 plastic test tubes to help carry out cancer-fighting experiments.

£15 can buy agarose gel, which is a vital component for a technique that scientists use to measure the length of pieces of DNA.

£20 could buy antibiotics to keep the cells studied by our scientists free from infections.

I’ve hit my fundraising target; can I raise my fundraising target if I’ve met it?

Yes absolutely! You can raise your fundraising target on your online Giving Page at any time. Supporters who increase their fundraising target raise an average of 51% more than those who don’t, so why not head over to your page and raise yours!

Are there any fundraising materials available?

We have plenty of fundraising materials and ideas to help you raise vital donations. Visit our fundraising hub for everything you need for your challenge.

What is Gift Aid?

Gift Aid is a tax relief allowing UK charities to reclaim an extra 25% on every eligible donation made by a UK taxpayer. This means Cancer Research UK can claim an extra 25p for every £1 donated, without it costing you or your sponsors an extra penny. For a donation to be eligible for Gift Aid, sponsors need to fill out the sponsorship form following the instructions at the top of the page.

Find a Giving Page

Find the Giving Page you're looking for by searching for the:

  • full name of the fundraiser

  • email of the fundraiser

Find a Giving Page

Find your own or your friend’s online Giving Page.

We're here to help

If you need any further support on questions related to online Giving Pages, please contact OnlineFundraisingQueries@cancer.org.uk

For all other questions, please contact our Supporter Services team, who'd be happy to help!

100 Squats a Day in August Challenge

Get fundraising support, tips and inspiration

Grab your fundraising pack, challenge calendar, shareable social media badges and more to help you reach your fundraising goals.