Selsey crew represent the RNLI at the Checkatrade Trophy final

However because it is the 20^th year Checkatrade have been trading they decided to support something closer to home and as three of the Selsey lifeboat crew work for Checkatrade they choose the RNLI. Knowing employee Max Wiseman was a keen football fan they asked him if he and his father Richard Wiseman the head launcher would like to carry the trophy out at the final as Checkatrade employees on behalf of the Selsey lifeboat station.

The statement on the day at Wembley was as follows:

Checkatrade are proud to welcome our two Trophy presenters for the 2018 Checkatrade Trophy Final. Max and Richard Wiseman are both heavily involved with the Selsey Lifeboat Crew and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). Max, who works at Checkatrade, is part of several employees who respond to lifeboat call outs.

Based in Selsey, on the South Coast, Checkatrade have strong ties to their local community, including the local active ports and seafronts. It’s an honour for Checkatrade to have members of the Selsey Lifeboat Crew represented at Wembley today and we hope both sets of supporters will give Max and Richard a warm welcome.

Max said we were at Wembley for a rehearsal at 10:20am before returning to the hotel. We came back to Wembley at midday where we were seated for a 3 course lunch in the Sir Bobby Moore Suite. From here Dad and I were whisked away to get changed before processing the Cup onto the pitch. The national anthem was played and the teams entered the pitch. Once this was completed we removed the trophy from the stand. We were able to get changed before being seated back with our family in the special guest section of the stadium where we watched the match.

• RNLI media contacts
• Max Gilligan Selsey RNLI Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer
  07956 415429 [email protected]
• Paul Dunt, RNLI Regional Media Officer (South East)
  0207 6207416 / 07786 668825 / [email protected]
• For enquiries outside normal business hours, contact the RNLI duty press officer on 01202 336789

RNLI online: For more information rel="noopener noreferrer" on the RNLI please visit www.rnli.org.uk. News releases and other media resources, including RSS feeds, downloadable rel="noopener noreferrer" photos and video, are available at the RNLI Press Centre.

Key facts about the RNLI: The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates over 230 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and has more than 140 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824 its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 137,000 lives.

Visit the RNLI's official YouTube rel="noopener noreferrer" channel for more films and follow our rescue stories on Twitter.

A charity registered in England and Wales (209603) and Scotland (SC037736). Charity number CHY 2678 in the Republic of Ireland.

Key facts about the RNLI

The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.

Learn more about the RNLI

For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, X, TikTok and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.

Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries

Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.