Jamaican Bobsleigh Team Crowdfund Their Way to Sochi
In one of the most impressive displays of the power of sports crowdfunding, the new version of “Cool Runnings” have amassed a huge amount of contributions to fund their journey to Sochi. Using the Crowdtilt platform originally aimed to “tilt” at $10,000, with a target of $80,000. The campaign reached over $100,000, including the donation from the Dogecoin digital currency community. An extra campaign on Indiegogo, using the “flexible funding” model, added $55,987 to the total.
After the successful campaign, which saw 2,853 contributors, original Cool Runnings member Devon Harris posted this message on the website.
Let me take a minute to say a big thank you to all the friends and well-wishers of the Jamaica bobsleigh team.
As some of you may have already heard in the press, once we are ready to travel to Sochi, the Jamaica Olympic Association will cover the team’s airfare and the Sochi Olympic Committee, as they do for every athlete from every country, will cover our stay in the Olympic Village.
We are grateful for your overwhelming show of support. The monies you donated will be used to cover training expenses (food, board, traveling, track fees, etc), and equipment purchases as the team completes its final preparation for the Games. Funds will also be earmarked to ship the sled and related equipment to Russia.
I am happy to report that because of your generosity, we have reached our target much sooner than we anticipated.
With this, we have decided to stop accepting donations on all crowdfunding sites as of January 20, 2014. For those who may still be interested in support the team long term, we invite you to visit www.jamaicabobsleighteam.com where you will be able to make a contribution.
We look forward to your continued support as we push forward to Sochi and beyond.
Keep On Pushing!
– Devon Harris
Original team member
Jamaica will be represented by a two man team, made up of veteran Winston Watts and brakeman Marvin Dixon. The most impressive part of the campaign is the money was raised in just two days, ensuring the team can go to Sochi. It is a return to the Winter Olympics for the Jamaican Bobsled Team after a 12 year absence.
About the Author
Daniel Boyle Founder of @sportslashlife. Australian living in Chile. Freestyle footbag player and passionate sports fan.
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