A massive thank you to everyone who has supported us! We have raised our target and this gets us back to where we were before our lost funding!
We are now able to part fund 3 team members for the full season and 7 team members to 4 European events. We couldn't have done this without you!
We are going to shorten the timescale on this Crowd Funder as we hit our target so soon but we will keep the site running up until the first World Cup (3-ish weeks) so that if people want to keep donating then they can - all further donations will continue to go towards travel costs for the team, reducing the level of self-funding for team members.
We feel like the climbing community has really come through for us and we don't want to move the goal posts or ask for more than the original target. So we will just leave it up for people that may still want to be involved or for organisations outside climbing that may come across it.. Thank you all so much!
What is Bouldering?
Bouldering is a discipline of rock climbing. It is based on shorter walls where the athlete climbs above crash pads with no ropes. The sport lends itself to dynamic, imaginative and impressive movement and the athletes need many skills such as power, strength, flexibility, problem-solving skills and nerve to overcome the challenges set before them. Exhilarating to watch, it is an all or nothing sport - they have to get to the top or fall off trying!
Who are the Bouldering Team and are they any good?
We have a really strong GB team and ideally we would like to send as many of them as possible to these events so they have a chance to excel and to hone their skills. Below are short profiles of our top five team members to give you a flavour of who you are supporting:
Shauna Coxsey
Ranked overall 4th in the World at the young age of 21, Shauna is our team’s most prolific competitor. Making regular finals and representing Great Britain on the podium time and time again in 2013, she is without doubt in for some impressive results this year!
Mina Leslie-Wujastyk
Ranked 9th overall in the World, Mina has made leaps and bounds in her competitive performance over the last year or so and we are excited to watch her step it up again this year. She has been nail-bitingly close to making finals and this is her year to reap the benefits of all her hard work.
Leah Crane
Leah is one of our most exciting climbers to watch! Ranked 13th overall in the World, she is exceptionally good at climbing and has a unique style, drawn from years as a gymnast. Her determination and skill do us proud.
Dave Barrans
One of our more experienced competitors, Dave is currently ranked 22nd overall in the World. He is no stranger to a podium at this level, having had some tremendous results over the years.
Nathan Phillips
Nathan is one of the newest members of the senior team, but he is fresh from a Youth European Cup win in 2013! This is his first year in the senior category and we are excited to watch him develop and be challenged.
What does the 2014 season look like?
The 2014 season takes our athletes around the world…literally. Our journey begins in China and from there we will travel to Azerbaijan, Switzerland, Austria, Canada, the USA, back to China, France and then we finish with the World Championships in Munich. Quite a season and, as you can guess, quite hard to finance!
Why are we crowd-funding?
As we mentioned at the beginning, the team has suffered a last minute loss of funding due to our main sponsor having financial problems of it’s own. Our funding has effectively been cut in half and with 6 weeks until the first event in China, things are looking tricky. Our budget was reduced by £8,000 due to this last minute change and so that is the amount we are trying to raise.
What will your donations pay for?
Your donations will help towards travel costs for the team. Doing the season requires numerous international flights, train fares, hotel stays, visa payments etc. The money we raise here will directly finance getting them to the starting line.
Why should you help us?
Our athletes work hard to be the best that they can be at what they do. They put in the hours; they do the pull-ups, the press-ups, the long training days. You would be supporting a team of motivated people with the ability to achieve and you can be sure that they got the chance to compete due to your kindness and understanding. Be a part of our venture, help us to push our sport and let us make you proud. You can also watch the competitions, as the IFSC will be live streaming the events!
Hard work should be the key to success……….. but sometimes money gets in the way. Let’s set the record straight!!