PLEASE HELP KOEN FURTHER HIS DREAM OF REPRESENTING NZ AT THE OLYMPICS!

HIGHEST SPORTING ACHIEVEMENTS

2nd NZ nationals 2015
3rd Oceania championships 2016
1st Oceania championships team 2016
1st Waikato bay of plenty open 2016
1st  national secondary school championships 2016
1st North Island championships 2016
2nd Auckland international 2016
Ranked 1st NATIONALLY for my weight category

 And nationals 2016 are still to come!

WHAT IS FUNDING REQUIRED FOR?

I am moving to the Netherlands to further my training. The initial move will provide enough challenges on its own including:

– flights
– travel insurance ( this is extra expensive because generally insurance companies do not cover combat sports)

Upon arrival I have to financially support myself for a long period of time. I also have to be able to pay to compete at tournaments.

General costs will include:
– Travel costs ( train, bus or whatever is relevant to get to my destination)
– food costs
– tournament costs ( including tournament entry )
– training camp costs ( including places to sleep etc )
– equipment costs ( judogi, these can be really pricey )

One day my aim is to compete at the worlds biggest stage… The Olympics! I have given up a lot to make it this far. My next move will be my biggest yet! Will you support me?

I became involved with Judo when I was around 10 years old, the reason for this was to help gain confidence for rugby. However as time went on I started enjoying judo more and more, I became more involved in the sport and eventually decided that Judo was the pathway that I was going to choose …. So I had to give up rugby.

Soon after starting Judo, I started participating in local tournaments. The enjoyment and thrill I got from participating spurred me on to participate in more and more tournaments. Consistent efforts and improvements led me to eventually participate in more notable tournaments like the national championships and the Auckland International. After coming 2nd in last years nationals I was chosen to represent New Zealand at the Oceania championships held in April this year.

To prepare for this tournament and get a feel for what higher level judo is like, I gave up my summer holidays to train in the Netherlands. In NZ, judo is only a minor sport, whereas in the Netherlands it is regarded as a major sport… Just like rugby is here.

Training in the Netherlands was absolutely awesome! I was lucky enough to be guided by amazing coaches and train with an awesome group of people in Groningen. Training there was really an eye opener, participant numbers where through the roof and the level of judo was just so much higher. Training in the Netherlands really improved my judo.

With improved motivation and vision for the sport I managed to place 3rd in the individual event and 1st in the team event at the Oceania championships. I believed this was a great result, seeing it was my first time representing the country. Since these championships my judo has only been going from one high to another. Results from this year include:

– 1st Waikato Bay of Plenty area championships
– 1st National secondary school championships
– 2nd Auckland International
– 1st North island championships

Judo has become an integral part of my life, most of my free time is dedicated to the sport. With ambitious goals like my own, I have decided to give up the comfort and safety that comes with family and home and move to the Netherlands. Here I hope to be able to train at a much higher level to eventually achieve my goal of representing New Zealand at the Olympics.

Thanks for taking the time to read my story, any help would be greatly appreciated!