Jamaican bobsleigh team still in need of funds for Sochi

Despite the assurance of financial support from the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA), the country’s bobsleigh team remains in needed of further funding in order to fulfill its dream of participating in the upcoming Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Chris Stokes, Chef de Mission for the delegation to the Winter Games, told RJR Sports that the team needed at least US$100,000 more.

The JOA which has helped to fund the two-man team's qualification bid for Sochi, will also finance travel costs for the games. Stokes explained, however, that there were additional areas of expenditure that needed to be financed.

“We still have another three weeks of training before we go into the (Olympic) village; we still have a sled that we need to get up to a much higher level, which is going to be very expensive”, he said.

Accordingly, he said, significantly more funds were required “to put us in a position to account for ourselves very well while we are in Sochi.”

The Jamaican delegation to Sochi will include driver Winston Watts, brakeman, Marvin Dixon, alternate crew member , Wayne Blackwood and coach Thomas Samuel.

Worldwide excitement

The Jamaican team’s qualification for Sochi has stirred worldwide excitement, driven in part by the popularity of the movie, Cool Runnings, based partly on the experience of the first Jamaican bobsleigh team’s participation in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Calgary.

That global popularity has resulted in various online funding efforts being launched to ensure the team’s participation in Sochi.

The team members appeared at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah on Monday to promote their trip to Sochi.

According to an Associated Press report, Coach Wayne Thomas, speaking at Sundance, acknowledged the support that had already been received but added that more was needed.

"What we really need now is money to buy the equipment, specifically the runners," Thomas said of the skates attached to the bobsled. "The runners that we are using are very close to illegal right now."

Reflecting the determination of the popular Jamaicans, Thomas explained that they decided to make a stop at Sundance to raise awareness, hoping that some celebrities “with deep pockets” might be willing to contribute.

"We're here to let people know that we are here and still in need of funding," Coach Wayne Thomas explained, adding "and also to see some stars."

Pilot Winston Watt interjected "Only lady stars" to much laughter from his teammates, underlying the fact that the Jamaicans had not lost their sense of humour, despite the urgency of their funding needs.