Lia's Olympic Canoe Racing Season 2019
Donation protected
Oh, hello again! It’s still me, Lia, and I’m doing another one of those horrible, terrible, no good GoFundMe things for my upcoming Olympic Canoe racing season--it is certain to be a busy summer! Please feel free to ignore me!
Long story short!
I moved to Washington a year and a half ago to train Olympic Canoe with Dan Henderson at Cascade Canoe and Kayak Racing Team when I heard that canoe events had been added for women to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. I couldn’t pass on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help pave the road a bit wider in a sport that is growing in the US, and maybe--just maybe--learn to canoe fast enough to take my little ol’ self all the way to the Tokyo Olympics in 2020! Blindly ambitious? Yes! Odds in my favor? Not yet! Do it anyway? Absolutely!
Okay! So, here’s what I accomplished during my first racing season.
Notable Race Results!
(Paddling with Ann Armstrong at Pan Am Championships, Nova Scotia 2018, photo credit: Bill Jensen)
2019 US Team Trials in Oklahoma City:
-Bronze in the C1* 500! (Qualifying me to travel with the Senior World Championship Team)
2018 Pan American Championships in Nova Scotia:
-4th in the C1 1000! (First international race)
2018 US Sprint Nationals in Oklahoma City:
-National Champion in Senior Women’s C1 1000m
-National Champion in Senior Women’s C2* 500m (thanks to my C2 partner, Andy!)
-Silver in Senior Women’s C2 200
-Bronze in Senior Women’s C1 500
*C1 = one person canoe
*C2 = two person / team canoe
SO! What am I fundraising for this year?! So many more things!
1. Two World Cup races in late May. World Cup I is in Poznan, Poland, and World Cup II is in Duisburg, Germany. This will be the largest international competition I will have had the opportunity to participate in to date! AND I have already had help! My parents very generously donated their reward miles to pay for the bulk of my airfare, which is a HUGE help. I have tabulated a ***gorgeous*** spreadsheet detailing all the expenses for that trip if you are interested! (approximate cost $3000)
2. The mandatory Team USA Training Camp in Gig Harbor in July, a monthlong camp in which a selection of canoe athletes will be taking a month off their respective lives to train for the World Championships in August. (estimated cost $500-700--for living expenses in Gig Harbor/TBD whether athletes will have to pay to attend camp)
3. 2019 US Sprint Canoe and Kayak National Championships in Gainesville, GA in August! The National Championship event for our sport!! (approximate cost $2200--approximated based off the cost of last years National Championship event and this year's OKC event)
4. 2019 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Szeged, Hungary also in August!! This will be the largest and most competitive race of the summer, as it is the first qualifier for the Tokyo games. I am SUPER excited to have qualified for the Senior National Team that will be attending this event (see here: https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.americancanoe.org/resource/resmgr/competition-documents/sprint/2019_Sprint_National_Teams.pdf) and I can't wait to participate in whatever way best suits the team. (Full disclaimer: I don't currently have a breakdown for the costs, but based off the World Cup costs, I suspect the cost will be near to $3000)
FIN!
Okay, so I’m doing a thing! I made this choice! And I fully accept the responsibility of all the costs and risks of making such a choice! I have finagled my schedule from four jobs to one primary security job, which includes employer sponsored benefits (at least until I take all this time off to race)!!! Not having to pay for health insurance was a huge savings and allowed me to save this winter to pay a portion of the Team USA Trials event in OKC! Who paid for the other half? YOU! You guys gave way over what I was asking for last year and I saved those monies for this racing season AND, as a result, the first race of the 2019 season is paid for! THANK YOU!! So, so, so, just like last year I'm asking for help if you have any desire to participate, but DEFINITELY NO PRESSURE!!! If I've learned anything from this journey, I’m still 100% scrappy and I find a way. :)
The Official 2019 Things!
The “prizes” are much the same as last year, with just the tiniest of twists in hopes that it is novel enough to maintain some interest, but I suspect there is really no topping the embarrassing dance videos :
$10 - 1 picture-of-me-paddling postcard and a bulk social media thank you! You are spared my ugly macaroni art this year (you’re welcome), but the heartfelt handwritten thank-yous remain!
$20 - 3 snazzy paddling-picture postcards sent from moi aaand the bulk social media thank you!
$50 - Name my boat for a workout and receive a social media shout out! Be as silly or serious as you like!
$100 - The HERMAN HUNDREDDDDDDDDD!!!!! This year, Herman and I will be tailoring these prizes to you! Want us to reenact your favorite famous painting? We’ll do that! Want us to bring your favorite song lyric to life? We’ll do that! Want us to choreograph a dance to your favorite song? We’ll try to do that! Is this too vague to garner interest? Maybe! Despite that, Herman and I are all ears and ready to embarrass ourselves. This donation size still gets all the aforementioned doo-dads!
(Paddling with Herman at Cascade Canoe and Kayak HQ, Kenmore, WA 2018, photo credit: Dan Henderson)
Okay, enough blabber. I want to say one more thank you to everyone who has helped me along the way. Your generosity has been absolutely incredible. The financial support at every level has been immensely helpful. And many, many of you have also communicated love and encouragement in a multitude of non-financial ways and that has also been infinitely important to the resilience of my heart. For everything you have given, in every way you have given it—Thank you!
xoxo,
lia
FYI GoFundMe fees are reported to me as 2.9% Transaction fee plus $0.30 per donation.
(Cover photo: Bronze in the C1 500 at Team USA Trials in OKC 2019, photo credit: Stephanie Schlitz)
Long story short!
I moved to Washington a year and a half ago to train Olympic Canoe with Dan Henderson at Cascade Canoe and Kayak Racing Team when I heard that canoe events had been added for women to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. I couldn’t pass on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help pave the road a bit wider in a sport that is growing in the US, and maybe--just maybe--learn to canoe fast enough to take my little ol’ self all the way to the Tokyo Olympics in 2020! Blindly ambitious? Yes! Odds in my favor? Not yet! Do it anyway? Absolutely!
Okay! So, here’s what I accomplished during my first racing season.
Notable Race Results!
(Paddling with Ann Armstrong at Pan Am Championships, Nova Scotia 2018, photo credit: Bill Jensen)2019 US Team Trials in Oklahoma City:
-Bronze in the C1* 500! (Qualifying me to travel with the Senior World Championship Team)
2018 Pan American Championships in Nova Scotia:
-4th in the C1 1000! (First international race)
2018 US Sprint Nationals in Oklahoma City:
-National Champion in Senior Women’s C1 1000m
-National Champion in Senior Women’s C2* 500m (thanks to my C2 partner, Andy!)
-Silver in Senior Women’s C2 200
-Bronze in Senior Women’s C1 500
*C1 = one person canoe
*C2 = two person / team canoe
SO! What am I fundraising for this year?! So many more things!
1. Two World Cup races in late May. World Cup I is in Poznan, Poland, and World Cup II is in Duisburg, Germany. This will be the largest international competition I will have had the opportunity to participate in to date! AND I have already had help! My parents very generously donated their reward miles to pay for the bulk of my airfare, which is a HUGE help. I have tabulated a ***gorgeous*** spreadsheet detailing all the expenses for that trip if you are interested! (approximate cost $3000)
2. The mandatory Team USA Training Camp in Gig Harbor in July, a monthlong camp in which a selection of canoe athletes will be taking a month off their respective lives to train for the World Championships in August. (estimated cost $500-700--for living expenses in Gig Harbor/TBD whether athletes will have to pay to attend camp)
3. 2019 US Sprint Canoe and Kayak National Championships in Gainesville, GA in August! The National Championship event for our sport!! (approximate cost $2200--approximated based off the cost of last years National Championship event and this year's OKC event)
4. 2019 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Szeged, Hungary also in August!! This will be the largest and most competitive race of the summer, as it is the first qualifier for the Tokyo games. I am SUPER excited to have qualified for the Senior National Team that will be attending this event (see here: https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.americancanoe.org/resource/resmgr/competition-documents/sprint/2019_Sprint_National_Teams.pdf) and I can't wait to participate in whatever way best suits the team. (Full disclaimer: I don't currently have a breakdown for the costs, but based off the World Cup costs, I suspect the cost will be near to $3000)
FIN!
Okay, so I’m doing a thing! I made this choice! And I fully accept the responsibility of all the costs and risks of making such a choice! I have finagled my schedule from four jobs to one primary security job, which includes employer sponsored benefits (at least until I take all this time off to race)!!! Not having to pay for health insurance was a huge savings and allowed me to save this winter to pay a portion of the Team USA Trials event in OKC! Who paid for the other half? YOU! You guys gave way over what I was asking for last year and I saved those monies for this racing season AND, as a result, the first race of the 2019 season is paid for! THANK YOU!! So, so, so, just like last year I'm asking for help if you have any desire to participate, but DEFINITELY NO PRESSURE!!! If I've learned anything from this journey, I’m still 100% scrappy and I find a way. :)
The Official 2019 Things!
The “prizes” are much the same as last year, with just the tiniest of twists in hopes that it is novel enough to maintain some interest, but I suspect there is really no topping the embarrassing dance videos :
$10 - 1 picture-of-me-paddling postcard and a bulk social media thank you! You are spared my ugly macaroni art this year (you’re welcome), but the heartfelt handwritten thank-yous remain!
$20 - 3 snazzy paddling-picture postcards sent from moi aaand the bulk social media thank you!
$50 - Name my boat for a workout and receive a social media shout out! Be as silly or serious as you like!
$100 - The HERMAN HUNDREDDDDDDDDD!!!!! This year, Herman and I will be tailoring these prizes to you! Want us to reenact your favorite famous painting? We’ll do that! Want us to bring your favorite song lyric to life? We’ll do that! Want us to choreograph a dance to your favorite song? We’ll try to do that! Is this too vague to garner interest? Maybe! Despite that, Herman and I are all ears and ready to embarrass ourselves. This donation size still gets all the aforementioned doo-dads!
(Paddling with Herman at Cascade Canoe and Kayak HQ, Kenmore, WA 2018, photo credit: Dan Henderson)Okay, enough blabber. I want to say one more thank you to everyone who has helped me along the way. Your generosity has been absolutely incredible. The financial support at every level has been immensely helpful. And many, many of you have also communicated love and encouragement in a multitude of non-financial ways and that has also been infinitely important to the resilience of my heart. For everything you have given, in every way you have given it—Thank you!
xoxo,
lia
FYI GoFundMe fees are reported to me as 2.9% Transaction fee plus $0.30 per donation.
(Cover photo: Bronze in the C1 500 at Team USA Trials in OKC 2019, photo credit: Stephanie Schlitz)
Organizer
Lia Marie
Organizer
Kirkland, WA