Maya Atkinson - 2019 UCI World Cup Funding
Donation protected
OK, here we go, deep breath. A while ago Maya Atkinson took a day out to spend coaching/mentoring my daughter on the bike. During this day it opened my eyes to a number of challenges that face athletes who want to be the best in their field. Maya was UK Junior Downhill champ last season, this season she moves up to elite and will be racing against the likes of Rachel A, Katy C, Miriam N, Tracy H and Tahnee S. As you can imagine those names I have mentioned get significant support from big name sponsors both in equipment and finance. For a newbie into the elite category it's pretty much bank of mum and dad all the way, but even with this it doesn't mean she can compete across all of the seasons races due to the overall costs.
Now to the opportunity for you all to embrace :-). It looks like there are almost 9000 members of this group, and Matt seems to have captured people who are really bought in to MTB for a variety of different, but all positive, reasons. I am hoping that within the 9000 there will be some that would be interested in supporting Maya through her inaugural season in Elite racing. I am currently thinking that for all those interested we could set up a syndicate with a goal to get her to every race in the World Champs. "What do we get back?" I hear you shout. Well apart from the overwhelming feeling of positivity and wellbeing you get from supporting a fellow human, I would imagine there could be some perks. Not sure what they would be yet, and I guess that depends on Maya's success. Hypothetically speaking they could range from a live Q&A on race weekend, coaching opportunities, especially for females as that is her focus outside of racing, but not exclusively. Looking further in the future, imagine if Maya becomes World Champ!!!! Yes it is a long shot, there is so much that can go wrong and so much luck that needs to be on her side, but there is a chance and you could be part of it :-)
On a personal level i have had a think about how much money i throw away on cups of coffee, takeaway lunches, bling for my bike, short term empty pleasures (apart from maybe the bling) and I have decided to pop some money across to Maya on the date of each World Cup or National Champs. The money will be managed by Maya and her parents to fund travel and accommodation, the problem is I am not Bill Gates, my intentions are good but my bank balance is not, I can't make a huge difference alone.
There, I have got it all out, is there anybody else out there who would be interested in being involved?
Now to the opportunity for you all to embrace :-). It looks like there are almost 9000 members of this group, and Matt seems to have captured people who are really bought in to MTB for a variety of different, but all positive, reasons. I am hoping that within the 9000 there will be some that would be interested in supporting Maya through her inaugural season in Elite racing. I am currently thinking that for all those interested we could set up a syndicate with a goal to get her to every race in the World Champs. "What do we get back?" I hear you shout. Well apart from the overwhelming feeling of positivity and wellbeing you get from supporting a fellow human, I would imagine there could be some perks. Not sure what they would be yet, and I guess that depends on Maya's success. Hypothetically speaking they could range from a live Q&A on race weekend, coaching opportunities, especially for females as that is her focus outside of racing, but not exclusively. Looking further in the future, imagine if Maya becomes World Champ!!!! Yes it is a long shot, there is so much that can go wrong and so much luck that needs to be on her side, but there is a chance and you could be part of it :-)
On a personal level i have had a think about how much money i throw away on cups of coffee, takeaway lunches, bling for my bike, short term empty pleasures (apart from maybe the bling) and I have decided to pop some money across to Maya on the date of each World Cup or National Champs. The money will be managed by Maya and her parents to fund travel and accommodation, the problem is I am not Bill Gates, my intentions are good but my bank balance is not, I can't make a huge difference alone.
There, I have got it all out, is there anybody else out there who would be interested in being involved?
Fundraising team: Mountain Bike Fitness (4)
John Nicholson
Organizer
England
Mark Kilday
Team member
Nick Coleman
Team member
Shari Howard
Team member