One day.
One day was all it took for the impact of Chasing Gold to be felt.
Within one day of announcing the new venture, enough funds were received to cover the entire upcoming three-week Cancun Bubble for Sarah Sponcil and Kelly Claes, who departed for Mexico on a flight this morning.
That is no small matter.
Sponcil and Claes, despite being ranked No. 7 in the world and currently in third in the United States Olympic race, are stuck in the country quota for all three events. For main draw teams, the hotels and meals are provided by the FIVB. Because of the country quota, limiting just three teams from each country to be automatically seeded into the main draw, Sponcil and Claes were the first team out.
This means that their hotels are not covered, meals are not covered, flights certainly not covered.
It’s an awfully large bill to foot for a 24- and 25-year-old whose job it is to represent the United States on the beach.
It’s an awfully large bill no more.
Sponcil and Claes received an anonymous donation, made possible because of Chasing Gold’s non-profit status, which makes every donation tax deductible, that covers the entire trip and more. Not only does this make it significantly easier on the bank accounts of the two, but it relieves the monumental pressure that comes with needing to win, or potentially going into credit card debt if they don’t.
That pressure’s been relieved. Claes and Sponcil, then, can focus solely on beach volleyball, without needing to worry how rent’s going to be paid, if they need to work a few part time gigs between events, if they can even afford ensuing trips to Sochi and Ostrava, the final two Olympic qualifying events prior to the Tokyo Games.
It’s a remarkable thing, only being focused on simply doing your job. No other distractions to worry about; just pass, set, hit.
“This was the whole reason we founded Chasing Gold: To take the pressure off athletes so they can just do what they’re the best in the world at and play beach volleyball,” Executive Director Matt Callahan said. “Our goal now is to make sure every athlete’s flight is covered, and all they need to worry about is winning matches and bringing home medals.”
