I've been invited to paddle for Team USA in the 2012 ICF Dragon Boat World Championships!

If you've never heard of Dragon Boating, here's a link explaining the sport: http://www.canoeicf.com/icf/Aboutoursport/Dragon-Boat.html

I'm 25, about to turn 26 at the end of June. I'm from a small little town in Kentucky (Franklin), but I've lived in Charleston, SC for the past 2 and a half years. Obviously, I don't have a paddling background coming from Kentucky so this opportunity kind of came out of nowhere.

I've been paddling for a couple of years now,and competitively for just one year. Two months ago on a whim I travelled to Charlotte with a group to attend Team USA's coach Mike Blundetto's camp and time trial for the team. Though I haven't been paddling for very long, my power and technique impressed the coach (thanks to Crossfit), and he has invited me onto the team to paddle with them in Milan this August.

I totally did not expect to make it!

Here is Dragon Boat USA's Website: http://www.usack-dragonboatusa.com/.

The 2012 World Championships are being held in Milan, Italy

Here is a link to the venue site in Milan: http://www.idroscaloclub.org/dragon/eng/benvenuti.html

This opportunity has come up totally unexpected for me, and there is no way I will be able to go without your help!

Some of my expenses are/will be:

*Team Uniforms

*Travel and Lodging to a training camp in Philadelphia at the end of July.

*Travel and lodging to and from Italy (So expensive!)

Any help you can give will be greatly appreciated--and much needed!

Thanks again for your help and your interest.

The video I posted above is from a race my team and I did in Richmond, VA (I'm in seat four, on the left side). Watch the video through to the end, The cool stuff starts right at the

1:02s.

***This website takes 5% of every donation made, so if you're a close friend or a family member or if you live close by and would rather donate by personal check or cash please let me know. Doing this would help me even more. My email address is [email redacted].

Thanks.