Help Jay Win a World Championship Gold!

Help send me to the Veterans' World Championships so I can take my once-in-a-lifetime shot at winning a Gold medal and FILA World Wrestling Championship title.

Yo! Hello there. My name is Jay Cornish and I'm a wrestler. OK... well, most of the time, I'm just a father of 5, husband of 17 years, semi-retired entrepreneur and assistant high school wrestling coach. But, for a few weekends a year, I get to put down my whistle, ignore the sibling rivalries and leave the yard work undone, so can I lace up my competition gear and become a bonafide human wrecking crew (no kids required): a wrestler.

I've been on the mat since I was 9, so I've got a lot of time, travel and experience under my belt. I was a champion wrestler as a kid, but I'm even better now as an adult (though it took a lot of relentless persistence, single-minded focus and enough meds to allow big pharma to retire to the Hamptons early...) But after all the time and years, blood, sweat and tears, mileage, heartache, and trauma (remember, I'm married with kids, so that's all before practice...), I'm finally getting my shot to live the athlete's dream: to compete for my home and country, and go for a gold medal at a real, honest-to-goodness World Championship tournament.

World Champion. It's one of those titles you dream about having as a kid: you work hard towards it while you grow up, then resign yourself to never having it as an adult. But it's a dream that never dies (you know, kinda like that cactus...) and if it ever gets the opportunity to flourish, it blossoms. Well, my opportunity is now in full bloom, because in making the US Senior Men's World Team by being a finalist at this year's USAW Beach National Championships and World Team Trials (yes, I was the runner-up - don't rub it in...) I qualified for the 2013 FILA Beach Wrestling World Championships in El Jadida, Morocco (read: Casablanca, dude! I mean, Humphrey Bogart-here's-looking-at-you-kid Casablanca! In Africa! How cool is that?!?) While I didn't get to attend (so close, so heartbreaking...), I was offered a chance to attend the 2013 FILA Veterans' World Wrestling Championships in Sarajevo, Bosnia instead. Greco, Freestyle, a mat - I'm so going!!!

Now, I'm a pretty good wrestler, with Masters-level State and National AAU titles, and multiple AAU World medals in Folkstyle, but I'm actually older than what most people flatter me as being (but I won't stop you from saying it. Nope, uh-uh, won't do it...) So, whenever I compete, I always get legions of onlookers and well-wishers, young and old - coaches, wrestlers, spectators, officials, janitors - who applaud that I still compete at such a high-level (at my age, hmmph!) Well, my drive to compete and win is ageless, but my ability to resource that drive is very finite. Wrestlers are kinda like monks because they prepare alone, suffer within themselves, and compete mano-a-mano (or womano...) But getting to the World Championships, this I can't do alone.

While I might be a fan-favorite ('cause everybody seems to love a good car wreck...), to win that legendary World Champion title, I'll need more than just moral support, I need to actually be there. I need your help to send me (and my saint-of-a-wife/coach/trainer) to the World Championships, to pick up that 1gold medal for Carolina and the US. We can cover the incidentals (and believe me, there are enough of them...) like meals, medicals, administratives, and duties, but the big stuff like transportation and lodging are where we could use some extra wallets and pocketbooks (unless we can borrow your G5, Mediterranean beach villa and GL55 for a weekend. I'll bring them back with a full tank, scout's honor...)


Just give what you can, and get your family, friends, co-workers and neighbors to help, too (because they know you know about that little thing that happened and want it kept quiet...) But all jokes aside, your grace and support are greatly appreciated and will be reciprocated (there is cool stuff, after all...) Plus, all unused funds will be donated to the Jaguar Wrestling club to provide opportunities for other burgeoning World Champions.

So, let's get that Carolina gold at the World Championships! Oh, and Save Olympic Wrestling, too! ;)