Zack Digregorio's Olympic Luge Fund

Thank you for the opportunity to be considered for sponsorship. I am Zack DiGregorio and I am a seventh grader at Medway Middle School.  Three years ago I participated in a USA Luge Slider Search. I was contacted several months later by the USA Luge Team and asked to travel to Lake Placid, NY to attend several weeks of tryouts in an attempt to make the US National Junior Development Team. After many hours spent working out, learning technique and racing down the icy track I learned I had achieved my goal! I have since moved up to the C level team and will race in both Youth and junior Nationals in Park City, UT in 2015.
The sport of luge requires an athlete to balance mental and physical fitness. To become an Olympic luger a competitor must begin training at an early age and spend years honing their skills. Mentally a luger must maintain total focus as they steer their sled through more than a kilometer of curves and straights at high speed. Dozens of subtle movements and weight shifts are required to find the perfect line down the track. Consistency is essential for success. No luger can possibly achieve Olympic status without working closely with an experienced coaching staff, implementing suggestions and fine tuning technique. Though luge is a winter sport, it requires daily, year-round training.

Unfortunately the United States Olympic Committee has recently rescinded their financial support for Olympic developmental teams. Beginning in November I will be traveling to and from Lake Placid every month and living at the Olympic Training Center as well as the Olympica facility in Park City, Utah for a total of 12-16 weeks over this winter. My family is responsible for not only my equipment and travel expenses but my room and board as well! My school will help me to coordinate my studies and I will be tutored in Lake Placid each night after my training.

As you can probably tell, I am very excited to have this opportunity to potentially make the Olympic Luge Team and I am committed to giving it the best shot I possibly can. I would appreciate any support you may be able to offer.