Help Bella represent USA at IFSC Youth World Championship.

Bella Wargo, 15, stands on the podium at the USA Climbing National Training Center in her favorite Speed Climbing leggings with a hole in the knee. Only now, she's sporting some new hardware around her neck and the National Team Jacket. The hole was caused by scraping the wall on her countless practice sessions, wearing even thinner than the diminishing skin on her fingers, while training for this moment. She insisted on wearing these leggings, rather than shorts, despite the 105-degree Salt Lake City heat. They took her to a 2nd place finish in Speed Climbing at the USA Climbing Youth National Championship last week.

At the National Championship, Bella finished 15th in Bouldering and 23rd in Lead. But her most impressive performance was in Speed Climbing. Bella's fastest climb was 8.679 seconds! That is 1 second off the Youth National Record, and 2.5 seconds off the World Record. This 2nd place finish earns her a spot on the National Team and qualifies her to represent her country in Guiyang, China at the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) Youth World Championship.

The most impressive thing about her performance was not the silver medal finish, but the way she handled the only race that she lost in the entire competition. It was the race for first place. Bella fell short of the gold medal by 0.6 seconds. She met this loss, not with disappointment, but with celebration. She immediately started kicking her legs and shaking her arms in excitement as she was being lowered to the ground. She then showed great love and appreciation for her victorious competitor with an enthusiastic embrace. The hug and the excitement she demonstrated brought tears to the eyes of many spectators. This was a display of true sportsmanship, passion for the sport, and respect for her fellow competitors.

Unfortunately, USA Climbing does not cover any travel expenses for this competition. Bella's family has already incurred significant travel costs for competitions and training to get her to this point. The closest training wall is over 200 miles away and the required competitions to qualify for this take place all around the country. Traveling to the World Championships in China is expected to cost in excess of $8,000. Bella is given only a few days to notify USA Climbing about her ability to participate in this event which takes place next month, giving her very little time to raise money.

Her family would greatly appreciate any support you can provide.