Hi! My name is Kumari Okumura, and I am so grateful and excited that I’ve been selected to represent Team USA in the U20 World Junior Ultimate Championships in Spain this July!

About the Process to be Selected:

Over 460 ultimate players from around the country submit applications to be invited to Team USA tryouts.

The USA coaches selected 216 applicants to attend tryouts in the East Coast and West Coast.

In between those times, I did lots of training. Some of it was on my own, but most of it was with my very supportive teammates and coaches!

Recently, I've started to climb competitively again. The coaches there taught me how to reframe my mentality in face of hard, uncomfortable situations. Learning how to train the mental side in addition to the physical side was incredibly useful for these tryouts.

From those who tried out, 24 were chosen for each division: men’s, women’s, and mixed.

I have the honor of playing on the women’s team to hopefully win gold in the world championship this coming summer!

My Journey with Ultimate

In 6th grade, I used to be a competitive climber, but stopped after multiple concussions. A family friend was the coach of the Justice Page middle school ultimate team, and recommended I try it.

Like diving into any other sport headfirst, it was a bit of a rocky start. But once my best friend started playing, I was fully committed. After the first season was over, I knew ultimate was a sport I’d be playing for a long time.

That summer, I got the opportunity to practice with our state’s Youth Club Championship Women’s U17 team. It was eye-opening because I didn’t know how many female-matching players (fmp) there were, as there weren’t many in middle school.

That experience taught me a lot, and I really loved it. From then on, I tried to chase any opportunity I could to learn from those more experienced than me. From playing on the u17 and u20 fmp team each summer, to playing in adult club teams, hat tournaments, and my high school team Washburn, I have truly learned a lot.

Now, I have this opportunity to learn amongst the best in the country, against the best in the world, and under some of the most talented coaches!

Additionally, over these 5 years of playing, I’ve had the pleasure of becoming part of Minnesota’s supportive, welcoming community, from which I’ve made some of my closest friends. With each level of competition, my community expands, and I’m very excited to connect with people from around the country and world who share my love for ultimate!

Could you help this opportunity become a reality?

While this opportunity is especially meaningful, it is also extremely expensive. The $6,500 would cover the costs of playing on the U20 National Team.

This includes travel to required team training camps in the US and Spain, housing and meals while there, coaching and medical support, and the player fee for the World Junior Ultimate Championships. It also covers flights to and from the international tournament, to and from the training weekend in the US, plus housing, food, and local transportation while competing. Team uniforms and some fees are already covered, but families are responsible for most travel and participation costs. Any contribution you make will go directly to these expenses.

I would be so grateful for any donation you can make, and even if you can’t donate, sharing this GoFundMe with people you know would mean a lot.

I could not continue this part of my journey without the help of everyone who has supported it, so thank you so much!

My dad is added as a beneficiary because I am under 18.