Help Me Go to Poland!
Donation protected
Hi, my name is Samantha Nelson. I am 15 almost 16 years old and I live in Roseville Minnesota.
About three years ago a friend asked me if I wanted to try sprint kayaking. At the time I had no idea what she was talking about, but I was ready for the challenge. The first time I was in a sprint kayak I couldn’t stay upright in it for more than a second. Well actually I think for at least a month I would fall out about 20 times a practice. I may or may not have broken the record for the most fall ins for one practice.
Once I was stable enough to stay up in a boat I fell in love with the sport. Then I started to learn how to race, the first regatta I attended let’s just say I didn’t do too well but I still had lots of fun and stuck with it. Throughout my years of training I always looked up to the older athletes. I saw how fast they were and I knew that one day I could be just as fast or even faster. And wow that day came faster than I thought it would.
Now I paddle for “Twin Cities Paddlesports” on lake Phalen. The past year I have worked as hard as I can. I would wake up at five in the morning to work out only to come back at 4:30 in the afternoon to train again. I would lift weights and run to make me stronger and faster. I would always get very excited when ever I got a new personal best time and I would always strive to be faster.
The first week of August I attended the 2018 ACA canoe/kayak sprint national championship in Oklahoma City. I met people from all across the country and I had lots of fun racing. On the last day my coach told me that I had qualified the Olympic hopes team. I was so excited to hear that I had qualified because it had been my goal for the past year, that meant that all my training and hard work had paid off.
Olympic Hopes selects the top kids from the US (ages 14-17) to go to Poland for a week and a half. We will train with other kids our age from around the world. Then there is a big competition. This will be the biggest regatta that I have ever attended. The trip is in less than a month. We leave September 9th and return on September 18th.
That means I have three to four weeks to raise over $3000. Looking back this is the hardest thing that I’ve ever worked for. Leading up to this moment I knew that this trip would cost a lot of money so all summer long I worked and raised over $500 by myself. And I am planning on continuing to work for the rest of the summer to raise as much money as possible. But this is where you guys come in to help me out a little bit. Would you be willing to help me represent team USA in Poland? Every little bit will help! (The $3,000 covers airfare, transportation, boat rental, accommodations, food, coaching and uniforms.)
I love and appreciate this sport so much. It has given me amazing opportunities to travel across the county and now the world. It has helped me see that I can make a difference in the world and this is just the beginning. Thank you for all your help!
About three years ago a friend asked me if I wanted to try sprint kayaking. At the time I had no idea what she was talking about, but I was ready for the challenge. The first time I was in a sprint kayak I couldn’t stay upright in it for more than a second. Well actually I think for at least a month I would fall out about 20 times a practice. I may or may not have broken the record for the most fall ins for one practice.
Once I was stable enough to stay up in a boat I fell in love with the sport. Then I started to learn how to race, the first regatta I attended let’s just say I didn’t do too well but I still had lots of fun and stuck with it. Throughout my years of training I always looked up to the older athletes. I saw how fast they were and I knew that one day I could be just as fast or even faster. And wow that day came faster than I thought it would.
Now I paddle for “Twin Cities Paddlesports” on lake Phalen. The past year I have worked as hard as I can. I would wake up at five in the morning to work out only to come back at 4:30 in the afternoon to train again. I would lift weights and run to make me stronger and faster. I would always get very excited when ever I got a new personal best time and I would always strive to be faster.
The first week of August I attended the 2018 ACA canoe/kayak sprint national championship in Oklahoma City. I met people from all across the country and I had lots of fun racing. On the last day my coach told me that I had qualified the Olympic hopes team. I was so excited to hear that I had qualified because it had been my goal for the past year, that meant that all my training and hard work had paid off.
Olympic Hopes selects the top kids from the US (ages 14-17) to go to Poland for a week and a half. We will train with other kids our age from around the world. Then there is a big competition. This will be the biggest regatta that I have ever attended. The trip is in less than a month. We leave September 9th and return on September 18th.
That means I have three to four weeks to raise over $3000. Looking back this is the hardest thing that I’ve ever worked for. Leading up to this moment I knew that this trip would cost a lot of money so all summer long I worked and raised over $500 by myself. And I am planning on continuing to work for the rest of the summer to raise as much money as possible. But this is where you guys come in to help me out a little bit. Would you be willing to help me represent team USA in Poland? Every little bit will help! (The $3,000 covers airfare, transportation, boat rental, accommodations, food, coaching and uniforms.)
I love and appreciate this sport so much. It has given me amazing opportunities to travel across the county and now the world. It has helped me see that I can make a difference in the world and this is just the beginning. Thank you for all your help!
Organizer and beneficiary
Samantha Nelson
Organizer
St. Paul, MN
Ann Nelson
Beneficiary