Hello friends! This is Jeremy Mirken, Vice Chair of Sepak Takraw of USA, Inc. (STUSA) and Head Coach of the USA National Sepak Takraw Team coming at you with some exciting news on behalf of STUSA'S King's Cup Planning Committee (of which I am the acting chair).
For the first time in nearly 30 years, Team USA will have both men's AND women's teams competing at the Sepak Takraw World Championships (aka, “The King's Cup”), which will be held in Korat, Thailand from July 9th-16th, 2023!
The creation of a Women's National Sepak Takraw team is an exciting development that represents STUSA's ongoing effort to promote and expand Sepak Takraw to new regions and new populations throughout the United States.
Let's start out by focusing on the newest additions to the USA National Sepak Takraw team: our female players!
Kristal Luna- a Soccer and Teqball player, who currently coaches a collegiate soccer team. Her energy is contagious and her touch on any ball kicked her way is impressive!
Wannisa Cella- the only true sepaktakraw player on our team, Wannisa was raised in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand where she played feeder for her high school team.
Brandy Montoya- a former cheerleader and the only Footbag Net player on our team, Brandy previously trained her roll spike with a footbag! Will it debut at King's Cup?
Our talented female athletes, Kristal, Wannisa, and Brandy will be under the microscope and in the spotlight as they attend their first-ever international Sepak Takraw competition. But don't worry- these ladies are no strangers to high-stakes competitive play. After competing around the world in professional foot sports such as Soccer, Teqball and Footbag Net for the better part of a decade, they've turned their attention to the sport of Sepak Takraw with the intent to medal in their very first international competition! And if you follow sepak takraw in the United States, then you know that Team USA has not sent a women's team to King's Cup since the 1990s. This is a very big deal, and Jim Thao (men's player) and Jeremy Mirken (coach) are hard at work helping to prepare them for what lies ahead.
Moving onto the men's team, many of the players on our squad will look familiar, since they just made history at the 2022 ISTAF World Cup in Daejeon, South Korea winning two gold medals in Div. 1 competition. We'll unveil the full men's team for King's Cup 2023 soon since we're still looking to add a couple of new faces to the mix. For now, here's our gold-medal-winning team from the 2022 ISTAF World Cup in South Korea:
Sepak Takraw of USA, Inc. (STUSA) is the 501(c)3 charitable organization that manages the affairs of the United States National Sepak Takraw Team. We're an all-volunteer board whose budget comes entirely from grant money and the support of altruistic businesses and citizens like you. Since STUSA board members receive no salary and have no overhead expenses, 100% of the donations that we receive will go directly to our athletes and the coaching staff who accompany them overseas (minus GFM's cut).
We anticipate that our 2023 delegation will include 3 female players and 6 to 9 male players, along with a small coaching staff for each team. And since we're looking to support more people than ever, our initial GoFundMe target is larger than we've ever attempted to raise. We have locked down a jersey sponsor for both our men's and women's teams, so these GFM funds will mainly offset the costs of air travel, with a small portion to be used for matching track suits. We're counting on the support of our families, co-workers, friends, friends of friends, business contacts, and anyone else who happens to stumble across our campaign to not only support this USA team but to passionately share our message with the world! Let your community know why you're donating and why they should donate as well. We will represent you proudly, here and abroad, but we cannot do it without your support. Thank you!
Funding Breakdown:
Flights: $1,600/per x 14: $22,400
Attire for 14: $2,800
Lettering/logoing: $1,500
Equipment: $500
Training camp: $2500
Total: $29,700