This is a fundraiser for Peniamina (Benjamin) Percival, to help him compete in the 2020 Olympics for Judo! All funds will be directly received by Ben, with the exception of GoFundMe's fees (Transaction fee is 2.9% plus $0.30 per donation.) Now here is Ben's message! 

"Talofa lava!

My name is Peniamina Percival and I come from the Pacific Island nation of Samoa. Since I was a child I have been fascinated by Japanese culture and martial arts. At about the age of 13, I started doing Judo. The past few years I have taken this sport more seriously, and in April this year, I moved to Osaka, Japan, to train for a year at Daishin Judo Club. I was very fortunate to be able to represent Samoa and compete at the Pacific Games held in Samoa this past July, and at the Judo World Championships in Tokyo in August 2019.

Competing at the Judo World Championships in Tokyo was both a humbling and inspirational experience. Although I lost to my Georgian opponent Luka Maisuradze, this competition made me think hard about my goals with Judo. It has motivated me to compete in more International Competitions. I am therefore competing soon in the Perth Oceania Open (4th - 5th Nov 2019), the Osaka Grand Slam (22nd - 24th Nov 2019), and the Hong Kong Asian Open (30th Nov - 1st December 2019). It is my dream to compete in the Olympics next year, and if I compete in more international competitions, I may stand a chance of qualifying. There are 5 spots for men from Oceania to qualify for, and the rule is one person per country. So far, Australia and NZ both have high points, so they will most likely take the first two spots. The other spots are pretty much for whoever has highest points and Samoa is definitely a contender.

As you may have seen by now, I am currently living in Osaka, Japan. I am focusing on my Judo training, mainly at Daishin Judo. Because these big international competitions (as well as transport and accommodation for them) are not cheap, and the Judo Association of Samoa doesn't have the funds for all these expenses, and unfortunately with my current visa I can only work limited hours, I am calling on my friends and family to please support me to achieve my goal. Any donation to my GoFundMe will be very much appreciated, as every cent helps! Thanks to the support of my family, I was able to compete in the 2019 Pacific Games in Samoa this past July and was awarded a bronze medal in my category and another bronze medal in the team competition.


(Pictures from the Pacific Games in Samoa, July 2019)

Where the money will be spent:
To compete in the Perth Oceania Open, I will need at least $1000 USD. This includes return flights from Osaka - Perth (approx. $800 USD), daily living expenses (approx. $40 USD/day x 4 days), and a visitors visa ($29 USD). Thankfully, the Judo Association of Samoa, although of little funds, has decided to assist in paying for the Samoan teams accommodation in Perth at one of the IJF approved hotels, so for this competition I don't have to worry about paying for accommodation. For the Osaka Grand Slam, the IJF requires that all competitors stay in an official hotel for at least two nights. This is unfortunate because I live nearby and the cheapest hotel is $200 per night; thus, I am budgeting $400 for this competition. The registration fees have been taken care of by the Samoa Judo Association but I am not sure yet if I need to reimburse them."For the Hong Kong Asian Open, I will need approximately $600 USD. This includes return flights from Osaka - Hong Kong (approx. $200 USD), daily living expenses (approx. $25 USD/day x 4 days), and accommodation (approx. $300 USD at the official accommodation for competing athletes). Next year I would like to compete in more competitions, so it would be very helpful if I have funds available for those too. Therefore, for this GoFundMe, I am trying to raise about $2,000 USD.

I would like to end this by thanking everyone who supported Derek, Will and I at the World Champs in Tokyo. The list is long, but thank you to everyone from the bottom of my heart. Faafetai tele lava! 


(Team Samoa at the Judo World Championships in Tokyo, August 2019, with the legendary Japanese Judo player and coach Kosei Inoue)"