Nyl Yakura's Road to Tokyo 2020-Olympic Fundraise
Donation protected
Hi everyone!
My name is Nyl Yakura and I play badminton for team Canada. Growing up as a kid, I gained a massive passion for badminton and almost instantly had a dream of going to the Olympic Games to compete in badminton. Over the years, that goal is still there but I don't just want to go to the Olympics, I want to contend with the worlds best and show that Canada is there to win.
Badminton is an individual sport and is very expensive if you are a player from North America. We get little to no funding compared to lots of all the other countries competing in the world. As a Canadian player, we are fully self-funded for everything leading up to major games events. That includes, hotels, flights, food, etc. The amount we need to travel is not small either so we can be spending from $25k-$50k a year, depending on which year it is. with qualifying year right around the corner, it is going to be the most expensive and tough year ever.
I will have many trips to Asia, Europe, or even South America for competitions, which cost a lot especially coming from Canada. We need to do these trips multiple times in a year to go to the tournaments we need to get the matches we need and the points we need. Most international players that have everything paid for don't have to deal with the stresses and pressures that we deal with which can take a toll on us mentally throughout our trips. They can feel relaxed knowing that they are staying in nice hotels, have all their flights booked and just need to show up to the airport for when those flights are. We need to book ourselves, usually looking for the cheapest ticket which could result in travelling 30+ hours to one destination. If the official hotels of the tournament are far too expensive, then we will need to find our own place to stay like a cheaper hotel or even airbnb. Doing this will also force us to have to arrange our own transportation from airports to our accommodations. Others will not have to worry about any of those factors. Then we need to budget ourselves for food. Some places we go to are very expensive for food so we often opt out to eating very cheap food that may not be great for us as athletes. Basically, what I am saying is that the hardest part of this journey, is the financial portion.
When I am home in Toronto, Canada, I will do what work I can to get as much money as I can. Although, I am not home so often therefore it isn't much. Thankfully, I am fortunate enough to have two loving and supportive parents that have stuck by me and my dream to help aid me in the right direction. They have sacrificed so much for me and have supported me more than enough. They both should be retired and living their lives to the fullest yet they are both still working just to help support me to help me live out my dream. This is why I am reaching out to all of you. I feel such a burden to be using so much of my parents hard earned money on my travels instead of them using it on their lives. KC Badminton club also helps out so much by helping me find opportunities to raise money to help fund these trips. I have been with KC for 3 years now and they have been extremely supportive and encouraging to me which makes me feel so much stronger when I compete because I know I have their support as well. They are one of the top badminton clubs in the country and do great things for our sport in helping it grow bigger and bigger.
I have devoted more than half of my life to this sport and this dream. Every little bit counts to me and I appreciate all of you who decide to support me whether it be through this or even kind words of encouragement. I just want to make Canada proud show the world that we are up there with the best and can compete with them. Olympic qualifying has already begun and I will need your help as soon as possible! I promise to give back in any way I can to the community and those supporting me because it means that much that I have that support behind me. Hope to take you all along this journey with me on my road to Tokyo 2020.
Thank you all,
Nyl Kiyoshi Yakura
My name is Nyl Yakura and I play badminton for team Canada. Growing up as a kid, I gained a massive passion for badminton and almost instantly had a dream of going to the Olympic Games to compete in badminton. Over the years, that goal is still there but I don't just want to go to the Olympics, I want to contend with the worlds best and show that Canada is there to win.
Badminton is an individual sport and is very expensive if you are a player from North America. We get little to no funding compared to lots of all the other countries competing in the world. As a Canadian player, we are fully self-funded for everything leading up to major games events. That includes, hotels, flights, food, etc. The amount we need to travel is not small either so we can be spending from $25k-$50k a year, depending on which year it is. with qualifying year right around the corner, it is going to be the most expensive and tough year ever.
I will have many trips to Asia, Europe, or even South America for competitions, which cost a lot especially coming from Canada. We need to do these trips multiple times in a year to go to the tournaments we need to get the matches we need and the points we need. Most international players that have everything paid for don't have to deal with the stresses and pressures that we deal with which can take a toll on us mentally throughout our trips. They can feel relaxed knowing that they are staying in nice hotels, have all their flights booked and just need to show up to the airport for when those flights are. We need to book ourselves, usually looking for the cheapest ticket which could result in travelling 30+ hours to one destination. If the official hotels of the tournament are far too expensive, then we will need to find our own place to stay like a cheaper hotel or even airbnb. Doing this will also force us to have to arrange our own transportation from airports to our accommodations. Others will not have to worry about any of those factors. Then we need to budget ourselves for food. Some places we go to are very expensive for food so we often opt out to eating very cheap food that may not be great for us as athletes. Basically, what I am saying is that the hardest part of this journey, is the financial portion.
When I am home in Toronto, Canada, I will do what work I can to get as much money as I can. Although, I am not home so often therefore it isn't much. Thankfully, I am fortunate enough to have two loving and supportive parents that have stuck by me and my dream to help aid me in the right direction. They have sacrificed so much for me and have supported me more than enough. They both should be retired and living their lives to the fullest yet they are both still working just to help support me to help me live out my dream. This is why I am reaching out to all of you. I feel such a burden to be using so much of my parents hard earned money on my travels instead of them using it on their lives. KC Badminton club also helps out so much by helping me find opportunities to raise money to help fund these trips. I have been with KC for 3 years now and they have been extremely supportive and encouraging to me which makes me feel so much stronger when I compete because I know I have their support as well. They are one of the top badminton clubs in the country and do great things for our sport in helping it grow bigger and bigger.
I have devoted more than half of my life to this sport and this dream. Every little bit counts to me and I appreciate all of you who decide to support me whether it be through this or even kind words of encouragement. I just want to make Canada proud show the world that we are up there with the best and can compete with them. Olympic qualifying has already begun and I will need your help as soon as possible! I promise to give back in any way I can to the community and those supporting me because it means that much that I have that support behind me. Hope to take you all along this journey with me on my road to Tokyo 2020.
Thank you all,
Nyl Kiyoshi Yakura
Organizer
Nyl Yakura
Organizer
Scarborough, ON
