Olympics 08- Johnny & Charlie Need Your Help

by John Bertrand and Keith Taylor on 22 Jul 2008
Last week we were surprised and shocked to learn that the US Olympic Tornado team of Johnny Lovell and Charlie Ogletree is facing a funding shortfall of $33,000 with just under three weeks to go to their first race in Qingdao.

No, it wasn’t bad planning. These guys plot every minute of their lives! They are supported by you their supporters, by their sponsors and by the US Sailing Team, However they were as dismayed as we were to learn that one of the funding sources they were relying on had unexpectedly dried up.

Twenty months ago we – John Bertrand, Silver Medalist in Finns at the Los Angeles Olympics and Keith Taylor, former editor of SAIL magazine – made the decision to provide support some of our top Olympic sailing athletes. You can learn more about us and our project at our website at http://www.teambrace.com/sailfast/index.html.

Now we’re on a mission to see that these two great guys go to the starting line in Qingdao without the specter of serious debt clouding their minds. Johnny and Charlie won a Silver Olympic Medal in Tornadoes for the US four years ago. Since then they have been steadily and deliberately rebuilding their program with an eye to peaking in China. We’re pleased to report they are on track

You may already have donated, or thought about donating. Bottom line is that a first donation now, or another donation, will help power their path to the podium.

You can donate online, using the secure Kintera software used by most major charities. Just go to T-Squared Racing Donations. Or you can go to http://www.t-squaredracing.com and select 'Join the Team'. Either way, when you are there, click on the button at the page top that says 'Donate Now'. Or, you can click on the 'General Donation' menu item half way down the left-hand column.

We urge you to tell your family, friends, shipmates and fellow yacht club members about this funding crisis. You can do that easily, using the 'Spread the Word' menu item in the left hand column.

As we write this, the donations counter at the top of the 'Join the Team' page is paused at $4,815. It’s our goal, and we hope yours, to see it at $37,815 before the Opening Ceremony in Beijing. Please give generously.