Bobsled team may not reach Germany

Janet Silvera, Hospitality Jamaica Coordinator

Members of the Jamaican bobsled team.

LESS THAN a month before the renowned Challenger Cup in Konigsee, Germany, financial constraints may force the Jamaican bobsled team to withdraw from the World Cup qualifying games.

The team has been having difficulty finding sponsorship to the tune of US$75,000, and their dreams of landing on the European soil were shattered last Monday when their latest prospective sponsor fell through.

Jamaica needs to compete in the Challenger Cup in order to qualify for the 2006 Olympics on February 10, in Torino, Italy.

"At this point, with the level of financing we have, it is going to be an uphill task getting to Germany," the team's agent, Anders Vestergaard, told Hospitality Jamaica. He said a little support from Corporate Jamaica would increase the odds dramatically.

Twelve years in the business, Vestergaard says he knows a great team when he sees one. "The reason why we have access to many of the world's bobsled coaches is the fact that the team is gifted."

"At the top of the mountain and at the push, Jamaica is the best in the world," he added.

However, that access is being denied with the lack of money to employ a drive coach who is an expert on the tracks in Germany, the need for accommodation and the rental of two sleds.

He said a lot of hopes were raised with the recent prospective sponsors and it is extremely frustrating that the teams' efforts have gone unnoticed.

The current team of Winston Watt, Clive McDonald, Wayne Blackwood, Garnet Jones and Wayne Thomas has participated in two Olympics, 1998 in Nagano, Japan, and Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2002. They earned a bronze at the Calgary Americas Cup last month in Calgary, Canada.

Fourteen years ago the first Jamaican Bobsled team made history in the Calgary Olympics Winter Games. They warmed the hearts of many worldwide in their first

Attempt at Olympic glory was even immortalised in the popular Walt Disney movie Cool Runnings. Since then the team has been a mainstay in the Winter Olympics and now have their eyes focused on bringing back a medal to Jamaica.

The team has continued to improve and in 2000 took gold at the World Push Championships in Monte Carlo, in three events and posting the fasted start time at the World Cup.