Updated 06:15 PM EDT, Thu, Mar 28, 2024

Winter Olympics 2014 News: Jamaican Bobsled Team Uses Crowdsourcing to Raise Money to Compete in Sochi

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The Jamaican Olympic bobsled team has raised the money needed to travel to Sochi after qualifying on Saturday into the 2014 Winter Olympics, thanks in part to donations from fans sympathetic to their plight, eager to see the team compete in the Winter Games.

Bobsled driver Winston Watts and brakeman Marvin Dixon of the two-man bobsled feared they would not be able to make it to Russia for the Winter Games, needing $80,000 to travel to Sochi.

"Right now, we're at zero," said Watts after qualifying for the Olympics.

The team raised more than $200,000 in four days since qualifying, in part from donations coming through crowdsourcing, the practice of funding projects or business ventures by raising small amounts of money via Internet donations. Accounts were set up through Indiegog ($55,987 raised), Crowdtilt ($129,557.17 raised), and Reddit.

Dogecoin - a crypto-currency, peer-to-peer payment system and digital currency similar to Bitcoin but based on "doge" memes of Shiba Inus, a Japanese dog breed, shown in various settings - also jumped in to help the bobsled team achieve their goal, helping them raise $30,000 for their cause.

"It's so overwhelming that we have so many fans out there,'' said Watts to Today.com. "The whole nation has come together and donated the funds to us. This shows us that people still love the Jamaican bobsled team. I just want to give thanks to all of our fans out there."

The donations raised helps secure a promise made by the International Olympic Committee that they would cover the travel cost to Sochi, allowing for any extra money collected by the Jamaican bobsled team to go towards training and equipment to compete against world-class athletes with bigger budgets to prepare for the Winter Games.

Watts said that the team needs to upgrade the runners - the rounded blades that help guide the bobsled down the icy track. Runners can cost between $15,000 and $20,000 with the team needing multiple sets for the Olympic Games.

"The ones that I used to qualify are almost not legal because they are so old,'' said Watts.

Watts told Today.com that the team would stop collecting donations as of Tuesday as to not appear greedy to the fans who helped them live out their Olympic dream.

"We don't want it to go beyond the amount that has been raised because we hit our quota,'' said Watts. "We don't want anyone thinking, 'Those guys are crooks.' We want people to have positive thoughts about us from this little tiny island. When next season comes and we start our fundraising, we want people to know these guys are legit."

Watts, 46, competed in the 1994 Lillehammer Games, the 1998 Nagano Games, and finished in 28th place at the 2002 Salt City Lake Games, and was retired before returning to competition to make his fourth Olympic appearance. Hoping to get one more chance to medal, Watts started out the season plotting a return with a four-man bobsled before focusing his energies on a two-man team - due to budgeting issues, racing in lower-tier events, piling up enough points to qualify for the Sochi Games.

"It's a dream,'' said Watts. "When you have a wonderful dream, you don't want to get out of it, you want it to keep going. The reason I have this feeling is because of all of our fans out there. These people give you so much energy."

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