Two UQ students are hoping to script their very own Cool Runnings story – working against the odds (and the weather) to represent Australia at the 2011 World Junior Bobsleigh Championships.
Aaron Simson-Woods and Rob Stewart are training through the Australian summer to wear the green and gold after watching the bobsleigh events at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
Mr Simson-Woods remembers first being inspired after watching the four-man event at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
“It was the speed and the danger of the sport that really appealed to me,” he said.
“I reached a point when watching the Australian bobsleigh team at the 2006 Winter Olympics where I decided that I could do that.
“I decided to throw in all I could to represent Australia in the sport.”
Both Mr Simson-Woods and Mr Stewart have been selected in the Australian Men’s bobsleigh team, and are now training at an industrial estate in Yeronga in the lead up to their departure to North America.
An important piece of the puzzle is missing though – the much-needed sponsorship that would help them achieve their dream to represent Australia at the highest level.
“Bobsleigh is an expensive sport. I am looking at $20,000 for a secondhand two-man sled – that’s something a university student cannot afford,” Mr Simson-Woods said.
“Additionally the cost of travel, accommodation, food, transfers, track fees and runners adds up quickly.”
There is no federal funding allocated to bobsleigh in Australia which means athletes have to fund all travel, equipment and training out of their own pockets.
Mr Simson-Woods has already represented Australia, winning second place at the 2010 FIBT bobsleigh driving school in Lake Placid in April.
While there he was coached by ex-Olympians and was able to slide with some of the best in the sport, including 2010 Vancouver bronze medallist Elena Myers.
Mr Simson-Woods avoided any spills during his time in Lake Placid; no mean feat considering one team from Great Britain crashed 17 times in a week.
“To drive well on this track means I can drive well on any track in the world,” Mr Simson-Woods said.
Mr Simson-Woods and Mr Stewart are currently in their second year of studying a Bachelor of Human Movements (Exercise and Sports Science).
For more information or to enquire about sponsorship opportunities, contact 0417 733 106 or aaronsimson@hotmail.com
Media: Janardan Kewin at UQ Communications (07 3365 2619, j.kewin@uq.edu.au)
