While many other athletes wait around for government funds to compete internationally, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner Meggie Ochoa skirted that handicap by turning to crowd funding.
her shoulders after winning her second world title in the sport at the Mundials
in Long Beach, California, recently. From Meggie Ochoa Facebook Account
It is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising many small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically via the Internet. The idea is genius and made possible because of the Internet. Anybody who is interested can help fund a worthwhile venture like Ochoa’s trip to the Mundials by giving however little amount that they could spare.
With no government money and little corporate sponsorships, Ochoa turned to crowd funding through www.makeachampion.com to help pay for expenses to compete in the 2015 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship in Long Beach, California, USA.
She managed to raise over $2,300 for the 2015 International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation world championships in Long Beach, California. Ironically, she is actually more motivated to win because of how she obtained the resources which allowed her to compete.
“Kahit mag-isa ka sa mat na lumalaban, alam mo na hindi lang sarili mo ang nakapagdala sa iyo doon. So bawat panalo hindi para lang sa sarili ko, kungdi para sa lahat ng tao na nagbigay, na tumulong para makaabot ako roon,” said Ochoa.
“Mas motivated ako manalo. Hindi pressure. Mas gusto ko talaga manalo. Kasi gusto ko gawin para sa lahat.”
It won’t always be like this of course. Ochoa hopes that at some point, the sport and its thousands of participants will eventually get that government recognition and support.
“Para sa akin ang mga wins na ito. Mag push sa akin naman na hindi ako naghihintay sa support kaya ako nag-crowdfunding. Habang wala pa ang structure for government support gusto ko to win titles para maipakita na merong potential ang sport na ito,” said Ochoa.
Ochoa, from Atos JJ Philippines, won the Female Rooster division in the blue belt in the 2015 World Jiu Jitsu Championship of the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation.
She won last year, but in the white belt. Her goal is to win five world titles at five belt levels. With world titles now in two levels, she believes she can help the sport grow in the Philippines and make a big enough of an impact to gain government recognition.
Weeks off her win at the Mundials Ochoa is already preparing for another major competition in September.
“I’ll be joining the Asian Open this September with the rest of team Atos. Preparations for that will start pretty soon. I have a long way to go. I still have so much to work on with my game, so much to improve on. I’m less than halfway towards the goal of winning the title at every belt level. Back to the drawing board,” she said.