The Athlete Fellowship – writing the request and making choices
Today some of us at the Gym (GCA) filled out the form applying for the “International Athlete Fellowship. This is a Federal program with somewhat diffuse objectives. According to the official website, its main objectives are first, “to guarantee personal maintenance for high performance athletes presently not being sponsored and, second, to “invest primarily on olymic or para-olympic sports in order to form, maintain and renew the pool of athletes representing the country in international events.
Some general criteria apply that are known, such as Olympic over non-Olympic; woman over man; young over older, etc. However, I feel the most significant criteria are not even being addressed: the actual economic need and cultural impact. Nowhere is the applicant’s income or family income evaluated; nowhere are social impact of the sport or of the institution applying for the fellowship data collected.
I am a powerlifter. I am applying in the master age group category, where I rank second at the National Level and 19th at the IPF list (for Bench Press). My chances are not very large. But what if I am awarded? It is something around US$700,00/month. It buys a lot of whey and a few tickets to travel abroad in meets outside the country. However, not receiving it did not prevent me from going to Montevideo to compete. And has never prevented me from buying my favorite Elite Dymatize Whey.
I am not a rich person, but I have a higher degree, a Ph.D. and I can manage and pay my bills (and buy whey, BCAA, etc.). My brothers and sisters at the GCA (my Gym), however, do not share my luck. The Gym is located in the middle of one of the biggest slums in the country. Most of the athletes there don’t dream of ever making US$700.00 as salary in their lives. For them, it would make all the difference from being an unrecognized talent to, maybe, a World Champion. Especially the young ones.
I have decided that, if granted the fellowship (which I doubt), I will share it with two of the kids we think are especially talented and especially victimized by economic hardship. I hope I get it.
