Four months before the 2014 winter Olympics, the Canadian national biathlon team is still without a title sponsor, which has sent more of its athletes on a difficult fundraising journey.
Zina Kocher is the latest Canadian biathlete to seek funds via the crowdsourcing website pursu.it.com. Joining the likes of teammates Megan Imrie, Rosanna Crawford and Brendan Green, she’s asking the public to support her in return for hugs, souvenirs from the road, mountain getaways and more.
In 2010, she was one of four biathletes to get naked to help fund their Olympic quest, shooting a nude calendar with her female teammates to raise money. This year, she wanted to do something different. Although she’s been one of the country’s best biathletes for years, she still needs financial help.
“The financial pressure did increase this year. I didn’t make Sport Canada criteria this year, so that was a good chunk of change for the training season. That was $1,500 a month, so right away, I don’t have an income I can count on for the daily cost of living. This year, I’ve had to be more creative and apply for different grants, and decided pursu.it would help cover the costs,” Kocher said.
Although testing has shown the 30-year-old Kocher is stronger, healthier and faster than ever before, the two-time Olympian says she currently receives less funding this year than ever before. Her expenses are up as well, as she must pay to race for Canada on her last tour, her training camps, as well as $8,500 in team fees. That’s why she launched her pursu.it campaign and has raised $6,855 of her $14,000 goal at deadline with less than 30 days to go.
“I saw that it was a successful way to fund my year. Basically, four years ago we did the calendar to cover the cost of training. I wanted to do something different this year,” Kocher said. “It’s difficult as an individual to go to corporations and ask for funding.”
On the bright side, Kocher appears to be rounding into form just in time for the World Cup season. She’s spent the bulk of her time training with Richard Boruta at the Biathlon Alberta Training Centre in Canmore and recorded several personal bests in training, where she’s seeing faster top speeds.
“Training with the team, I’m able to individualize my training a little more. I have a lot of fun being with a group that’s young, inspired and love what they do. I feel that helps remind me why I do biathlon and enjoy what I’m doing,” Kocher said.
Kocher performed well at the Torino games, but was hit with back issues and mono leading into the Vancouver Olympics.
“In 2010, I didn’t come in in the best physical shape. Once I injured my back and got mono, it took longer than we thought to get over the illness. Now, I’m finally back to where I was quite a few years ago,” Kocher said.
This year, she’s focused on technique and speed and also spent a week training in the United States with cross-country ski national team member Perianne Jones. She raced one cross-country World Cup last year, and said she’d be happy to do another.
“This year is definitely about being in the best shape I’ve ever been in. I’ve definitely learned a lot about myself since the last two Olympic games. I think I can come into these games prepared mentally and physically,” Kocher said.
She’s also worked hard to improve her nutrition.
“There are so many things that can affect your physical shape – so many things I didn’t fully explore before,” Kocher said.
While life would be easier if she was funded properly, Kocher said crowd-sourcing does have a few perks.
“It really focuses on people becoming part of the athlete’s journey. There is definitely a little more work, but I’m enjoying it. It helps me get back to my own goal and what drives me to reach the podium. That fire is always there, but it’s easy to get complacent. After 13 years of full-time training, sometimes you have to be re-inspired,” Kocher said.
The flute-playing, pottery-painting sharpshooter who studies Spanish in her spare time is collecting donations at pursu.it/campaign/zina-kocher
