I am a Western Australian rowing athlete who is excited to share that I have been selected to represent Australia in the U23 men’s coxed four at the U23 World Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria late July this year.

It has been quite the journey to get myself to this position. At the end of November, I took the chance to trial with a new pairs partner who was based in Brisbane. We made great progress in the couple of weeks that we had together so straight after the New Year I relocated to Queensland for the whole selection process which has all been self-funded.

Almost immediately after selection trials I headed back to Perth for a successful Australian Rowing Championships before relocating again but this time to Sydney to train with the rest of my World Championships crew. We are all enjoying the competitive training environment at UTS and making good progress in the boat. July still feels like a long way off, but we are eagerly awaiting the opportunity to show the rest of the world what we are capable of.

I am reaching out to my broader community to help raise any funds, as any donation will alleviate the pressure of the expense of a full-time training programme and living away from home. While Rowing Australia subsidises some of this trip, I also need to raise $7950 seat fee.

Indeed, it takes a village to succeed in sport, and I will be hugely grateful for any support you are able to give me.