TNT Sports
British Bobsledder Hall forced to rely on crowdfunding for World Championships
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Published 15/02/2019 at 11:00 GMT
British Bobsledder Bob Hall has spoken about his crowdfunding efforts in order to be able to compete at the upcoming World Championships in Calgary, Canada.
Eurosport
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The 28-year-old was the pilot for the two-man and four-man teams at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Peyongchang, finishing 12th and 17th respectively.
After their poor performances in South Korea UK Sport decided to withdraw funding for the Bobsleigh programme, despite keeping some interim funding for this season.
This has forced Hall to turn to crowdfunding to be able to get a two-man sled, he initially aimed to raised ÂŁ12,000 but cut it to ÂŁ6,000 after finding one sled in Canada.
"(Crowd-funding support) is massively important," Hall told BBC Sport.
"If we don't have it we really don't stand a chance.
"We have the start and the drive, it's just the equipment that's the last piece of the puzzle to really get us on that podium."
Hall and his team secured bronze in the four-man World Cup event in Pak City in 2017 and earlier this year he used a rented sled to finish sixth at St Moritz in the two-man event, Britain’s two-man World Cup result for 13 years.
However he will have to medal or at least challenge for one in Calgary if he has any chance of being backed financially for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
His plight comes after women’s pilot Mica McNeill was forced to crowdfund to send her and her brakewoman Mica Moore to Pyeongchang.
They managed to raise ÂŁ40,000 after their funding was cut by UK Sport.
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