Know of any amazing amateur athletes?
For some book research, I’m looking for examples of extraordinary amateur athletes — people intensely (perhaps maniacally) devoted to a sport, but who derive very little in the way of money or fame for their efforts. If you’ve got ideas, drop me a short email or post a comment below. Thanks.
I highly recommend looking at post-collegiate rowers. There are numerous boat clubs around the country that field teams to regattas around the country and internationally, and these men and women pay dues, travel, etc. mostly on their own dime. There is always fund-raising, but they all work full time (or may be retired at the senior masters level). I don’t know if it’s the same anymore, but I remember hearing some years ago that the U.S. Olympic rowers were unpaid as well. And rowing isn’t a huge sport in the U.S. for attracting corporate sponsorships.
It’s an amazing sport. The best cardiovascular ‘whole-body’ exercise just under cross-country skiing, with a huge time investment necessary to perfect the technique and maintain the necessary physique. People get addicted to it; there’s a magic you find when eight rowers (or four, or two, or even one) finally synchronize their motion, and get a boat gliding on top of the water. When you find that magic at sunrise, with a boat skimming the water’s surface and all the oars clunking in the locks in perfect timing…
Then add a competitive element to that.
Guy Kawasaki – meets the “maniacally devoted to the sport” criterion! 🙂
Check out Ultimate (frisbee) players.
These guys devote all their free time, money and their bodies to a sport that offers zero dollars, fame or anything.
Speaking of rowing, check out CRI in Boston http://www.communityrowing.org/about1.htm for some very committed rowers.
The January 2009 edition of Runner’s World has an interesting article about Rick Trujillo. He is a fanatical mountain runner and feels strongly that athletes shouldn’t be paid for running. I think maniacal is a fair description of Trujillo’s approach to running. Here is a link to the article http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-243-297–12984-0,00.html
You should check out women’s boxing; amateur and professional. As a female boxer who spent 15 years in the sport. It is a sport that requires intense devotion with very little in terms of financial compensation.
Although he is no longer alive, Bobby Jones was a great example.
College ski racer Andrew Smith. 9 varsity letters in high school, 8 years travel hockey, lacrosse, water polo, cross country, water-skiing, tennis, golf, long-boarding, anything that he can manipulate while competing with self or others. Sophomore at Colby-Sawyer colleg in New Hampshire, and thanks to reading “Johnny Bunko”, switched from a business degree to Exercise Sports Science. Thank you for the inspiration!
It may be getting cliche since “Balls of Fury”, “Forrest Gump” and most recently “Ping Pong Playa”, but there is a real version of devotees to table tennis that love this lightning fast yet very subtle game; a game that can be played well by teenagers and octogenarians, by distance runners and weight lifters. But in the USA, at least, there’s very little money in it.
Homer Brown has competed 40 straight years at the U.S. Open Table Tennis Championships, although he has never won a major title there. He has found a way to make money related to his sport, or at least sports — he owns a sporting goods store called BumperNets.
Or Michael Wetzel has competed in 29 consecutive Alabama State Championships; he’s a certified International Table Tennis Umpire and certified Referee — that gets him half his airfare and half a hotel room paid to the US Closed in Las Vegas — if he works a full shift each day of the tournament. He has been the tournament director for 17 straight Decatur Open tournaments and numerous others.
There are innumerable juniors or young adults who practice an unthinkable number of hours, with coaches, friends and robots, in the hopes of maybe, someday, making the national or Olympics team — check out people like Mark Hazinski, Chance Friend, Judy Hugh or Sean Lonergan; or do your own search at http://www.usatt.org/history/rating/history/index2.asp.
My daughter, started with a jump-rope team, in third grade. In fifth grade her team qualified to go to New Orleans in 2005 for the Junior Olympics (one month before Katrina hit). There were thousands of young people participating in all sorts of sports: track, golf, baton twirling. And in the jump-rope division close to one thousand. They came from all over the world: Japan, Australia, Canada. And they were brilliant and passionate about a sport which requires next to no investment (a jump-rope and time). Since that time I have seen ESPN devote air-time to jump rope championships and believe at some point the olympics will have a jump rope division. Perhaps colleges will have jump rope scholarships!!!!
Look into adult USTA league tennis. The teams that make it to regionals and nationals practice and train all the time and dedicate a significant portion of their lives to tennis. We’re talking lawyers, nurses, construction workers, housewives, teachers, creative types, all willing to spend many hours a week with each other training and practicing, in addition to competing. They are as intense as state champion high school or college teams.
Look at triatheletes. I know some very devoted athletes who compete in triathalons – no fame, no sponsorship, yet a great deal of motivation, drive, and, one has to guess, satisfaction.
I think any figure skater or amateur/turning professional skater that really starts to take it seriously (and even those of us that don’t) are looking at spending more money on our ice time, costumes, competetion fees, private lessons, choreography etc. then we are ever likely to make -but we do it anyway! I hear that there is sponsorship “out there” – but I don’t fancy the chances of them granting it to adults in training v. children.
Dean Potter- Rock Climber..decide for yourself
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/slackline-basejump-par-dean-potter/2656646707
http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web08x/newswire-potter-eiger-freebase
Highland Games Athletes of North America
There are both amateur and pro divisions, though the pro division is nothing to write home about. These men (and some women) travel all over the country, all over the world, train like maniacs, tattoo their bodies… all for the competition and camaraderie. I began competing while in graduate school at Florida State and still compete as a pro throughout the year. The devices used by athletes to train for all 7-9 events can be quite inventive. Also, the amount of sharing through message boards and youtube is extensive.
Chris St.Clair
Clan Sinclair
Charlotte, NC
I know semi-professional baseball players, soccer players, and basketball players aren’t paid well at all. However, they do have aspirations to be in the spotlight someday. I don’t know if this helps? Good-luck.
My sister has competed at a national and world-class level in two pretty obscure sports: weightlifting and bobsled. She’s be a great subject for a piece, since she’s personable and has arranged her life around training and competition. (She’s also very pretty if you’re taking pictures–see http://ingridmarcum.typepad.com or just Google her)
As an example of her life: The bobsled season recently ended in March. The following weekend, she participated in a lifting exhibition at the Arnolds, alongside the German Olympians from the Beijing Games. Now she’s going to spend the next four months working to make as much as she can through her personal training business before she has to show up in Vancouver, Lake Placid, and Park City and try out once again for the bobsled team.
Bobsled athletes are self-funded until they make the team. Last year, she traveled to New Jersey to work with an NFL sprint coach for a week. Then she paid to travel to tryouts in the three cities named above. She’s done this every year for six or seven years, and has been competing in weightlifting even longer. There have been some smaller articles written about her, which you can find on her blog. I think she’d be a terrific subject!
I agree with the comment on triathletes. Also, check out marathon runners and “adventure racing”. I myself am a marathon runner, and can attest that it is addicting, expensive, and there is no fame.
Whitewater canoe/kayak slalom racing. Everyone involved is completely fanatical. Very exciting olympic sport that is way underrated for media coverage.
My sport…water polo. Oldest team sport for men in the Olympics. There are a lot of women and men still playing masters leagues in their 50’s and 60’s if you can believe it! I played from the time I was 12 and continue to play though sporadically. There is a team in NoVa (Northern Virginia Water Polo) and Rockville MD. There is also a gay (and straight) team in DC, the Washington Wetskins.
If you are interested in finding out more about this ultra competitive sport and the people who play later in life, please email me or google any of the team names.
I consider myself to be an amateur (maniac) athlete. I’ve been like this for the past 10-12 years. Competing in amateur tournaments for soccer, tennis and basketball. I have never received a dime for sport in my whole life. However, I love sports so much that I practice/play seven days a week. Everyday! At times of despair (when I found no competition or play) I would willingly play around with other amateurs of a much lower level, just so as to keep me going.
I get the blues when I happen to stay the day at home, and get itchy on the couch. I’ve searched and consulted doctors to see whether I’m suffering from some kind of illness (Physical or mental) but there’s nothing out there.
All I worry about now is that I’m 28 and as time passes by I wont have the physical fitness to follow my sporty schedule anymore…..I just hope that my need to compete/play goes away too.
I hope this helps.
Probably, a bit late, and maybe not relevant (as highest level is not US based) but I would advise that you look into the Gaelic Athletic Association. A book by Andy Mendlowitz ‘Ireland’s Professional Amateurs’ would be worth looking at also.