Hello! My name is
Celita Schutz. I started on my road to Athens as a six year old in a dojo in
Westwood, New Jersey. I have since competed in judo internationally on five
continents and in over 23 countries. I represented the United States on the
Women’s Judo Team at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and again in Sydney in the
2000 Olympic Games. After being ranked fifth in the world and placing ninth at
the Olympics in Sydney, I recently took a silver medal at the US International
Invitational which has inspired me to continue my focus towards the 2004 Olympic
Games in Athens, Greece. The trials for these Games will be held on June 5th in San Jose,
California. I intend to compete in San Jose, qualify for the US Olympic Judo
Team, and represent our country once again this coming summer. I am writing to
ask you to support me on my road to Athens.
To pave the road for
my trip to Athens I must compete in at least four international tournaments
before the Senior Nationals at
the end of April. I know from previous experience in such competitions that my
technique and skills greatly
improve by facing formidable international opponents. Throughout the world there
are more judo players than players in any other sport except soccer. Judo’s
elite athletes experience fierce competition because of this worldwide
popularity. Many of my strongest international opponents are government funded
and receive ongoing support for their training annually. However, this is not so
in the United States. That is why your help can make it possible for me to
attend the international tournaments and training camps that give me the
opportunity to focus energy and time solely on training—the kind of focus
required to achieve the high competition level of an Olympic athlete. The
expense of this travel, training, and competition in Europe and Asia depletes my
financial resources.
