Crowdfunding website Sportfunder has ensured Kiwi professional surfer Paige Hareb will continue to compete by helping raise more than NZ$16,000 towards her 2013 ASP World Tour.

Having struggled to find enough sponsor funds for the next tour and as the only Kiwi on the tour, Hareb was facing withdrawing as prize money alone was unlikely to fund all the travel costs required to compete on the tour, Hareb says.

“Although I have support from DHL, Debit Success, Subaru and Mt Woodgee, I’m struggling just to have enough money to get from event to event,” explains the 22 year-old from Taranaki.

“For the last few years on Tour it’s been costing me about NZ$60,000 [about $49,500 USD], just for accommodation, flights, and rental cars.”

Currently ranked 10^th on the ASP Women’s Tour, Paige won US$48,100 during the 2012 tour which barely covered her travel costs on a tour encompassing events in Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, France and the United States of America.

“Sportfunder has already enabled me to raise enough funds to start the tour and be able to focus on competing - and not on if I can even afford to go to the next event – it’s been a huge relief.”

Sportfunder creator, Craig Williamson, is thrilled that the fledgling crowd funding site is proving successful for sports people to compete.

“Sportfunder enables the public to get behind and financially support their chosen sports person – and receive rewards for doing so,” explains Williamson.

“And that’s a global public as Paige has received support from as far afield as Japan, the United States, and Australia which just shows the huge reach and potential pulling power of Sportfunder and the international appeal of supporting an outstanding sportswoman such as Paige.”

As executive officer for Surfing Taranaki Incorporated, Mr. Williamson has hosted the ASP Women’s World Surfing Tour in Taranaki for the last three years.

To do so, he knows how hard it is to find corporate funding in a recession as he has had to raise approximately NZ$500,000 each year to run the event and provide the necessary prize money.

To encourage sports teams and individuals wanting to raise much-needed funds to give crowd funding a go, Sportfunder is itself pledging $100 / £100 / €100 (or equivalent) towards projects that have a fundraising target of at least $2000 / £2000 / €2000 (or equivalent).

“Sportfunder has a straight forward process for loading a fund-raising project but if anyone needs advice or more information feel free to email us any time connect@sportfunder.com or phone me on 0064 (0)27 6874122,” says Mr. Williamson. begin_of_the_skype_highlighting

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