Jamaica’s bobsled team is determined to get the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, and they have come up with an innovative way to raise the money to do it.
In an Aug. 12 press release, the team issued more details on its plan to use proceeds from selling non-fungible tokens to finance their Olympic campaign. As stated in the release, “The NFT Drop initiative is the first of its kind, mixing in a range of authentic Jamaican digital and physical experiences from musicians, music, and art lovers along with a purpose-driven mission of securing the celebrated team a spot in the 2022 Olympics utilizing unique digital assets.”
NFT can be described as any digital artwork (music, movies, gifs, etc) that a person can purchase and have ownership of. This protects buyers or artists, from their artwork being duplicated for free. The Guardian describes NFTs as “bitcoin for art” that “allow for pictures, videos, music, or anything else that can be digitally represented, to be wrapped up in a format that can be traded, stored or authenticated without needing to turn to a gatekeeper.”
What buyers of the Jamaican bobsled team’s NFT drop can expect is “limited edition digital artwork which highlights the best of the Jamaican Bobsled Team brand: daring, courageousness, persistence, and claiming your place on Earth regardless of where you are.”
Chis Stokes, CEO of the Jamaica Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation, said, “Currently, the single greatest challenge is to acquire elite quality racing sleds and runners. It does not matter how talented you are or how hard you work; without competitive equipment you can’t reach your potential.” As a result, whatever revenue the team makes from the NFT Drop will help fund their equipment, Olympic training, housing, and more.
Stokes said the NFT drop money will be used to help “implement predictable and stable athletic development programs.”
It hasn’t been revealed when the NFT drop will be released, but the Jamaican Bobsled Team has until Jan, 16, 2022, to qualify for the Beijing Winter Olympics.
