What I would like to achieve as a surfer

My name is Imani Wilmot; I am the Jamaican recipient of the 2007 ISA Individual Scholarship. I am a 17 year old student of the St. Andrew High School for Girls in Kingston, Jamaica where I am in the 12^th Grade. I feel honored to be one of the first five junior surfers worldwide to be awarded this scholarship, and as such I have felt its benefit. Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the International Surfing Association (ISA) for that opportunity as it was and still is greatly appreciated.

Surfing is a very important aspect of my life and it has allowed me to travel the world and represent my country at events internationally and regionally. However, this is not my sole purpose. It is also my intention to introduce surfing into the schools here in Jamaica and increase the number of our local surfers; especially the female surfing population as they are minimal. I have already made advancements in that aspect as I have identified six (6) female students from my school to personally, along with the aid of others, train to represent Jamaica and to see the joy in surfing as I have for eight (8) years. However, I am working on a budget so that I can approach the necessary organizations to fund this project.

Also; as a surfer and an Environmental Science student, the environment is highly significant to me and its preservation is of priority, and I also see the vitality of nature. Therefore, it is my duty to enhance the environmental awareness and appreciation of all I am able to affect.

Although my intentions are for the benefit of others, I do have some personal desires that I wish to act upon very soon. I am, as I always have been, working on my level of surfing and my performance in competitions; however as I am not a completely sponsored surfer, the purchase and shipment of equipment has been a great expense to my parents who have five children. Outside of events put on by the ISA, the Jamaica Surfing Association (JSA) and the Pan-American Surfing Association (PASA) I am not able to travel the world to get the competition experience that I need to move closer to my goal of being a professional surfer due to the expense of traveling and of purchasing quality equipment.

My education is also an extremely important aspect of my life, and as I advance, it will only become more expensive to purchase books and pay fees and so I am seeking a sponsor to aid with this. I am currently considering working in the hospitality and hotel management field and wish to be the best that I can be at this.

Imani Wilmot

Jamaica

Since my previous budget had already been altered and seemed to work out reasonably, I have let this budget remain which is as follows:

PREVIOUS AND CURRENTLY DESIRED BUDGET

Items	Cost (US $)
School fees/Extra Lessons/School Equipment	900 (some money from my personal saving was used)
Savings	150
Competition entry fee’s etc.	150

Imani Wilmot

Jamaica