A Tulum judoka has earned a call-up to Mexico's national team for the World Cadet Judo Championships in Ecuador, and Ariadna Chávez now faces a second contest, funding the trip herself.
The championships run from August 20 to 23 in Guayaquil, the International Judo Federation event that brings together the best cadet-division judokas in the world. Chávez has secured her place on the roster. What she has not secured is the money to get there, and the calendar leaves little room to raise it.
The call-up came, the funding did not
According to the athlete, the invitation to join the national representation arrived after years of results on the mat. Selection answered the sporting question and opened a financial one. Airfare to Ecuador, lodging for the length of the tournament, meals, and the costs tied to competing all fall to her, with the event now only weeks away.
To meet them, Chávez has opened a fundraising campaign aimed at the people most likely to understand what a national call-up means for a young athlete from a small municipality. She is asking business owners, merchants, residents, and potential sponsors across Tulum and Quintana Roo to help close the gap between the selection and the trip.
What a week in Guayaquil will cost
The expenses she has named are the ordinary ones that decide whether an amateur athlete competes or stays home. Flights to Ecuador. A room for the days of the championship. Food during the stay. The registration and participation costs that come with an international event. None of it is covered for her, and each piece has to be paid before she can step onto the tatami.
Chávez has said that any contribution matters, whatever its size, and that smaller amounts pooled together are what will carry her to Guayaquil. She has kept the ask deliberately open, framing it as something ordinary supporters can join, not only large sponsors.
Behind the call-up, three national titles
Chávez reaches the national team with a record built in domestic competition. By her account, she is a three-time national champion and a two-time national runner-up, with further titles across various national tournaments. She has also reached the podium in international events, results that moved her up through the discipline until she earned the national selection.
The World Cadet Judo Championships is the International Judo Federation's top event for judokas under the age of 18. Reaching it places her among the leading competitors in her category, on a stage that national federations across the world use to measure their next generation of athletes.
'I need support to make this trip a reality'
"Representing Mexico at a World Championship is a dream I have worked toward for many years," Chávez said. "Today I have the chance to compete against the best judokas in the world, but I need support to make this trip a reality."
She added that any contribution, regardless of the amount, would be important to continue her preparation and to carry the names of Tulum, Quintana Roo, and Mexico onto the international stage. Her results, she said, are the product of years of discipline, training, and consistency.
A Tulum judoka's pitch to local business
The appeal is aimed squarely at the local private sector. Chávez said she hoped business owners and residents would back athletes from the area who earn the chance to represent the country, a chance that rarely arrives with the funding attached. People interested in contributing or becoming sponsors can contact the athlete directly to learn the collaboration options.
Her request touches a familiar reality for youth sport in the region. Talent can win a place on a national team, but the travel, lodging, and fees that come with international competition often land on the athlete and the family. Chávez is betting that local backers would rather see a Tulum name on the roster in Guayaquil than watch the opportunity slip.
She framed her participation as more than a personal goal. A strong result would put Tulum and Quintana Roo back on the international sporting map, and she said she hoped her run would push children and young people in the area toward sport and the discipline it demands.
For now, the preparation and the fundraising run on the same clock. Chávez will keep training while she searches for the resources to compete, with the first day of competition in Guayaquil set for August 20.
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