AN OLYMPIC UNDERWRITE

A charity is coming to the plate to help raise funds for New Zealand speed skater Olympian Blake Skjellerup.

The Advocate reports:

[Skjellerup] doesn’t have funding for his Olympic bid from the normal places, so a charity is raising money on his behalf.

The Gay Auckland Business Association heard an appeal for help from Skjellerup, who is gay, during its June meeting and decided to launch a fundraising campaign through its charitable trust. GABA also plans to lobby SPARC, New Zealand’s government source for funds, for an explanation for why it doesn’t fund speed skating.

“It's a minority sport so it's understandable," Skjellerup told attendees at the GABA meeting, according to GayNZ.com. "It's just not the greatest, ideal situation for me."