Help needed to achieve sporting dream

FINANCIAL support from the community is being requested to help a young girl reach her goal of becoming a Brazilian jiu jitsu world champion.

With several state and national wins under her yellow belt, 11-year-old Clunes-based Leiarnna Ferguson has her sights set on competing in the International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation Pan Kids Championships.

The young martial artist will soon travel to Florida to take part in the international event in late July, but with travel, training, and accommodation costs eating into the family’s budget, her father Jay is seeking help from the community.

“Last year she competed Australia-wide,” he said. “She won the national title and won five state titles, and we did a lot of travelling.

“I funded that myself basically with our life savings and I’ve run out of cash. I’m a single father looking after the three kids with a lawnmowing business which is pretty slow at the moment with the grass not growing.

“We’ve used all the money to chase her dreams and that’s why we’ve set up a GoFundMe to try and get that support because she really deserves a shot at the world title.”

The Fergusons’ financial pressures have also been increased with Leiarnna now training at the G-Force Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Fawkner after previously going to Wendouree’s Infinite MMA.

The family makes the roundtrip to Melbourne five to six nights a week, where Leiarnna trains for about three hours each session.

Last year, she took the top spot in the Australian Federation of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu national championship where she was named national champion and won five state titles in her division.

Leiarnna said her interest in the sport grew out of a sibling connection.

“My brother started before me because I used to do gymnastics when I was six,” she said.

“I got bored of gymnastics and wanted to try something new. When I first tried jiu jitsu, I really liked it and everyone was really supportive.”

Currently a grade 6 school house captain at Creswick Primary School, Leiarnna is set to begin high school next year, which she said will inevitably take away time from her favoured sport.

“The world championships is the most prestigious competition in the world,” she said. “I’d really like to win it because I won’t have the opportunity because I’ll be involved at sports at high school.”

The GoFundMe page can be found at bit.ly/3RGJHZK.