Help Joey & Bella attend the 2023 WUG in China
Donation protected
Two Texas A&M University students, Joey Salazar (Fr) and Isabella Garriga (Jr) are proudly representing their university, Texas A&M, and the USA at the 2023 World University Games in Chengdu, China. Also attending the 2023 WUG is the Texas A&M Judo coach, Bob Perez, who will lead the USA Judo Collegiate team.
Unlike mainstream Olympic sports (track and field, basketball, baseball, gymnastics, swimming, etc.) where funding is abundant, the sport of Judo struggles to find funding for its athletes. These student-athletes, put in hours of judo practice, conditioning and weight training, while they maintain their academics. The total cost per person is around $4500 which includes 7 nights of housing and airfare.
The World University Games (WUG) is the American term for “Universiade,” an international multi-sport event organized for university athletes by FISU. The Universiade is an international sporting and cultural festival that is staged every two years in a different city. As an international multi-sport competition, it is only second to the Olympic Games. The Summer Universiade consists of 10 compulsory sports with 13 compulsory disciplines and up to three optional sports chosen by the host country.
NCJA World Collegiate Men’s Team
- 60 kg Conor Uyekawa San Jose State University
- 66 kg Steven “Joey” SalazarTexas A&M University
- 73 kg Max Antoniou Northwestern University
- 81 kg Emiliano Saucedo Iowa State University
- 90 kg Geronimo Saucedo Purdue Global University
- 100 kg Vahan Ghevondian Fresno State University
- +100kg Andrew Williams University of Virginia
NCJA World Collegiate Women’s Team
- 52 kg Kaycie Tanimoto Texas Wesleyan University
- 57 kg Marisol Torro Stanford University
- 70 kg Isabella Garriga Texas A&M University
Coaching Staff
- Bob Perez Texas A&M University
- Mike Takata University of Tennessee
Organizer
NCJA Judo
Organizer
College Station, TX