Fountain Hills High School junior Madison George has been invited to represent her country in a track and field competition next summer but, in order to do that, she’s going to need a bit of help to make the journey.

While George competes in several events, she (literally) soars the highest in pole vault. As a young athlete, she’s been awarded all-state honors on the 2017 Arizona State Track and Field team. As such, she can take part in the Pacific Conference Track and Field team, with the overall goal of competing in the 17th annual Down Under International Games hosted on the Gold Coast of Australia next summer.

As a freshman, George competed in pole vault, as well as high jump and long jump, as well as the 100m and 200m dash. Last year, she competed at state in pole vault, high jump and the long jump. A young Falcon, she took fifth in the state for the vault.

After that, George became even more committed to the pole vault, attending a specialized camp this past summer and continuing to work with her coaches in the off season.

“I did gymnastics for like six years so, as soon as I told my coach that, he pulled me over and gave me to the pole vault coach,” George said. “I really like it, because I feel like I’m flying. It’s a lot of fun and sparked a lot of interest in me.”

George said that, stating out, she thought the event looked too dangerous. It quickly grew on her, though, as she learned the basics one step at a time before learning to take flight.

“The first few days, I didn’t do very well, but I thought it was fun,” George said. “Then there was this one day at school where I was just daydreaming of pole vault and thinking about what I was going to do, all of the steps. Then, at practice that day, it just clicked and I decided it was awesome.”

Doing so well as a freshman drew some attention to George, leading to her invite to join the national team. Next summer, she hopes to be one of 300 U.S. athletes heading to Australia to compete.

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” George said. “It’s so awesome. It means a lot to me. I come from a small school, so I was super honored to be invited to do something like this.”

To get there, though, George needs to raise some travel expenses. She’s already got some fundraising ideas in the works, but said she’s open to input or opportunities from the community. She will also sell event t-shirts to help her raise the funds and offers sponsorship opportunities to boot.

For those who simply wish to contribute to the trip, George’s Go Fund Me page can be found at gofundme.com/international-track-meet-2u58v5be. To offer support, ideas, opportunities or encouragement, she can be reached at madisonkamaile@gmail.com.