Texas A&M University judo coach Bob Perez is asking the public to help young athletes and staff traveling to the World University Games in Taipei, Taiwan, next month.

Perez, head coach for A&M's judo team since 1993, was voted coach of the year and elected to serve as team manager for the annual games. Perez said that the team is made up of 14 young athletes from colleges and universities from across the U.S., as well as two staff members. Though none of the judokas -- athletes who compete in judo -- are from A&M this year, Perez said the young athletes need to raise the majority of the money themselves to make it to the competition.

"This is the Olympics for the college students," Perez said. "This is the future of the Olympic sports."

Perez said having to raise money takes away from the time students could be training for the competition and puts a strain on their financial situations, since they have to front the cost of traveling themselves.

The athletes need to raise between $2,600 and $3,000 each for the trip, depending on the cost of airfare, Perez said.

Perez said judokas don't get the same funding as more popular American sports such as basketball or track and field, putting a financial burden on the athletes.

"If it's not very popular in the U.S., they just don't get the funding. Unfortunately, that's where judo stands," he said.

Perez said that this competition could be the highest level at which some of these judokas compete, though he's hesitant to say that as a coach because "you always want to make sure we give them a positive outlook for their sports future."

The 14 judokas fronted the cost of their trip and will be reimbursed based on the money raised for the Taiwan tournament.

Perez said the need for these athletes to fund their own trip helps the public remember that "sports aren't just football, basketball and baseball. We've got all these other sports here."

Those asking for public donations to fund their trips are "still athletes," Perez said, because "they still train hard, but they don't have the same financial support."

The National Collegiate Judo Association started a GoFundMe page to help raise funds for the team. To donate, go to http://www.gofundme.com/JudoWUG2017.

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Texas A&M judo coach: Help Team USA travel to Taiwan for the World University Games - Bryan-College Station Eagle