Wrestling regionals at Maple Grove Feb. 22-23

The event is to be held Friday and Saturday, Feb. 22 and 23, at Maple Grove Education Centre.

The tournament could consist of 200 to 250-or-so competitors from as far away as the Halifax area. (For wrestling, because of the smaller number of participating schools, the regionals cover a larger geographic area than they would for other sports.)

Athletes will vie for regional wrestling titles in junior, intermediate and senior categories.

The local contingent consists of seven wrestlers and coach Rick Card feels members of the Yarmouth-area squad should post some strong performances.

The local school wrestling program already has an impressive record, given the championships it has to its credit from recent years.

Card works with Yarmouth high school students as well as younger ones from Maple Grove and although the participation level fell this season at the younger end of the spectrum, he hopes to see the numbers rebound.

“I was out with illness earlier on and so my junior program took a bit of a hit this year and we’ll have to rebuild next year,” he said.

Of his current wrestlers, he said, “I’ve got a good core group of kids…I’ve got three that have been with me since Grade 8 when I started the team and they’re in Grade 12 now.”

As for the regionals, the first day’s competition will go from about 5 p.m. to 9 and then start again the next morning at 9 and run until perhaps 5 p.m. or thereabouts.

The event is open to the public and Card would like people to take advantage of the chance to turn out and see what the sport is all about.

Observing Olympic-style wrestlers in action not only can open the eyes of spectators, Card says, but can also generate interest among young people, maybe potential wrestlers of the future.

“(It can) get a lot kids wishing that they had joined up,” he said.

He hopes it might help prompt some of them to take up the sport.

The western regional tournament comes just a week before the NSSAF’s provincial championships, which will be held at Park View Education Centre in Bridgewater.