Smiles, good sportsmanship and laughs were plentiful at Columneetza Secondary School on Saturday when the Williams Lake Wrestling Club hosted the 12th Annual Smackdown Elementary Wrestling Tournament.
Around 225 young grapplers piled into the school’s gymnasium (for the intermediate wrestlers) and the school’s cafeteria (for the primary wrestlers) to put what they’ve learned in practice into action.
“It’s always our experience with this tournament that the kids have a good time,” said WLWC coach Rick Bryan. “People really look forward to this. It’s totally a fun time. The sportsmanship was superb, the coaches were very supportive of what we do and their attitudes are what sets it up for the kids.”
Both Mackenzie’s and Vanderhoof’s wrestling clubs brought in competitors for the event, as well, to add to the camaraderie displayed between wrestlers.
“That’s what makes it work,” Bryan said. “The coaches are really supportive of the elementary kids and really role model some good values.”
Although Bryan said numbers were down at this year’s tournament — possibly due to weather, or economic factors — he added both the gymnasium and the cafeteria were packed with parents, spectators and competitors.
“It was crowded, the parents were delighted and I think the outcome is that a lot of parents now realize that the sport is a worthwhile thing for the kids,” he said. “We’ve had several inquires about joining our club after coming out.”
In total, Bryan said close to 400 wrestling matches took place throughout the day between the two divisions.
In the primary age groups no points were scored, no winners or losers were declared and every athlete ended up with a medal.
In the intermediate age groups wrestlers competed in pools of three to five grapplers to guarantee two to four matches with every grappler also getting a medal.
“There were medals right down to fifth place,” Bryan said. “Every single kid that wrestled in Smackdown came away with a medal.”
Bryan said a large of amount of the tournament’s success can be credited to the hard-working volunteers who devote their time behind the scenes to make sure the event is a success.
“No one sees our parent committee, who works extremely hard, led by Tracey Widdoes, who did an absolutely amazing job with the details,” he said.
“The whole day ran smoothly. Nobody got hurt, there were no complaints and it was a very positive experience.”
Also during the competition, several Williams Lake high school grapplers got their first taste of officiating a wrestling match.
“We held an officials clinic and brought a number of high school kids out to teach them to referee,” he said. “They were under the supervision of a high-ranking official from Prince George who taught them, mentored them and observed them. As a result there were no complaints about the officiating.”
The overall goal, however, is developing kids’ wrestling skills.
“What I saw was typical Smackdown,” Bryan said. “There were some well-contested matches, some really good skills with a lot of new kids and a lot of kids whose skills are really developing, great sportsmanship and great participation.
“It’s such a positive experience to work with kids at the elementary level on the mat.”
