Francophone students from Grades 2 to 6 had the chance to try out something new while being active and having fun.
On Wednesday, May 3, students from Bonnyville, Cold Lake, St. Paul and Plamondon took part in a one-day wrestling tournament, with local school École des Beaux-Lacs coming out on top.
The idea spurred after a superintendent's trip to the Yukon. While there, he visited one of the local schools who use wrestling as a way of combating student roughhousing.
Although roughhousing hasn't proven to be an issue here, said Troy Gratton, coach at École des Beaux-Lacs and tournament organizer, it was still something they wanted to try.
“Our superintendent went and checked it out and said ‘we're going to do this,'” noted Gratton. “The whole point of the program and introducing it was to give kids a safe and healthy place to get their energy out.”
Since initiating the tournament seven years ago, they have continued to grow with 162 students taking part in this year's event.
Wrestling is not only helping students rid themselves of pent-up energy. The sport also helps improve their mental and physical agility, speed, strength, and increases their heart rate.
“(It's also) good sportsmanship, because we get Alberta Wrestling to come in with their referees to make sure everything is done properly. Kids are cheering on their teammates so they definitely have a sense of feeling like they're part of something,” expressed Gratton.
He added it teaches kids about the sport and gives them a safe and controlled environment to try something new.
“It creates lots of excitement and lots of camaraderie amongst the kids. It is very rare that we have a school event where it is so compressed and there is so much energy,” said Marc Hamel, physical education teacher at École Voyageur in Cold Lake.
The students spend about 10 to 12 lessons preparing for the event, learning the ins and outs of the sport while working on their approach.
For the kids in Grade 2 it's all about having fun and being active. For those participating in Grades 3 to 6, it's about getting enough points to get your school the win.
Points are earned by pinning an opposing student successfully to the mat, or by knocking them out of the ring. The school with the most points at the end of the day wins the banner.
Any of the other participants receive a ribbon.
Wrestling pushes not just the students out of their comfort zone, but also their coaches and teachers who learn the sport to help prepare them for the event.
“It's an individual sport, and it also creates a certain energy. The kids just get pumped up about it. They love it and look forward to it every year,” agreed Gratton.
