Over 200 elementary students from Bonnyville’s École des Beaux-Lacs, Cold Lake’s École Voyageur, Lac La Biche’s École Sainte Catherine, Plamondon’s École Beauséjour, and St. Paul’s École du Sommet participated in the division’s wrestling tournament, which took place at École du Sommet on Feb. 19.
“It’s a sport that anybody can do and it gives students an opportunity to let out some steam,” said Troy Gratton, coordinator of special events for all francophone schools in the division. “Kids love to rough house, and they are always told they can’t, ‘its too dangerous,’ but here you are allowed to rough house in a safe environment with certain rules and techniques they are taught.”
Troy Vincent, a Grade 6 student at École du Sommet, said the competition is better than last year, where he said he only got to wrestle one person.
“We have a lot of support from the school this year, and so we hope to win the banner today,” Vincent said.
In the end, École du Sommet took third place (143 points), while École Voyageur (Cold Lake) won the banner with 431 points, Gratton said. École des Beaux-Lacs took second place, fourth went to École Beauséjour and fifth to École Sainte Catherine.
Thirty students between Grades 2 to 6 participated from École Du Sommet.
“This is the biggest participation we’ve had,” Gratton said. “In the last 10 years, every school has won a banner except for Lac La Biche,” however, this is because they are a smaller school, he added.
Bonnyville’s École Des Beaux-Lacs has proven to be the top team, with seven banner wins, all other schools have won the banner just once, Gratton said. In Plamondon, students previously competed for the rural wrestling banner in their high school provincials and won silver medals.
The district’s francophone schools include wrestling in their gym program, with École du Sommet also running wrestling in its high school program.
Gabrielle Gratton and Amelie Nadeau, Grade 6 students from Bonnyville, agree the competition was fierce this year.
“I find it interesting, I really like it because makes it makes my blood pump when I fight somebody,” Nadeau said. “ The feeling of just being able to fight someone, not to hurt them, but to fight them and win, I just really like it, I think it’s fun.”
“Wrestling makes me feel like I’m in control,” Gabrielle said. “If I’m mad, it’s the way to get my anger out and I just feel like it’s so fun for me, and it’s a sport that makes me feel joy.”
