Gleeful enthusiasm and intensity was palpable in all four corners of the Centre Communautaire gymnasium last Thursday as Grade 3 to 6 students from four francophone schools stepped onto the mat to participate in the fifth Conseil Scolaire Centre-Est elementary wrestling tournament.
Tournament organizer Troy Gratton says it was a letter from Theodore Hupe, the principal of Holy Family Elementary School out of Whitehorse that first exposed the school division to the idea of hosting a wrestling tournament.
“Our superintendent (Marc Dumont) ended up being invited to the Yukon to watch this wrestling tournament featuring kids from all across the Yukon,” says Gratton. “After what he witnessed he really became excited about bringing this event to our area.”
The letter written by Hupe that piqued the interest of the St. Paul-based school board is entitled: “Wrestling at Holy Family Elementary School: How Rough Play has helped my School.”
The document advocates that introducing wrestling into the schools has essentially eradicated roughhousing on the playground, improved focus in the classroom, elevated school enthusiasm, improved the confidence of boys and girls feeling insecure about their size, and has improved student strength and fitness levels.
According to a letter sent out to parents by Conseil Scolaire Centre-Est, there really hasn’t been a major roughhousing problem running rampant on school playgrounds, but one of the allures of hosting a wrestling tournament is for kids to channel their aggression in a safe manner.
“Kids like to naturally play-fight,” says Gratton. “This is a healthier environment to do it in.”
This competitive event is also hosted to promote inclusiveness in the school.
“It really gives a lot of opportunities for those individuals who don’t necessarily qualify for team sports to excel,” explains Gratton.
In the time this tournament has been hosted, the wrestling mat has proven to be a great setting for shy and reserved students to earn a wealth of confidence by achieving victory against opponents of similar size and weight.
The Conseil Scolaire Centre-Est letter quotes David Filion, a wrestling coach with Ecole Du Sommet. He says one of his successful students goes from being “shy, reserved and timid” to becoming “a lion” when she steps out onto the mat.
The popularity of the program has continued to increase over the years. There were a total of 98 athletes going head-to-head at last week’s tournament. The schools represented were École du Sommet (Som), École des Beaux-Lacs (EBL), École Voyageur (Voy) and École Beauséjour (BSJ).
Organizers are expecting participation will be even higher for the sixth edition of the tourney. Gratton says he is planning to add Grade 2 students to the competitive mix.
While some students walk away with some bruised egos, overall the event is embraced by the boys and girls as being fun. Every student walked away with a participation ribbon to commemorate his or her efforts.
Category explanation
In the past organizers have opted to place kids in competitive categories based on their weight in kilograms, but the system ended up creating unfair matchups between Grade 3 and 6 students. In order to make the competition fairer for all students involved, organized students into categories based on several criteria. Weight, grade and wrestling acumen ended up determining where each boy and girl would be placed.
Three points were given for a pin, two points for a victory where a competitor earns 10 points and a single point was given to a competitor for a victory that saw them earn less than 10 points.
Girls results
1. Kierra Vasseur (BSJ) – 9 points
2. Chantalle Ellrani (Som) – 3 points
3. Emile Martin (Voy) – 2 points
1. Kennedy Hebert (Som) – 5 points
2. Emma Jeaan (Som) – 4 points
3. Kadence Hebert (Som) – 1 point
3. Savannah St. Arnault (EBL) – 1 point
1. Morgan Mckale (Voy) – 5 points
2. Guiliana Castenada (EBL) – 4 points
3. Jessica Marier (Voy) – 1 point
1. Anik Leclerc (BSJ) – 8 points (earned two pins while Dumont posted no three-point victories)
1. Janique Dumont (EBL) – 6 points (earned five victories to Leclerc’s four; Leclerc lost to Dumont)
2. Noemie Landry (Voy) – 3 points
3. Sierra Ayers (Voy) – 2 points
3. Alicia Villeneuve (Voy) – 2 points
1. Melanie Plamondon (BSJ) – 9 points
2. Molly McCordic (BSJ) – 7 points
3. Charlie Masse (EBL) – 5 points
1. Alyssa Bernier (EBL) – 9 points
2. Julie Germain (Som) – 5 points
2. Jenna Regimbald (EBL) – 5 points
3. Sophia Legault (EBL) – 3 points
1. Jacelyn Antoniuk (EBL) – 8 points
2. Bianka Depot (Voy) – 6 points
3. Dorielle Amyotte (EBL) – 4 points
1. Faith Gratton (EBL) – 12 points
2. Catiana Culham (Som) – 7 points
3. Danyelle Bouvier (BSJ) – 4 points
1. Kristan Antoniuk (EBL) – 9 points
2. Ava Hajdasz (EBL) – 8 points
3. Leah Brousseau (Som) – 7 points
Boys Results
1. Lucius Plamondon (BSJ) – 8 points
2. Noah Anderberg (Voy) – 4 points
3. David Leroux (Som) – 3 points
1. Alexandre Smith (EBL) – 9 points
2. Xavier Wilson (EBL) – 8 points
3. Graeden Neahr (EBL) – 1 point
3. Kristan Hebert (Som) – 1 point
3. Eric Brown (Voy) – 1 point
1. Dedd Stybel (Som) – 10 points
2. Sebastien Culham (Som) – 7 points
3. Emerick Marien (Som) – 5 points
1. Vadin Van Denbossche (EBL) – 8 points
2. Jeremie Paquette (Som) – 5 points
2. Andrew Batke-Lwanga (BSJ) – 5 points
3. Dominic Elliot (Voy) – 4 points
1. Kayden Zarowny (Som) – 5 points
1. Connor Richer (Voy) – 5 points1
1. Nolan Chamzuk (BSJ) – 5 points
2. Keane Doody (BSJ) – 3 points
3. Jayden Larocque (EBL) – 1 point
1. Nicola Beaudoin (Som) – 10 points
2. Nathan Desjardins-Major (Som) – 5 points
3. Tom Grzela (Voy) – 3 points
1. Eros Cueva (Som) – 11 points
2. Peter Grzela (Voy) – 10 points
3. Zachary Desjardins-Major (Som) – 5 points
1. Alexandre Cardinal (EBL) – 7 points (had a 2-1 pin advantage over St. Laurent)
1. Joel St. Laurent (EBL) – 6 points (Earned four victories to Cardinal’s three; defeated Cardinal in bout)
2. Jeff Fortin (EBL) – 2 points
3. Christopher Locke (Voy) – 1 point
1. Ethan Brousseau (Som) – 3 points
1. Noach Dechaine (EBL) – 3 points
2. Patrick Dulmage (BSJ) – 2 points
3. Marc Ducharme (EBL) – 1 point
3. Logan Michaud (EBL) – 1 point
1. Caleb Dumont (EBL) – 6 points
2. Kyler Slade (BSJ) – 4 points
3. Evan Gauthier (BSJ) – 3 points
