The Weyburn Wrestling Club is washing their singlets and wiping down the mats in preparation for the slamming weekend ahead. Clubs from across the province will be visiting Weyburn this Sunday for the first big competition of the season, an open-entry tournament for youth aged 5-17. According to head coach Greg Kiraly, this meet will be a great opportunity to scope out the competition and gauge the current skill levels of his own team. 

"This is just the first tournament of our season," he explained. "So, we have another four or five tournaments around the province before we hit provincials, which will be hosted in Weyburn, actually. It's always interesting to see what the other clubs are teaching and how our kids are stacking up."

Kiraly elaborated, saying that many youth wrestlers in Saskatchewan come up against each other quite a bit throughout each season. 

"Sometimes we get to see new wrestlers if we get up to tournaments near Saskatoon," he said. "Mostly, the kids will develop some type of rivalry depending on who's in their age and weight class. Sometimes they might be wrestling the same person for 4 or 5 years, which can be a different type of challenge in itself."

Although the teams are familiar with one another, that's not to say it is a small community. This Sunday, approximately 150-200 wrestlers will be attending the Weyburn tournament with 30 competitors coming from the Weyburn Wrestling Club. With so much skill being displayed, Kiraly urges the community to come see what the sport of wrestling has to offer.

"It's loud, it's high energy," he described with excitement. "I usually don't have a voice after, but the kids love it. It's so great to watch them compete and grow in the sport."

Matches will begin on Sunday, December 10th, at 9:00 a.m. and are typically 2-4 minutes in length. Spectators are highly encouraged to watch at the Weyburn Comprehensive School, with the cost of admission being a simple donation towards new mats for the organization. Kiraly added that if anyone watching is struck with the inspiration to join, the door is still wide open.

"We actually have about 15 new kids wrestling for the first time this year," he said. "If anyone gains an interest in wrestling by coming down to watch this weekend, our registration is still open until the end of December!"

Following the action this weekend, the Weyburn Wrestling Club will compete in 5 other tournaments hosted by Swift Current, Moose Jaw, Saskatoon and Regina before reaching the 2024 Provincials scheduled for March 24th in Weyburn.

tournament poster

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