Sherwood Park is once again grappling with the task of hosting a top-level wrestling event.
The wrestling Road to Rio will run through Sherwood Park, as the nation’s top male and female athletes in the sport will hit Millennium Place from Dec. 4 to 6 in order to compete for the opportunity to represent Wrestling Canada Lutte at international qualifying events to qualify in their weight class and be nominated to compete for Canada at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
It is certainly not the first time that a major wrestling event has come to Millennium Place, and the success of previous tournaments played a factor in the Park once again being a showcase for the sport.
“We beat out a couple of other places to get this,” said Strathcona County Recreation, Parks and Culture director Russ Pawlyk.
“We’ve got a pretty good record hosting wrestling events here. We did a qualifying event for the Athens Olympics and then more recently the Olympic Wrestling Trials for the Beijing Olympics, which was an international qualifier for those games. We also hosted the 2012 FILA Women’s Wrestling World Championships, which were a huge success. This year’s event will feature Canada’s best men and women wrestlers. We’re going to create some Olympians.”
More than 200 wrestlers from across the nation are expected to take part in Women’s Freestyle, Men’s Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling in all weight classes save for the women’s 48 kg and 63 kg weight classes, in which Canada Wrestling has already qualified at the World Championships, held this past September in Las Vegas.
Strathcona County is thrilled to once again uphold its reputation as a host for sporting events that often are held in much larger centres — a prime example being the 2012 FILA Women’s Wrestling World Championships, which had been held in cities such as New York, Istanbul, Moscow, Tokyo and Budapest in the years directly leading up to it taking place in Sherwood Park.
“It’s super exciting for us,” said Strathcona County Recreation, Parks and Culture spokesperson Dennis Franklin. “Millennium Place is a world-class facility. We are really fortunate to have it in the community and to be able to run these kinds of events. It goes to show the passion for sport in our community. We’re very excited to be hosting.”
“Strathcona County has a rich history of hosting elite athletes and tournaments,” added Mayor Roxanne Carr. “The Canadian Wrestling Team Trials will be an exciting competition for athletes and spectators alike.”
The wrestling Freestyle finals will take place on Dec. 5, with the Greco-Roman finals on Dec. 6.
“This will be one of the most competitive wrestling events in recent years,” said Kelly Rich, vice president of the Friends of the World Cup of Wrestling Society, instrumental in bringing the event to the Park.
“There will also be other Canadian Olympians on hand to deliver an inspirational session for many of the schools and wrestling clubs in the region.”
The event is already shaping up to be a successful one a week out from the first matches.
“More than 60 per cent of the tickets are already gone,” Franklin said. “They are going even faster now with the event coming up. Millennium Place is going to be a busy place next weekend. The buzz is really starting now.”
For more information about the event, including tournament schedules, visit www.strathcona.ca/wrestling. Event passes are available for $25, and can be purchased by e-mailing tickets.fwcws@gmail.com or by calling 780-467-2211.
Tickets for any of the five individual daily sessions are $10 and will be available for purchase at the door.
Those interested in following the event on Twitter should use #canwrestle15.