Kids Wrestling Program Introduces Sport to Youth

Wrestling BC's Kids Wrestling program introduces the sport to elementary school students. With funding of $45,000 from the BC Sport Participation Program in 2004-2007, more than 10,400 children aged 8-12 from 32 communities participated in the program. The program also involved 115 coaches across the province. Workshops, camps, clinics and events have provided the foundation for independent after-school programs, moving participants into a tournament setting. Kids Wrestling also developed a partnership with Aboriginal Sports and Recreation Association of BC to deliver wrestling programs at band schools in the Williams Lake and Kamloops areas.

The following communities participated in the Wrestling BC's Kids Wrestling program: 100 Mile House, Abbotsford, Anahim Lake, Burnaby, Campbell River, Chilliwack, Comox, Coquitlam, Courtenay, Denman Island, Duncan, Hanceville, Horse Lake, Houston, Kamloops, Kelowna, Mackenzie, Nemaiah Valley, New Westminster, North Vancouver, Port Alberni, Port Moody, Prince George, Quesnel, Smithers, Surrey, Telkwa, Terrace, Vancouver, Vanderhoof, Victoria and Williams Lake.

The BC Sport Participation Program aims to increase sport participation in community and school-based sports. From 2004-2007 the program gave more than $2 million to 22 sport organizations running programs in 109 communities for close to 85,000 participants and more than 4,600 coaches. The program is funded by the Province of British Columbia and Sport Canada.