Start Up of Nepean's Wrestling Season 2023-2024

Anonymous / 2023-10-18

Nepean’s sports division is diverse, we have teams dedicated to rugby all the way to golf, including wrestling. The team is currently coached by Mr. Menard, who worked with students during practices and tournaments and ended up sending six wrestlers to OFSA, the Ontario Federation of School Athletics competition during the season of 2022-2023. Last year the team consisted of about fifteen members, including a grade twelve student named Bowie Groza, who agreed to an interview and gave a brief idea of what last year’s tournaments and the sport’s attitude were like. 

As of mid-October, the wrestling season at Nepean is starting up again, meaning that tournaments will as well. There are two types of tournaments, invitational which require an entrance fee and are simply for sport, and the OFSA tournaments which determine which school teams get to compete in the provincial competition. Last year Bowie attended both invitational and OFSA tournaments, and when asked about the general atmosphere at these events they spoke fairly highly of the occasions. They spoke of how wrestling is a sport about solidarity and demonstration of skill, and that at the tournaments inside and outside of the ring, it was a very rewarding and open community. “At tournaments, people help you, they give you tips or ask you to spar. It's a very welcoming environment and that's what makes it a good entry-level sport.” The hope is to send more students to compete in this year’s OFSA competition, and with the number of people who seem interested in joining wrestling this season, it is a likely and exciting outcome. 

In terms of team size because it's an individual sport there isn’t exactly a required number of members that need to be on the team. Last year it started with around twenty students joining the team, but by the end of the year, it was only about fifteen. This year there are over twenty but that's expected to dwindle somewhat and a team of fifteen to twenty is the current prediction. “It’s a sport everyone can join, but it’s not a sport for everyone,” says Bowie when asked about what team numbers would look like about two months from the beginning of the season. Because wrestling is a contact sport and not only relies on physical strength but also endurance it isn’t everyone’s choice, but for Bowie, it's not only the open community but also the quick adrenaline rush of the four-minute matches. “I like to wake up the next day and feel like I did something the day before.” 

Wrestling isn't the only sport at Nepean, far from it, but it is one of the newer additions to the school’s numerous sports options. It's admirable that after only being started a few years ago. They performed well last year, and hopefully will this year, and perhaps more students will make it to OFSA to compete on behalf of Nepean.