​The GTN Wrestling Club was in full swing in February, hosting the North West Zone championships on February 2nd. This is the first North West Zone Championship in recent years to be held in Masset for any sport. A clinician was flown in to run this event. Community members came down to support and watch the wrestling matches. GTN won the North West Zone banners in both the male and female division for the second year. Next year is shaping up to be a big year as Smithers, Hazelton and Prince Rupert now have wrestling clubs and will be competing for the banners.
 
The GTN Wrestling Club sent 6 athletes to the BC High School Provincial Wrestling Championships in Langley held on February 18th and 19th. This trip was made possible by the generous donations from School District 50, Masset Haida Lions, Gwaii Trust, Mackenzie Furniture and Chown River Gallery. Coach Cst. Joshua Smith, Coach Rob Brown and Athletic Director Christine Cunningham travelled with the club and made the following comments concerning the experience.
 
Rob Brown - "I am proud of the whole team and can't wait to get back at it. I would like to thank Josh Smith for showing me how to be a coach over the past 2 years."
 
Christine Cunningham -  "We have been so fortunate at GTN to have committed community coaches who have spread their enthusiasm for the sport to our youth. Wrestling has opened up a sporting opportunity to some of our students who either have not been interested in participating in team sports, or have never been exposed to a combat sport. Attending Provincials exposes our athletes to a higher level of competition which gives them added motivation as they move forward in their training. We would like to thank all our sponsors who helped make our trips possible".
 
Josh Smith - "I was impressed by their determination; everyone gave 100%".
 
Club Captains Domanic White and Sierra Brown-Wesley both won matches and placed in the top 12 for the Province in their respective weight class. The Masset athletes were inspired meeting former Olympian Gold Medalist Carol Huynh who started her wrestling career in Hazleton, BC. During the final ceremonies, a Matriarch for the area welcomed all the athletes and spectators to the territory and recognized Sierra Brown-Wesley as the First Indigenous Female Wrestler from Masset to compete in a Provincial Wrestling Tournament and win a match. The future looks bright for the Masset Wrestling Club who will be entering into its 4th season next year. 

Dominique Parrish was named Wrestler of the Year at this year's WCWA. A title that is voted on by over fifty schools that competed at the national championships and is given to an athlete who has performed at a high level throughout the collegiate season. "it is a huge honour and it feels great to be recognized as the WCWA Wrestler of the Year", said Parrish. "I have always looked up to athletes who have won this award in the past and it is nice to be included with such good company."

SFU earned a second place finish for a second straight year with four bronze medals and a total of nine All-Americans.

To view the full article please click on the links below:
https://athletics.sfu.ca/news/2019/2/10/wrestling-w-parrish-defends-title-sfu-places-second-at-wcwa-championships.aspx
https://athletics.sfu.ca/news/2019/2/19/wrestling-w-dominique-parrish-named-wcwa-wrestler-of-the-year.aspx

The 2019 BCSSWA Provincial Championships took place this past long weekend. More than 400 wrestlers from around the province descended upon the Langley Event Centre, striving for gold in their respective weight classes. 

Coming up on top was Karan Gill, who repeated as champion in his weight class and was also a part of Tamanawis Secondary Team which won the school's first ever Boys Provincial Wrestling Championship. Awarded top Female was Victoria Seal from Mission. The Girl's Provincial title was won by Maple Ridge. Alberni District won their second consecutive Girls and Boys combined title.

In attendance was the honoured patron for the Provincial Championships, former Olympian Carol Huynh who urged the athletes to enjoy the experience of the competition. 

To read the full articles please click the links below:
https://www.surreynowleader.com/sports/tamanawis-team-wins-the-surrey-schools-very-first-provincial-boys-wrestling-title/
https://www.langleytimes.com/sports/video-langley-wrestler-takes-gold-at-high-school-games/
https://www.langleytimes.com/sports/langley-playing-host-to-b-c-s-best-high-school-wrestlers/

To view and purchase pictures from the event please click the link: www.vancouversportspictures.com

During the Family Day long weekend, the provinces best athletes came together to compete at the BCSSWA Provincial Championships.

Below are a few photos from the Championships, to view all photos and purchase please click on the link: www.vancouversportspictures.com 
To view more photos please visit our Facebook page: @bcwrestling

The preliminary seeding for the 2019 BCSSWA has now been released. 

If you believe that an error has been made in the seeding, please submit an appeal form to Mike Munsie (mike.munsie@sd72.bc.ca), as well as your zone representative.  Appeals will be considered by a panel of zone reps at the seeding meeting in Langley on Sunday, February 17th.  The deadline for appeals is Friday, February 15th at Midnight.

When filing your appeal, the grounds for appeal must be clearly stated on the form, with accurate accompanying results.  Placing higher than a currently seeded athlete at a tournament does not guarantee a higher seed if no head to head match took place.  Please include accurate match results, including wins and losses to athletes in the weight.  A victory over a currently seeded athlete does not guarantee seeding if an athlete has multiple losses on the season to other unseeded athletes. Head to head wins/losses against seeded athletes or previous BC placers will be the determining factor used in appeals. Please note that match results from the current BCSSWA season only will be considered.  Results from previous National Championships, Summer Games or University tournaments will NOT be considered.

Thanks, and see you all in a few days!

​Congratulations to the Vancouver Island zone team in winning the inaugural Duke’s Cup at the BC Regiment. Winning team pictured below with commanding officer Lt. Colonel Paul Lindsey. The team in front of a military G-Wagon and group photo with host Vancouver College.