For the first time, youth in Chesterfield Inlet are being exposed to amateur wrestling and, to date, the results have been quite impressive.
This past weekend, Chael Sammurtok, 13, and Kayalaaq Leishman-Brocklebank, 17, attended a one-day mat tournament in Hamilton and a two-day tournament in Toronto.
Glen Brocklebank said the community's recreation co-ordinator, Russell Mullins, answered a call from Wrestling Nunavut, which was preparing to start a tour of Nunavut communities to promote the sport.
He said a broad invite was then sent out asking communities if they were interested in receiving support to start a wrestling program.
“During the entire time that I've been in Chester, we haven't had anything wrestling-related take place,” said Brocklebank. “I don't know anything about wrestling, but we know that there's kids here who would probably be good at the sport.
“So the Wrestling Nunavut coaches came this past October and did a four-day clinic with kids in the community and we had about 25 kids show up from kindergarten to Grade 12. They had about eight hours of wrestling sessions.
“During the clinic, they identified some kids who had potential and selected four kids from Chester to go and compete in Edmonton, Alta., this past November. And, then, from that, they selected both Chael Sammurtok and Kayalaaq Leishman-Brocklebank for further training and now they're off to attend the tournaments in Ontario.”
Brocklebank said what he really likes about it all so far is that somebody is taking a chance on a small community because the small communities are typically overlooked.
He said the kids who attended the first clinic in Chesterfield Inlet have been asking repeatedly about when the next clinic or practice will be held.
“That one clinic has got a bunch of our kids super-excited about sports. And, of course, I'm super proud over how well my daughter has done with this so far.
“We can't wait to see how Chael and Kayalaaq do in Ontario.
“I get excited when I see young people learning and getting excited about sports or other new skills. So, you want to provide whatever you can, so they can develop. It will be interesting to see how far this wrestling goes with the kids.
“If we can get some proper wrestling coaches in to further develop their skills, I have no doubt the sport could really take off here.”
