Longtime Greater Victoria wrestling coach Ed Ashmore is seeking athletes as the Lower Island Schools wrestling program started training this week.
The team, known as the Victoria Commonwealth Bulldogs, was created for athletes from school districts 61 and 63 whose schools are without a wrestling team (which is most of them).
This fall Ashmore will be inducted to the Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame as a builder for coaching local athletes (Taras Hryb, 1972 Munich Olympics) and as an international wrestling official.
In recent years the program has produced multiple Island champions and also graduated one of Canada’s top wrestlers, Stacie Anaka (Reynolds secondary, SFU), as well as up-and-coming professional mixed martial arts athlete Alexi Argyiou (Mount Douglas secondary) who is 6-0 in combined amateur and pro fights.
Wrestlers between the ages of 8 and19 years old are welcome at all levels.
The fee is very nominal and covers the mandatory registration with B.C. Wrestling.
“It’s about $80 and covers the insurance,” Ashmore said. “If you do the math, at four hours of training per week until April, it works out to less than a dollar per session.”
Training is 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday nights in the Cedar Hill middle school gymnasium, 3910 Cedar Hill Rd.
For more information call Ed Ashmore at 250-384-9459 or email Vicbulldogs@gmail.com.
reporter@saanichnews.com