Canada’s top wrestlers hit the mat in Waterloo for championships
Some of the country’s top wrestlers are in Waterloo region for the 2023 Canadian Wrestling Championships.
Thursday marked the first day of the competition in Waterloo’s Rim Park.
Close to 600 wrestlers are expected to face-off, competing in senior, junior and cadet categories. The organization said it is a key event in determining the athletes who will go on to represent Canada at the upcoming Pan Am Games and World Wrestling Championships as well as identifying the top Canadian wrestlers in each category.
From former Olympic competitors to up and coming athletes, there is a wide array of talent and skill level set to hit the mat this week.
“It's not a common sport and being able to be like ‘yes, I wrestle’ is really empowering,” said Kate Thorne from the Matmen Wrestling Club. “Just the competitiveness and seeing other girls fight tooth and nail against you is just really nice.”
Tickets are available at the door with spectators encouraged to come out.
“You're going to see some very impressive wrestling over the next two days,” said Chris Woodcroft, high performance director for Wrestling Canada.
Woodcroft, a former Olympian himself, said those attending the event could catch some future Olympians in action before they start their path to the podium.
“Saturday is our big tournament. It qualifies for Olympic ladder, qualifies for the world championships, the Pan America games. So you're going to see some outstanding competition that we have here.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.