Former U of R Cougar wrestlers insulted after awards found in dumpster
Dean of faculty says storage space was needed
Alex Soloducha · CBC News · Posted: May 28, 2019
Awards earned by former University of Regina wrestlers were found in a dumpster outside the school Friday. Trophies, medals and plaques won over decades were all discovered by a student and recovered. Inga Hammer, who wrestled at the University for many years, including the last year of the program in 2018, said it was disappointing to hear what had been done. “At the same time, I wasn’t that surprised just given the pattern of disrespect and neglect that the University has shown to the sport of wrestling over the years,” said Hammer. “It was very disheartening, and unfortunately because of that pattern of neglect, it wasn’t that surprising.” The university’s wrestling teams were cut after a report came out saying they were not sustainable.
- Why do cash-strapped Canadian universities often scrap wrestling programs?
- Hammer said the program was never properly recognized, despite its success, but that she never thought awards would be discarded.
- “Youre putting in countless hours of effort and you have such a high degree of pride in representing the University and in being a part of this team,” said Hammer. “You assume that an award is going to be something that is longstanding and that will last beyond your athletic career.”
She said Regina’s wrestling community is tight-knit. After their awards were found discarded, they found a home for them with SaskSport, which will display them at the Regina Hall of Fame. The University said the awards came from the office of a former wrestling coach. Harold Riemer, dean of Kinesiology and Health Studies, said the faculty moved from an MVP trophy system to a plaque system in 2008 and at that time, the old awards were handed over to the individual coaches. Plaques with the same information hang on the faculty walls, he said. Riemer said one coach never came to clean out his office after the program was cut. “We had asked on a number of occasions, come, please, grab the things that are yours, the things that you want, and we had received no response,” Riemer said. “And we need that space. And so my call is, we need to clear that space out. We asked some of our staff to do that and it was done.” He admits it was his call to get rid of the trophies and said he didn’t think of turning them over to SaskSport. Rest of the story at
Marin Voice: ‘Wrestle’ is a film that Marin educators and parents should see
There are children in Marin who face similar challenges but are often forgotten in the broader milieu of wealth and schools that mostly thrive. Somehow too, this film is an antidote to squabbling on matters that are comparatively trivial relative to what these young men in the film deal with. See this film and then place in order the priorities of our county and our country. There have been a slew of films over the past few years about kids who overcome challenges through sports and an inspiring teacher, but this is one of the best and most moving, rising above clichés. It is a great example of youth programs and sports at their best helping raise up adolescents racially and/or culturally oppressed. It’s all about overcoming obstacles and enhancing empowerment.
Good documentaries are equivalent to good narrative films, with plots and characters that draw you in. Set in Huntsville, Alabama, the film has at least five — four kids and a dedicated teacher/coach. But the supporting characters of families and friends are equally compelling in their smaller roles. They help create a feeling of intimacy between the main characters and the audience. The filmmakers established trust and intimacy with the lead characters. They open up. One loves these guys. We follow four young men and some of their families. Jaquan is quiet but his mom makes up for that with energy and a mouth to spare. Teague is more compelling. He has some borderline character challenges and a father who was mentally abusive. But watching him grow and thrive is part of the joy of the film. Rest of the story at https://www.marinij.com/2019/05/12/marin-voice-wrestle-is-a-film-that-marin-educators-and-parents-should-see/?mc_cid=be574a5b72&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b
Gwiazdowski to Wrestle at Final X Saturday Night
Reigning World medalist vies for another spot on U.S. World Team
RALEIGH, N.C. – Former NC State two-time national champion, and also two-time World bronze medalist, Nick Gwiazdowski will be in action this weekend, taking on Gable Steveson Saturday night at Final X from Rutgers. The winner of the best-of-three championship format will earn a spot on the U.S. World Team and compete at the 2019 World Championships Sept. 14-22 in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. Action starts at 6 p.m., and all the matches will be streamed on FloWrestling.
Gwiazdowski received an automatic bid to the Final X as a reigning World medalist (for the second straight year), as he captured the bronze at 125 kg last year in Hungary at the World Championships. Gwiazdowski is coming off of a gold medal performance at the Pan American Championships earlier this spring. He won all four matches by tech fall, outscoring his foes 41-1 en route to the Gold. Steveson claimed his spot on Final X after taking home top honors at the World Team Trials, held in Reynolds Coliseum. In the best-of-three finals, he downed Adam Coon 13-3 and then 8-1. As a true freshman this past collegiate season at Minnesota, he placed third at the NCAA Championships and was ranked No. 1 nationally at heavyweight . . . Rest of the story at https://gopack.com/index.aspx?path=wrestling
#PackMentality Pop-Ins Podcast: Ep. 48 – Trent Hidlay
RALEIGH, N.C. – On a brand-new episode of the #PackMentality Pop-Ins Podcast, host Brian Reinhardt gets a summer update from head coach Pat Popolizio, and a first-time guest, Junior World Team member Trent Hidlay joins the show to talk about his redshirt season and give a full breakdown of hoagies in the Raleigh area.
Rest of the story and link to the Podcast at the following
TDR blog
After 20 seasons of publicizing wrestling The TakeDown Report’s (TDR) focus has changed to the collecting of college coaching records from North America since 1903. We will continue to recognize and reward successful wrestlers in eastern North Carolina (east of Raleigh & Fayetteville), assist with schools in starting or re-starting a team and this blog. Join us on our FaceBook Page – “The TakeDown Report” for photos and news. Please send results, stories, links and news to pass along. E-mail us at takedownreport@gmail.com
Martin Fleming, Editor
Takedown Report
