Freestyle Wrestling

Hey, I've been trying to get into freestyle wrestling tournaments for some time now in Canada. It's super hard to find a tournament with a master's or veterans bracket. It just seems like a hard sport to get into as an adult who isn't in college. I would just like to see a future where it was more accessible to compete in wrestling, kind of like how people do triathlon in their 30s 40s and 50s. I agree that wrestling in not an inclusive sport for novice adults who want to test themselves. Good luck out there everyone, who is trying to develop as a freestyle wrestler.

March 23rd in Calgary is our Alberta Open event. In the afternoon is the adult beginner takedown tournament. It is meant for those 18+ who have wanted to try it but not sure where to start.

You’d be more than welcome and you’d be grouped off in your weight group with other adult novice wrestling beginners.

DM me if you would like more details.

This would be something cool to work towards…. I need to get into the gym and start training, maybe for 2025

Definitely. The Alberta Open is just that; an open tournament, and the more older adults participate, the bigger the argument we can make to include a dedicated Masters age group division. My friends and I are working hard at building just that as well as promoting and leading the way in building inclusivity in wrestling.

Thanks for taking this on. Good luck with the project!

You are very welcome. If you have any thoughts on the topic, feel free to let me know.

Good evening,

General topic of discussion for the people here. I’m working on a project to build inclusion in wrestling and break down barriers that separate people. It bothers me when some of the mainstream wrestling community is quick to dismiss people not like them when truly, this is a sport for all. So, if you were tasked with working on initiatives to foster inclusion and diversity in freestyle / Greco / folks type wrestling, what would YOU want to see? What would YOU say are the hurdles that those in the mainstream need to address? What would a fully inclusive sport look like?

I’m working on ending the bigotry and intolerance. I advocate for marginalized communities being integrated into the wrestling mainstream, and work to call out and end the stereotypes people use as jokes. But that is from my position of privilege as a cis straight guy. I want to hear other voices.

Feel free to share them here or drop me a message.

Thank you.

You might want to reach out to Hudson Taylor, former University of Maryland wrestler and now head of Athlete Ally. Athlete Ally is a nonprofit LGBTQ athletic advocacy group based in the United States. They focus on making athletic communities more inclusive and less discriminatory and helping athletes to advocate for LGBTQ equalitity.

Thank you for the suggestion and feedback!!! I appreciate it. Definitely a great place to start.

Working on ending any bigotry or intolerance certainly gets my vote and support.

Good topic! Let's discuss more.