The Alberni Valley Wrestling Club (AVWC) has a new mat washing system, thanks to the Port Alberni Kinsmen Club.
The Alberni Kinsmen reached out to the AVWC to support them in offering programs to youth.
“We had some gaming funds available to us that we we wanted to use to support a local organization,” said Kinsmen member Dave Best. “Kinsmen’s motto is serving the community’s greatest need, and locally our priority is to support youth and individuals with disabilities in our community. Helping the Alberni Valley Wrestling Club out seemed like a logical fit.”
The Kinsmen approved a $500 donation to Alberni Wrestling to purchase an inventory of wrestling boots, which will be made available to new high school wrestlers needing some equipment to get started. They donated another $1,000 to purchase a new mat washing system.
Properly cleaning mat surfaces has always been a priority for the wrestling club and the COVID-19 pandemic has made that even more important. New technology and research has led to the development of mat washing systems that allows unsoiled cleaning product to be applied to the whole mat. Large microfibre cleaning mops that are laundered after each use and the cleaning process takes a fraction of the time.
“Although wrestling is currently on pause due to COVID 19 restrictions, we know this purchase will allow us to return to the mats sooner and safer than we could have without the Kinsmen’s help,” said James Messenger, AVWC President.
“Our two organizations have a long standing relationship that has spanned over three decades and we look forward to it extending for decades to come. Port Alberni’s youth are so lucky to have organizations like the Kinsmen supporting them.”
