Nearly 40 young athletes kicked off 2020 with a couple of days of hard work at the Cowichan Valley Wrestling Club’s annual New Year’s camp last week.
“It was two days of solid work,” CVWC head coach Nick Zuback said. “We pushed the kids to their limits.”
Participants in the camp came from all over Vancouver Island, and one made the trip over from Vancouver College. That wrestler was thrilled with what he got out of the camp.
“After he was done, he asked if he could come back and train,” Zuback said. “He was a great kid, worked hard.”
For the Cowichan wrestlers, the camp serves as a platform to prepare for the rest of the season, which only gets busier from now until the provincial championships in Langley in mid February.
“If you look at the schedule, every weekend we’re gone now for the next six weeks,” Zuback pointed out.
The first meet of the New Year for the Cowichan club is the Duke’s Cup, this Saturday at the Drill Hall in downtown Vancouver. This is the second year for the event hosted by the Duke of Connaught’s Own British Columbia Regiment, Vancouver College and the ONNI Group.
About half of the Island team will consist of Cowichan wrestlers, with the rest from Port Alberni, Nanaimo, Campbell River, Ucluelet and Victoria. They will compete in a dual meet format against three other teams: Vancouver College and St. Thomas More, Vancouver and North Shore, and Okanagan.
“The atmosphere is very impressive,” Zuback said. “They have tanks on both sides of the mats, soldiers watching. It’s a cool environment for the kids to wrestle in.”
