Yellowknife (Dec 17/03) - When people think about Northern sports, wrestling doesn't exactly pop into most minds.

Braeden Paivalaine of William McDonald school gets Keegan Robinson, from Range Lake North school, in a firm hold during the Yellowknife City Wrestling Championships on Saturday. Paivalaine won the match. - Lisa Scott/NNSL photo

The sport is gaining a foothold in the North though. That was evident on Saturday as 40 kids took to the mat at the Yellowknife City Wrestling Championships.

Athletes from Weledeh Catholic school, Range Lake North, Mildred Hall, William McDonald schools and both high schools in the city, took part in the event at the William McDonald gym.

The athletes got a grip on each other in 15 weight divisions, ranging from 68 to 182 lbs. in separate boys and girls categories.

Paul Christopher, president of the NWT Amateur Wrestling Association and the Sir John Franklin wrestling team coach, hopes these athletes will get hooked on the sport at meets like these. "It's sort of a breeding ground to promote interest in sport," he said.

At the elementary level, athletes are introduced to the sport in Grade 4. Christopher's high school team depends on this grassroots level to build a competitive team.

"This is just to get them exposed to how a wrestling tournament operates," said Christopher, adding that skill development is a bonus of the event. "I hope to have at least 50 per cent of these kids move on to high school (wrestling)," he said.

The athletes looked like they were having fun as they moved around on the mat, trying to pin their opponents in two-minute matches.

Angela Crews and Megan Harman, both from the Range Lake North team, were stoked on winning most of their matches and seemed enthralled by their new sport.

They joined this fall because it was another activity to try and their friends were doing it. After a couple of matches, they said they would be interested in wrestling at the high school level.

"It's a good challenge. You have fun," said Harman. "It's for anybody who wants to do it," said Crews.

That interest is good news for Christopher and wrestling in the North.

The next step for the sport in the city is to join all of Yellowknife's school teams into a club, rather than have them practising as individual teams.