Growing up, sport was not only a way of developing the physical talents that would make Richmond’s Arjan Bhullar a Commonwealth gold medal winner and Canadian Olympic team wrestler.
It kept him out of falling in with the wrong crowd and getting into trouble.
That’s one of the prime motivations behind Bhullar’s involvement with KidsPlay, an organization which uses structured, physical activities to help keep youngsters on the straight and narrow.
Bhullar has linked up with VPD officer Kal Dosanjh to get the Surrey-based organization up and running which will help set up sporting tournaments for youth who do not have the opportunity to take part in organized sports.
The genesis for KidsPlay was derived from an annual soccer tournament Dosanjh helps organize with the VPD for students across Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Its popularity was such that Dosanjh wanted to expand its reach.
KidsPlay’s first event will be a wrestling tournament at the Richmond Oval on Friday and Saturday (Jan. 16 and 17) which has about 400 participants — aged six to 18 — signed up.
“Me and Kal got to talking about how sport can be a positive outlet for youth instead of being attracted to gangs and crime. And I could use my experience in sport in that realm,” said Bhullar, who is currently embarking on a career in mixed martial arts.
“Those kids, who are attracted to that lifestyle (gangs), they want a sense of belonging, a sense of team, confidence,” he said. “They can get that through sport, which can give you a purpose in life with things like goal-setting.
“That’s what I got from sport, especially at a young age. That was the key.”
By the time Bhullar was at an age to be tempted to stray he said he was already enjoying so much success that it wasn’t enough of an attraction to make him give up wrestling.
“It simply wasn’t worth it because of all the fun I was having,” he said. “That (wrestling) was always there for me.”
For the initial KidsPlay event, competitors are being drawn from across western Canada, as well as Oregon.
For Bhullar, the chance to be a part of this type of gathering is not only a source of pride. It allows him to see a little bit of himself when he was that age.
“It brings back old memories, and how much this kind of thing meant to me — to compete,” he said.
