An upcoming summer camp at MMA world champion Arjan Bhullar’s Richmond gym will help get wrestlers of all ages back on the mat, now that the sport is able to restart.
The 2021 BC Wrestling Association's (BCWA) Summer Camp is the association's first event since it made the decision to indefinitely suspend wrestling across the province after the pandemic hit.
The camp – which will take place at Bhullar Wrestling Club on Saturday Aug. 28 and Sunday, Aug. 29 – will give elementary and high school kids, as well as adults, the chance to learn from Bhullar and other top wrestlers.
“More than anything (the camp) is getting youngsters back to the sport,” said Bhullar, who, as well as being a mixed martial arts world champion, is a Commonwealth gold medalist and Olympian.
“For our Bhullar Wrestling Club, we haven’t been operating since before the pandemic. Wrestling is sort of the last sport to get going, because it’s impossible to keep social distancing and staying away from each other if you want to practise the sport.”
The BCWA said that, since the camp was announced, many of its members have stated “their relief and (joy)” at being able to get back to the sport.
“Recognizing that many individuals may have had to take a step back from the mats during the pandemic, we believe from the eagerness we see to return to the mats, that old and new members alike will continue to participate,” the association said in an emailed statement.
Bhullar told the Richmond News that “wrestling did everything” for him growing up.
“I’ve been wrestling since I was a little kid still in diapers, so everything that I have in life I owe to wrestling. It’s my foundation – as an athlete, as a human being. It’s taught me how to compete, how to have humility, how to goal-set, how to have a work ethic, how to achieve, how to fail … It’s allowed me to have success not only as an athlete but as a husband, as a father, as a friend, businessman, everything.”
Furthermore, the sport is inclusive to everyone because of its different weight classes, Bhullar added.
In addition to Bhullar, the camp’s coaches include, Justina Di Stasio (world champion), Ana Godinez (Junior World bronze medalist), Nick Ugoalah (Commonwealth gold medalist), Raj Virdi (BCWA high performance coach), Gurjot Kooner (BCWA men’s junior development coach), Sukhan Chahal (BCWA women’s junior development coach) and Cruz Velasquez (BCWA grassroots coordinator/coach).
The BCWA said that the camp’s coaches are “greatly looking forward to taking mentorship roles, providing advice and guidance to novice and elite athletes.”
And while not a wrestler, Evan Dunfee – who won bronze at racewalking at the Tokyo Olympics – will be at the camp next Sunday to talk about his experience, said Bhullar.
“At the end of the day, whether it’s racewalking, whether it’s wrestling, your highest form of competition is going to be the Olympics, that’s always the goal. And we just want the kids to know what it takes to get there.”
The camp also marks the grand opening of Bhullar Wrestling Club’s new location on at 8091 No. 5 Road.
In previous years, it was held at the National Training Centre at Simon Fraser University.
More information about the camp, including registration (open to BCWA members only), is available on BC Wrestling’s website.
