Event to also feature Non-Olympic Weight Trials and international training camp

SUMMERSIDE, PEI – The city of Summerside, PEI and Credit Union Place, will be the site for a full week of wrestling highlighted by the 2022 Canada Cup, an international tournament that will see several nations do battle for wrestling supremacy. While the highlight of the week is the Canada Cup, the activities will also feature the Canadian Non-Olympic Weight Wrestling Trials, to determine representatives for Senior and U23 World Championships in non-Olympic weight classes, along with an international training camp for both Canadian and international athletes.

“The build up to the Canada Cup has been exciting in the fact that there’s a lot of local talent taking part and Summerside will also be welcoming athletes from around the world,” commented JP Desrosiers, Director of Community Services for the City of Summerside. “There will be plenty of interest from the local wrestling community and we look forward to seeing Summerside featured on the international stage.”

Canada Cup

The Canada Cup was first held in 1980 to provide Canada’s wrestlers an alternative to the boycotted Olympic Games held in Moscow. The first host of the event was Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario and featured the national teams from Canada, Hungary, Japan and USA. 1998 saw the addition of a women’s division for the first time in the tournament’s history. The tournament, which will take place July 2, uses a one-day format and a double-elimination bracket system.

There are many notable Canadians set to compete. On the women’s side, many eyes will be on Hannah Taylor, who was born in nearby Charlottetown, but now trains in Ontario at Brock Wrestling Club. Taylor will look for a strong performance in front of the hometown crowd as she builds momentum before representing Canada later this summer at the Commonwealth Games.

The women’s side also features Tecumseh, Ontario’s Linda Morais. Morais, who trains out of Montreal Wrestling Club, is a former world champion (2019) and will look to add another title to her trophy case.

On the men’s side, there are names to keep an eye on, starting with Calgary’s Emmanuel Olapade (Dinos WC) who recently won gold at the Pan-American Championships. Joining Olapade is Lachlan McNeil, from North York, Ontario and Team Impact. McNeil, is also a recent gold medalist, winning the Junior Pan-Ams in 2021.

Other countries scheduled to compete include: South Korea, Jamaica and USA.

The Canada Cup is open to spectators, with ticket available at the door. For more information, including livestream links visit: https://wrestling.ca/event/2022-canada-cup/

Non-Olympic Weight Class Trials

Wrestling officially begins on July 1, with the Non-Olympic Weight Class Trials. This competition is a complement to the 2022 Canadian Wrestling Trials, that were held May 26-29 in Edmonton, in order to determine Canadian representatives for non-Olympic weight classes contested at world championships. The weight classes that will be contested are: women’s (WW): 55, 59, 65, 72 kg; and men’s freestyle (FS): 61, 70, 79, 92 kg.

International Training Camp

Following the Canada Cup, competitors will remain in Summerside for an international training camp. The camp, which runs July 4-7, will be led by Wrestling Canada Lutte’s NextGen coaches Kimin Kim and Olympic gold medalist Carol Huynh. Joining Kim and Huynh are two of WCL’s most decorated alumni: Gen Morrison and Matt Gentry. Morrison is a Pan-Am Games gold medalist and world bronze medalist. As for Gentry, he is a two-time Olympian and two-time Pan-Am bronze medalist.

In addition to the highly experienced coaching staff, the clinic will see other sport industry professional help attendees become more knowledgeable on subject such as nutrition, mental performance and analytics. Filing out the clinicians are: Heather Hynes – sport dietician, Kevin Iwasa-Madge – sport dietician, Judy Goss – Mental Performance Consultant and Canadian Certified Counsellor, David Lopez – Performance Analyst, and Scott Vass – WCL IST Manager.