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Commonwealth Amateur Wrestling Association
COMMONWEALTH YOUTH WRESTLING: Inaugural , Commonwealth Youth Wrestling Championships ( 16-18 year old men & women ) in Glasgow, Scotland, July 15-16.
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London, Ontario, CANADA - The Commonwealth Amateur Wrestling Association confirmed today that eleven (11) Commonwealth wrestling nations will be participating at the " 2006 Commonwealth Youth Wrestling Championships" in Glasgow, Scotland. The nations represented at the Championships are - CANADA, ENGLAND, INDIA, MALTA, NIGERIA, NEW ZEALAND, PAKISTAN, SCOTLAND, SOUTH AFRICA, UGANDA and WALES.
This is the first time in Commonwealth wrestling history that the Youth Wrestling Championships will be held for male and female wrestlers in the 16-18 years age class. In the past the Commonwealth Wrestling Championships have only been conducted for Senior level wrestlers.
The Scottish Wrestling Association, a member of the British Wrestling Association is hosting the Championships in the city of Glasgow. The Commonwealth Youth Championships will be conducted in Olympic Freestyle Wrestling. The weight classes used for these Championships are FILA Cadet weights.
Male - 39- 42 kg, 46kg, 50kg, 54kg, 58kg, 63kg, 69kg, 76kg, 85kg, 85-100kg.
Female - 36- 38kg, 40kg, 43kg, 46kg, 49kg, 52kg, 56kg, 60kg, 65kg, 65-70kg.
" We are grateful to the Organizing Committee in Glasgow and the Scottish Wrestling Association for hosting the Inaugural Commonwealth Youth Wrestling Championships which will help to promote the Olympic Freestyle wrestling. We would also like to thank the Glasgow city Council and The Commonwealth Games Council For Scotland for their support of the Commonwealth Youth Wrestling Championships " said, Josip Mrkoci , Chairman of the Executive Committee for the Commonwealth Amateur Wrestling Association.
Louise Martin - President of The Commonwealth Games Council For Scotland stated " we are delighted that the city of Glasgow was chosen to host the Commonwealth Youth Wrestling Championships as Glasgow has been very successful in hosting other Commonwealth sporting events, such as last year's Commonwealth boxing event, and is currently a candidate city for 2014 Commonwealth Games. We fully support the Scottish Wrestling Association for their initiative in hosting this important Wrestling in the city of Glasgow."
The President of FILA ( World wrestling governing body), Mr. Raphy Martinetti recently said " we support the efforts of the Scottish Wrestling Association, a member of the British Wrestling Association, in hosting the Commonwealth Youth Championships and congratulate the Commonwealth Amateur Wrestling Association for organizing the inaugural Commonwealth Youth Wrestling Championships".
The Sottish Wrestling Association , President Mr. Michael Cavanagh said " we look forward to hosting the Commonwealth Youth Championships, we are thrilled that the first Championships are being held in in the city of Glasgow , Scotland, as Glasgow was also the site of the first senior Commonwealth Wrestling Championships in 1985 ."
For further information contact - Josip MRKOCI .....
Commonwealth Amateur Wrestling Association
Telephone: ( 519) 668-9901
E-mail: - Commonwealth-Wrestling@sympatico.ca
Web site: - http://groups.msn.com/CommonwealthWrestling
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Wrestling is in their blood
El Monte sisters pin their competition at state meet
By Esther Chou Staff Writer 6/12/06
EL MONTE - With their long black hair and slender frames, no one would guess that sisters Rosemary, 10, and Inez Martinez, 8, are accomplished wrestlers.
Flexible, strong and quick to learn, both girls recently took first place in their weight classes in the California State Wrestling Championship.
"They're just happy little girls," said their mother Mary Arenas. "When they come to the mat, they really get really serious."
So serious, in fact, that they've built a tough reputation for winning, despite the fact the girls are more petite than most classmates.
"A lot of the boys when they see my girls here, they go `Oh my God,"' said their father, Hector Martinez. "They don't want to wrestle the girls because they always win ... When boys lose to the girls, they cry."
"You should see the dads," Arenas added. "The dads cry too."
Inez, a third-grader at Maxson Elementary School in El Monte, claimed the fastest pin time - three seconds - last season. This year, Inez also won the Arizona Girls' State Wrestling Championships in her weight class.
"I like winning," said Rosemary, a fourth-grade student at Maxson.
The Martinez girls train three times a week with the San Gabriel Valley Kids Wrestling organization at Arroyo and El Monte high schools. They run, do pull-ups, jog in place and practice different wrestling moves. Rosemary competes in the 60-65 pound class, and Inez is in the 50-55 pound class.
Wrestling seems to run in the family. Their father was a Mission Valley League Champion in 1983 when he went to Mountain View High School in El Monte. Their older brother, also named Hector Martinez, an eighth-grader at Kranz Intermediate School, is a wrestler too.
"My dad teaches my brother, and my brother teaches us," Rosemary said.
Hector Martinez Sr. said he never intended for his daughters to become wrestlers. When she was a baby, Rosemary sat in the corner watching her older brother practice and compete. By the time she was 2 years old, she was imitating some of those moves by herself.
When she was 4, Rosemary officially entered the sport.
"She said, `Dad, I want to wrestle."' Hector said. "Her first tournament, she dominated."
It wasn't long before Inez followed her siblings' footsteps.
Besides wrestling, Rosemary and Inez like to play video games and softball, and Inez is on a local cheerleading squad. Rosemary likes writing and science, and Inez says she likes learning in general - except for social studies.