Bring Youth Wrestling To Chesterfield County Middle Schools

Please take the time to read and sign our petition to have youth wrestling instated into the Chesterfield County athletics program. It is our attempt to collect as many signatures as possible, to present these signatures to the county school board as a show of support for wrestling in our middle schools.

What effect can wrestling have on our children's character development? Success factors in sports, or anything for that matter, are part God-given (i.e. height and size) and part acquired (i.e. endurance).

Success in wrestling depends most on acquired factors, and unlike most other sports, wrestling does not favor athletes of any particular height, size, weight, muscle type, race or social class, and does not rely on superior vision or hearing. Wrestlers learn, by the nature of the sport, that long-term success has much more to do with the investment made than the 'natural' gifts one is given. Wrestlers learn the value of reparation and hard work, and the role it plays in achieving one's goals. Wrestling provides real-life experiences that build and strengthen character.

Is wrestling a dangerous sport? There is a common misperception among the non-wrestling public that wrestling is a very dangerous sport. Perhaps it's the aggressive nature of the sport, association with 'Pro Wrestling', or perhaps fear of the unknown. Several studies have been conducted in recent years that show wrestling to be safer than many more common sports including football, ice hockey and gymnastics. Most notable in these reports, is wrestling's low percentage of serious, permanent and life-threatening injury in relation to other sports. A quote from USA Wrestling Club Organizing Guide has the following to say
about Risk of Injury: In summary, of the many sports your child can participate in, wrestling is perhaps the most misrepresented, misunderstood, and underrated. The ratio of participation to public awareness is remarkably lopsided. Each year hundreds of thousands of kids participate in this sport, yet the average person knows as much about wrestling as they might know about rugby or polo -- which combined, involve far fewer athletes.