By Penny Gillson, Editorial Assistant
Arms entangled with his opponent’s, Chris Light shoved hard as shouts of encouragement erupted from the handful of coaches and parents watching. A determined grimace creasing his face, he forced the other wrestler toward the ring boundary. His opponent attempted to side step, but with a quick move, Light locked his arms around the boy’s chest and lifted him up, sending them both careening out of the ring.
It was a point, but a mouth full of sand as well. The two got up and quickly brushed of the sticky grains as they headed back to the center of the ring.
On Saturday afternoon at Bullards Beach in Bandon, for many of the 40-plus mainly high school-age competitors, this was their first taste of beach wrestling. High school bleachers gave way to folding chairs and drift logs. The closest thing to a unitard was one more-daring coach’s snugly fitting swim trunks. There were no mats, just two ropes encircling carefully chosen sand areas – groomed to make sure there were no hazards.
Despite the change in setting, the bouts were taken no-less seriously. After all, it was a historic event: the first-ever Beach Wrestling Championship in the United States.
Wayne Van Burger, division director of USA Wrestling-sanctioned beach wrestling, read about the up-and-coming sport after the Athens Olympics. The International Olympic Committee opted to include beach wrestling in the 2008 summer Olympics because many countries are interested in the sport, but cannot afford facilities or even mats for their athletes.
The move is comparable to volleyball leaving the gym for the sand.
“I envisioned it was getting back to the roots of wrestling, “Van Burger said, “when it started in Athens. They wrestled on the hard ground.”
Today’s athletes shouldn’t find ancient Greece customs too hard to get accustomed to.
“As kids grow up, it seems like they’re always wrestling in the grass, in the living room, “he laughed.
Van Burger recently retired as head wrestling coach at Marshfield High School. Through wrestling, he has visited Micronesia and other areas of the world.
“I like the idea of the international competition that could evolve from this and I thought it’d be a nice way to keep my finger in it, “he said, adding it also is a good way to promote the sport.
Several other coaches attending the competition with their teams from around Oregon could see the sport’s potential, too.
“These kids just do the same thing over and over again, “said Dan Erickson, coach of the Osprey Wrestling Club, which includes students from Lowell, Oakridge and Pleasant Hill schools. “Wrestling is a tough sport. (Beach wrestling) is another way to make it fun.”
Erickson said he heard about the competition through Van Burger and thought beach wrestling would offer his wrestlers a new experience. After a practice at a Pleasant Hill School beach volleyball court, they headed to the coast to participate in what he considers a historic event.
One Osprey wrestler, eighth-grader Adam Sprague, was a little surprised after winning his first bout, but eager to get back in the ring for more.
“It’s a lot harder than normal wrestling, “he said, adding it was difficult to get traction because his feet sank into the sand when he tried to move his legs. “I think it’s more fun, just the atmosphere, “he said. “(You’re) not wrestling in the regular mat room.”
The Osprey Club wasn’t the only group taking a long drive to participate. Coach Jim McNeely brought several wrestlers from Portland-area Cleveland High School to partake in the chance to wrestle on sand.
“It’s exciting to be part of the first event in the nation, “McNeely said as his team warmed up with stretching exercises and some rambunctious antics as they got a feel for grappling in the sand. “It might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
McNeely said he’s already heard rumors about a summer league starting.
“It’s a great way for us to be involved in wrestling in the off-season, “he said, “and keep involved as a team.”
Several coaches used the open age limits as an opportunity to show their pupils how it is done, even though for some of them it’d been a long time since they’d been in the ring.
“It’s the one chance I get to enter, “said Marshfield Mat Club coach Derek Hite. Hite laughed he wasn’t sure what to expect, but he’d be OK as long as he didn’t get hurt.
Hite said about five of his 5- to 6-year-old students had come to compete and they were all excited. For his students, the season ended in April.
Toni Borgogno, a Coos Bay resident and mother of three entrants, was one of just two women to enter. While the petite blonde with pigtails was eager to wrestle, neither woman had anyone else sign up in her weight class.
“It’d be better if there were girls, “Borgogno said enthusiastically, “but I’ll beat them anyway!”
Borgogno took the opportunity to do some exhibition wrestling with her sons, something she said she’s used to because at home her hugs often come in the form of a headlock.
“I think next year will be better (for beach wrestling), “Hite said, “because there’ll be more time to get the kids geared up.”
Van Burger said he, too, is already looking ahead to beach wrestling’s future. Many were asking when the next event would be, he said, adding he had an inquiry into setting up some sand rings at an upcoming festival in Eugene.
And perhaps the most important thing: “Everybody just seemed to have a good time, “he said.
Saturday’s winners
The winners of the first-ever Beach Wrestling Championship held at Bullards Beach were:
– Senior division (light weight) – Doug Samarron, West Linn
– Senior division (heavy weight) – Alvin Riggs, Osprey
– Senior division (women) – Toni Borgogno, Marshfield*
– High school division (light weight) – Chris Light, Cleveland
– High school division (heavy weight) – Kyle Hunnel, Cleveland
– High school division (women) – Lauren Van Burger, Marshfield*
– Kids division (light weight) – Blake Holmes, Coquille
– Kids division (heavy weight) – Adam Sprague, Osprey
*There was only one entrant in each of the women’s divisions.
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