Canada

Canada is a country in the northern part of North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering 9.98 million square kilometres (3.85 million square miles), making it the world's second-largest country by total area and the fourth-largest country by land area. Canada's border with the United States is the world's longest binational land border. The majority of the country has a cold or severely cold winter climate, but southerly areas are warm in summer. Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its land territory being dominated by forest and tundra and the Rocky Mountains. It is highly urbanized with 82 per cent of the 35.15 million people concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, many near the southern border. One third of the population lives in the three largest cities: Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Its capital is Ottawa, and other major urban areas include Calgary, Edmonton, Quebec City, Winnipeg and Hamilton.

Sports in Canada

The roots of organized sports in Canada date back to the 1770s. Canada's official national sports are ice hockey and lacrosse. Canada shares several major professional sports leagues with the United States. Canadian teams in these leagues include seven franchises in the National Hockey League, located in Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, and Winnipeg, as well as three Major League Soccer teams (Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal) and one Toronto team in each of Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association. Other popular professional sports in Canada include Canadian football, which is played in the Canadian Football League, National Lacrosse League lacrosse, and curling.

Canada has participated in almost every Olympic Games since its Olympic debut in 1900, and has hosted several high-profile international sporting events, including the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, the 1994 Basketball World Championship, the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. Golf, tennis, skiing, badminton, volleyball, cycling, swimming, bowling, rugby union, canoeing, equestrian, squash and the study of martial arts are widely enjoyed at the youth and amateur levels.

Wrestling in Canada

Wrestling in Canada is very popular both as a recreational and as a competitive sport, and takes a variety of forms, reflecting Canada's diverse and multicultural makeup. At the middle, high school and collegiate level there is a broad-based varsity participation in Freestyle Wrestling and Greco-Roman Wrestling. Examples of famous Canadian wrestlers among these various wrestling sports are such as Tonya Verbeek, Carol Hyunh or Daniel Igali. Canada has a strong showing on the international scene, at world championships and at the Olympics in  wrestling sports. The Canadian Amateur Wrestling Association (Wrestling Canada Lutte) is the national sport governing body for Olympic style wrestling in Canada. The National Wrestling Federation has its headoffice in the capital City Ottawa. As president acts, Mr. Don Ryan, who is also Vice-president of the PAN-American Wrestling Association.

A international succesfull canadian Team:
Lyndsay Belisle, Viola Yanik und Tonya Verbeek
Evan Mc Donald, Christine Nordhagen, Gia Sissaouri und Daniel Igali.

National Situation

Wrestling Canada Lutte serves a number of stakeholders to further its mission. The organization is committed to working in closer alignment with its provincial and territorial partners to deliver world-class programs and services to athletes, coaches, and officials. Wrestling Canada Lutte recognizes the significant contribution that the secondary and post-secondary school system makes to the growth of the sport and will continue to strengthen the relationship it has with these academic institutions. Over 15,000 Canadians are active coaches, athletes and officials in the sport of Olympic wrestling in Canada. This number does not include the many individuals who volunteer their time, or the many parents and spectators who partake in our sport.

International Situation

In Women's wrestling, Canada has continued as one of the dominant nations in the world at the Senior level. Canadian women have captured numerous medals at the world championships and six Olympic Medals.
Canada took home nine of ten gold medals at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, B.C. The other medal was a silver.
Canada won the most recent Francophone Games in Wrestling. Canada placed a close third behind powers Cuba and the USA in the 1995 Pan American Games in Mar del Plata, Argentina.
Canada had a silver medal performance by Guivi Sissaouri at 57 KG at the 1995 World Senior Championships and the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. Guivi wrestles for the Montreal Wrestling Club, and is coached by Victor Zilberman and Rob Moore.
Canada's Women's National Team is ranked eighth in the World and has collected six medals, including three gold medal performance in 1994, 1996 and 1997 by Christine Nordhagen at 68 kilograms. Christine wrestles for Mitch Ostberg at the Dino Wrestling Club in Calgary. In October 2006, the Fédération Internationale des Luttes Associées (FILA) inducted its first woman ever into the International Wrestling Hall of Fame. That woman is Canada’s Christine Nordhagen, the six-time world champion. Christine is also married to CAWA's Senior Women's National Head coach Leigh Vierling.
Gia Sissaouri continued his achievements with a 2001 World Senior Championship, defeating his Mongolian opponent with a dynamic overtime throw!
Canada had back to back Gold medal performances by Canadian Daniel Igali, first at the 1999 World Senior championship and followed up with Gold at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. Later in 2002 Daniel was the Gold medalist at the Commonwealth Games.

In Women's wrestling, Canada has continued as one of the dominant nations in the world at the Senior level. Canadian women have captured numerous medals at the world championships and a Silver medal earned by Tonya Verbeek (Brock Wrestling Club, St. Catharines, ON) at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece - the first ever Women's Olympic Medal. Erica Elizabeth Wiebe (born June 13, 1989). She is the reigning Olympic champion in women's 75 kg freestyle, winning gold at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Wiebe is also the current Commonwealth Games champion in the same weight class, having won the gold medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
As of 2005 - 2007 Canada's National Women's Wrestling Team coached by Leigh Vierling, Todd Hinds and Dave Mair is Ranked 2nd in the World, just behind Japan.
In 2006, Canada's Women had 2 Silver medal performances at the Senior World Championships. Martine DuGrenier captured her 3rd straight Silver, while Lyndsay Belisle captured her first Silver medal at this prestegious event.

Olympic Medals for Canada:                             Tonya Verbeek                                      Carol Hyunh                                                                                                                  Erica Wiebe

Senior Medalists Since 1992 World Campionships/Olympic Games

1992 - Jeff Thue (silver)
1993 - Chris Wilson (bronze), Christine Nordhagen (silver), Janny Penny (bronze)
1994 - Christine Nordhagen (bronze)
1995 - Guivi Sissaouri (silver)
1996 - Christine Nordhagen (gold), Guivi Sissaouri (silver), Jennifer Ryz (silver)
1997 - Christine Nordhagen (gold), Guivi Sissaouri (bronze)
1998 - Christine Nordhagen (gold), Guivi Sissaouri (bronze)
1999 - Daniel Igali (gold), Erica Sharp (silver), Christine Nordhagen (bronze)
2000 - Daniel Igali (gold), Christine Nordhagen (gold), Jennifer Ryz (silver), Carol Huynh (bronze)
2001 - Guivi Sissaouri (gold), Christine Nordhagen (gold), Carol Huynh (silver)
2003 - Viola Yanik (bronze)
2004 - Tonya Verbeek (silver)
2005 - Martine Dugrenier (silver), Tonya Verbeek (bronze), Carol Huynh (bronze)
2006 - Martine Dugrenier (silver), Lyndsay Belisle (silver)
2007 - Martine Dugrenier (silver), Erica Sharp (bronze)
2008 - Carol Huynh (gold), Martine Dugrenier (gold), Tonya Verbeek (bronze), Brittanee Laverdure (bronze), Ohenewa Akuffo (bronze)
2009 - Martine Dugrenier (gold), Tonya Verbeek (bronze), Justine Bouchard (bronze)
2010 - Martine Dugrenier (gold), Ohenewa Akuffo (silver), Carol Huynh (bronze)
2011 - Tonya Verbeek (silver), Jessica MacDonald (bronze)
2012 - Jessica MacDonald (gold), Tonya Verbeek (silver), Dorothy Yeats (silver), Carol Huynh (bronze), Justine Bouchard (bronze)
2013 – Stacie Anaka (Silver)
2016 - Erica Wiebe (gold)

The first olympic Gold medalist for Canada: Daniel Igali

Canadian Olympic Medallists

 2016         Womens Freestyle         Erica Wiebe                   Gold

Provincial & Territorial Sport Organization Members – PTSOs (13):
Alberta
British Columbia
Manitoba
New Brunswick
Newfoundland & Labrador
Northwest Territories
Nova Scotia
Nunavut
Ontario
Prince Edward Island
Quebec
Saskatchewan
Yukon Territory

Federation

Wrestling Canada Lutte
#7-5370 Canotek Rd.
Ottawa, ON
K1J 9E6

Tel: 613-748-5686
Fax: 613-748-5756
General Inquiries: info@wrestling.ca
Website: www.wrestling.ca
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06  / 2017