Thursday June 25th 2026
After a few weeks, the dust has finally settled. The mats have been returned to my school and another school year has come to a close. With all that’s been going on, I haven’t had a chance to sit down and reflect on what happened at the World Team Trials a few weekends ago. As the blog is a passion project, I’m not always as up to date as I would like to be. Life sometimes takes over, and dealing with my responsibilities has been my primary concern since the tournament ended weeks ago. While some would think that I should have written this article while my impressions were fresh, I’m the sort of person who likes to sit and reflect so waiting little bit suits me just fine. In gathering my thoughts, I can often come up with things that I may have missed on the first reflection, which in turn allows me to convey my thoughts to their fullest capacity. With that being said, I still do a first pass to strike while the iron is hot. These are my impressions and reflections to date.
The Mats in Montreal, always a good thing
This tournament had a lot of pomp and circumstance attached to it, as it was the first time that the full team trials were held in Montreal in my lifetime as a wrestler. Previously, Quebec had only played host to the Junior-Senior Nationals in 2019 and the Non-Olympic/U23 Trials in 2023. Last time Quebec hosted a full National Championships before these two events, was the Junior National Championships which were held in 1991 in Pierrefonds!
Montreal has still played host to some exciting wrestling events…
Suffice it to say, that Quebec has been starved for high-level competition over the years. So, it was refreshing to see the best athletes from all across Canada come and try to qualify their spots for their respective national teams. Speaking to coaches and officials from other provinces, they like the concept of the Nationals in Montreal for many reasons, mainly being accessibility, history and overall vibes. As a born and bred Montrealer, I can definitely agree with all those points.
…Like the Urban Games held on Crescent Street in 2019
The event was held at Centre Pierre Charbonneau. This was not a coincidence as this was the venue where wrestling was held during the 1976 Olympics. Having the Trials here was deliberate, and if this past hockey playoff by the Canadiens run has shown us anything, is that we in Montreal enjoy our sense of tradition and ceremony. Therefore in keeping with this, 2026 would mark the 50th anniversary of the Montreal Olympics. Wrestlers and officials from the 1976 games were also honoured in a ceremony which was coupled with Martine Dugrenier’s induction into the Wrestling Canada Lutte Hall of Fame, which as yet another nice touch.
Members of the 1976 Canadian Olympic Team shake hands with Martine Dugrenier as she’s inducted into the WCL Hall of Fame
On a personal note, this would also mark the 50th anniversary of my club team, the Montreal Wrestling Club NTC, so the significance of these National Championships in Montreal can’t be understated as it added another dimension to the significance of the event. Many past wrestlers from the club came by to watch the matches or to meet up with past associates. Some of these past athletes were a huge influence on my development and it’s during times like these, that I’m constantly reminded that we have to honour the generation that came before us. Without their contribution, by either keeping the team going with their results, or taking their time to coach the next generation of athletes, the importance of the past cannot be understated.
Without our continued contributions, our athletes wouldn’t have the same success
I’m often flabbergasted by people who are the antithesis of this. I’ve know many people throughout my career who forget where they came from. They will conveniently forget and may sometimes actively sabotage the people and the team that gave so much to them in the past. Clearly they forgot the people who may have helped them get to where they are. How they came to this makes me sick and rather than continue on in that negative vein, I’m going to stop there and focus on some more positive reflections.
Results weren’t what I wanted, but the lessons learned were extremely valuable (Photo credit: Fred Avertik)
After the event, I was able to interact with some members of the 1976 team. It reminded me once again of the impact that wrestling has had on my life, as many of their stories mirrored my own. Themes such as the importance of wrestling in our lives, the impact of the generation before us, as well as the importance of the coaches resonated with me, and helped to reaffirm why I’m doing this.
To be in the presence of people who came before me, is always a humbling one
(Photo property of Lori Browning Photography)
Suffice it to say, the tournament had a lot going on for me, both from a personal level as well as a wrestling one. Oftentimes, we get bogged down in the minutia, and tend to not separate the forest from the trees. However, if anything, my experiences at the tournament has reminded me to stay the course and keep pushing forward. Like my wrestling career, the journey turned out to be more important than the destination and the ability to sit and reflect on it these past couple of weeks has been invaluable. Now, on to the next challenge!
So many people throughout the years, shows the time and traditions that have endured
(Photo property of Lori Browning Photography)