October 5th 2015
The High school season is set to begin at the end of the month and there is a certain amount of trepidation amongst the league teams as the current season is set to feature the smallest contingent of teams since the mid 90s. The reason? Another Work-to-Rule proposition is in effect for the public school system, basically putting an end to all extra-curricular activities in the public school sector. This is the third work to rule proposition in the province of Quebec since the 1970s and after each one, the high school league in Montreal known as the G.M.A.A has been decimated and forced to rebuild. For those who don't know what the Work to Rule proportion is, it is a pressure tactic initiated by the teachers unions in order to move forward negotiations with the provincial governments.
Extra curricular activities are not mandated in a teachers contract and for the most part in public high schools, are done on a voluntary basis. Without getting into too much details, the Quebec government refuses to currently negotiate in a meaningful way, thereby prompting these actions. Ontario high schools went through this in the past and are currently engaged with the government of Ontario as well in their own respective labour dispute.
So what does this mean for the sport of wrestling as a whole here in the province? First of all, wrestling has always been small in the province of Quebec. One of the major contributors to young athletes participation has always been the high school league known as the G.M.A.A. (Greater Montreal Athletic Association) which allows athletes to compete against other schools in an American style Dual meet format. For those of you who have had a chance to watch the N.C.A.A. wrestling as well as the World Cup of Wrestling will know that this format brings a lot of team style excitement to an otherwise individual sport.
The last Work to Rule stoppage occurred in the mid 1990s in Quebec. At the time, the high school league consisted of eighteen teams, spread out amongst the public and private sector. The average team size consisted of nearly 10-15 athletes per team, making for a healthy sized league. With the Work to Rule, the league dropped to from eighteen teams to four, all in the private sector. With the return of extra curricular activities the following year, the league now consisted of between 7-8 as programs that had been going strong, never fully recovered. A similar problem occurred in Ontario where their high school league dropped from approximately ninety schools to around seventy. Currently, the number of schools from last year enrolled in the G.M.A.A. was at seven schools.
So what does this mean for wrestling in the province of Quebec? Firstly, it means less participation in tournaments both locally and in the surrounding provinces. Second, it means a reduced pool for eligible Canada Games athletes as there will be less athletes competing in the league. Lastly, we may see another decrease in the amount of teams that return next season as history has shown that this is always the case. Will the G.M.A.A. be able to recover from this?
It is probably prudent to think that the involvement of public schools in the league will not happen this year as history has shown us that the government is neither speedy with their negotiations, nor do they feel the pressure of their constituents, demanding that the issue be resolved as quickly as it can. Furthermore, in a year prior to the upcoming Canada Games, this is a serious blow to Quebec fielding another competitive team that could build off the momentum of the strong results posted at the last Canada Games held in Sherbrooke. Nevertheless, one can always hope for a positive outcome to the problem as many coaches and athletes await the outcome of the current labour standoff.
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