THE GREATEST: Dominic Walsh, Sports NI, presents Londonderry-based wrestler Mohammad Ali with Local Heroes award

This year’s Sport Northern Ireland Local Heroes award was presented to Londonderry based wrestler Mohammad Ali who has represented both GB and Northern Ireland on the international stage.

The 2009 Sports Awards welcomed over 400 guests including high profile stars from the world of local sport including former Northern Ireland footballers Pat Jennings and Gerry Armstrong, rugby stars Paddy Wallace, Tom Court, Darren Cave, Chris Henry and Rory Best. Former Ireland rugby players Mike Gibson, Willie Anderson, Trevor Ringland and Tyrone Howe, Jeremy Davidson, Keith Crossan and Nigel Carr and Simon Best. Stars from the motorbiking world included Eugene and Michael Laverty, Alistair Seeley, Ryan Farquhar, Jonathan Rea and NW200 Race Director Mervyn Whyte MBE.

Congratulating all the winners Belfast Telegraph editor Mike Gilson said: “The Belfast Telegraph is delighted to honour so many top sporting heroes at our annual awards and 2009 has undoubtedly been an outstanding year for local sports people both at home and abroad. The Belfast Telegraph would also like to pay tribute to our lead sponsor Magners Irish Cider as well as Sport Northern Ireland who have been a key supporter of the awards this year and of course all our category sponsors Linwoods, Disability Needs, ONE 1918 and NI Sports Forum.”

Paying tribute to all the winners and finalists Sports Minister, Nelson McCausland said, “I welcome this opportunity to celebrate Northern Ireland’s sporting talent – it is a fitting tribute to the hard work and dedication of all our sportsmen and women who are such great ambassadors for Northern Ireland.”

This is the eighth year that Magners Irish Cider has partnered the Awards as title sponsor and Nicola McCleery, Head of Marketing said: “At Magners we acknowledge the Sports Awards as a very special occasion which acknowledges the outstanding sporting achievements that have been attained over the last twelve months by so many of our talented sports men and women. Magners continues to play an important role within the Northern Ireland sporting arena and we’re delighted to partner the Belfast Telegraph as title sponsor and congratulate all the winners tonight.”

Sport Northern Ireland supporting this year’s awards programme and Chief Executive Eamonn McCartan said: “Sport Northern Ireland are delighted to support the Sports Awards again this year, as an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the wealth of sporting talent we have in Northern Ireland. We wish all nominees the best of luck and hope to see many more rising stars in the forthcoming year.”

Belfast Telegraph Sports Awards 2009

Wrestlers from 12 countries competed in the Commonwealth Wrestling Championships. Northern Ireland competitor Mark Montgomery entered at 96K and achieved 7th place, reaching his goal of a top 8 finish and was accompanied by the Scottish Squad.

Results: Male Freestyle

SILVER 84K Masoud Yosefi SCO
BRONZE 60K Viorel Etko SCO

Results: Female Freestyle

SILVER 67K Ashlea McManus SCO
SILVER 59K Louisa Salmon ENG
BRONZE 51K Donna Robertson SCO
BRONZE 55K Jane Clayson SCO

Competitors travelling to Jalandhar:

England

59K – Louisa Salmon
55K – Scott Gregory
120K – Chinu
Accompanied by Tony Phillips and Will Forbes

Northern Ireland

96K – Mark Montgomery
Accompanied by the Scottish Squad

Scotland

55K – Craig McKenna
60K – Viorel Etko
66K – Kieran Malone
74K – Sean Keogh
84K – Masoud Yosefi
48K – Fiona Robertson
51K – Donna Robertson
55K – Jayne Clason
59K – Kathryn Marsh
63K – Tracy Connell
67K – Ashlea McManus
72K – Sarah Jones

Accompanied by Head Coach Volodymyr Gladkov, Scottish Wrestling Association President Gerry Malone & John Keogh, Scotland’s Team Manager for Delhi 2010.

The annual tournament is organised by the Federacio Catalana de Lluita in Sant Adria del Besos and took place on the Saturday (14th November) attracted over 100 competitors from all regions of Spain and some wrestlers from France.

The competition was a very good standard and provided an excellent challenge for some of our less experienced international athletes with some good results.

The results are as follows:

Junior 55kgs – Craig McKenna ( Scotland) – 3rd place
Senior 60 kgs – Viroel Etko (Scotland) – 2nd place
Senior 60kgs – Scott Gregory (England) – 3rd place
Senior 74kgs – Kieran Malone (Scotland) – 4th place
Senior 84 kgs – Sean Keogh (Scotland) – Did not place
Senior 84kgs – Masoud Yosefi (Scotland) – 1st place
Senior 96kgs – Mark Montgomery (Northern Ireland) – 5th place
Senior 96kgs – David Sweeney (England) – 4th place

They were accompanied by National Coach, Mykola Kornieiev

Shaun Morley (British Team Performance Director) said “This tournament provided an excellent opportunity for some of our younger and less experienced international athletes to develop and experience quality international opposition. They equipped themselves very well with some excellent results and I am sure they gained a lot of confidence from the trip as we move into the new international season”

The Aghalee man finished in a highly creditable fifth place at the 2002 games in Manchester and he is aiming high again, only 18 months after taking advantage of Sport NI’s Talent Transfer Initiative and swapping his belt for wrestling garb.

Mark has come a long way in a short space of time and there was another long journey for him yesterday, leaving his home at 6.30am to head to India, via London, for this weekend’s Commonwealth Wrestling Championships, in a country that is mad about the sport. “Wrestling is the national sport of India and they were keen to host this tournament to have a dry run before the Commonwealth Games next year,” said Mark.

“The arena that will be hosting the wrestling isn’t ready yet, so they’ve moved the event to Jalandhar, in the Punjab region, which means an extra flight for me. “It’s an eight-hour flight from London to Delhi after a six-hour stop in London, so it will be some time on Tuesday that I arrive. “The capacity of the arena for the Commonwealth Games is 15,000 or 20,000 and it’s the first sport to sell out, so there will be a lot of interest in this championships”.

Having competed all over the world in judo, it was a change of direction from the sport’s top brass and an opportunistic wrestling chief that lead to Mark’s switch. “I had competed in north-America, south-America, Africa, Oceania and Europe,” he said.

“I was keen to continue to compete at a high level, but the Northern Ireland governing body for judo has taken its focus away from senior level teams. “I was approached by the chairman of Northern Ireland Wrestling Association and jumped at the chance to get involved in a new challenge.”

And he has taken to wrestling like the proverbial duck to water, with medals already added to his collection this year. “I took gold in the Scottish Open, gold in the Welsh Open, fifth place in Barcelona when representing Great Britian and a semi-final place at the British Open, which was the qualifying target set for next years Commonwealth Championships. “my target is to finish in the top eight and although that might not sound very high, in these Championships each country can enter two wrestlers per weight which means, whereas there is only one each in the Games so it has the potential to be twice as difficult.

“The tactical advice I receive from my coach John O’Rawe is magnificant. “As is the support package I receive from the Sports Institute of Northern Ireland [SINI] together with the ongoing support given by the Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games Council. “Lisburn City Council and local company Cage Wars have also been a great help in financing my preparations and attendance at these Championships.”

Sam Tufts, Norik Koczarian, Ali Maclean and Andrew Purssell won the coveted Irish Titles, Cameron Burns gained Silver, Mark Montgomery and Valeriy Stratulat each took a Bronze.

The impressive achievements gained by our athletes are not limited to Northern Ireland; they travel extensively to compete at British, European and international tournaments. Our club launched in September 2007 and already we can boast Irish, Welsh and Scottish champions, states John O’Rawe, National Coach NI.

We have three young athletes, whose profiles are gaining momentum, Cameron Burns from Newtownabbey, current Scottish Champion is the original Belfast Bull, first through the doors when the club opened and has maintained his commitment, regularly competing, home and away winning podium places. Andrew Purssell of Newtownabbey, ranked number one in Northern Ireland, supported by The Mary Peters Trust has proved himself more than capable of achieving excellent results, now boasting Welsh and Irish Titles and Sam Tufts of Carrickfergus, supported by Sport NI, is an athlete at the top of the Junior Field, securing a well deserved place on the GB Junior Team, and is currently preparing to compete at the XVII International Tournament in Barcelona on 14 November.

If you would like more information about Olympic Freestyle Wrestling, you can find us at The New Grove Wellbeing Centre, York Road, Belfast. Monday’s from 7pm – 8pm. Contact John O’Rawe, National Coach NI Tel: 07721 696413 or see website www.belfastbulls.org

Belfast Bulls wrestling club opens with dreams of Olympic gold

Coach John O’Rawe interview with Culture Northern Ireland reporter Sinead McNichol, Belfast Bulls Wrestling Club supported by the Belfast City Council held a Taster Event for Olympic Freestyle Wrestling at Loughside Recreation Centre on Saturday 8 September to promote the event, which begins regular training on Tuesday 11 September at the same venue.

Read About It!

Belfast Bulls wrestling club opens with dreams of Olympic gold, Reports Sinead McNicholl

Wrestling is one of the world’s best sports for overall physical development. Requiring not only strength but stamina, balance, speed and technique, it teaches its pupils important life lessons like self-reliance and self-discipline. Three wrestling clubs are currently in operation in the NI – the Knockagh club in Greenisland (known as The Raiders), the Larne Panthers and the Waterside Sharks.

Now a different form of wrestling is coming to Belfast, thanks to National Coach John O’Rawe. The former wrestling competitor has seized the opportunity to establish The Belfast Bulls, a freestyle wrestling club running from the Loughside Recreation Centre.

‘I decided that I was going to start the club here, in Belfast,’ confides O’Rawe. ‘I love this sport and I want to see it everywhere in Northern Ireland. I want a centre of excellence for wrestling. I want to see it in schools and I want freestyle wrestling on the TV.’

‘This is a real sport. The guys go out with the intention that they are going to win a match. They are not out there to jump over ropes, do somersaults and hit each other with chairs. They are using their techniques to gain and score points with the ultimate aim of getting a pin. There are a lot of rules such as no headlocks, chokeholds, pulling hair, no biting, punching or kicking.’

O’Rawe has been wrestling since the age of nine, catching the bug after watching professional British wrestlers compete on television. Arriving at his first lesson, he was surprised to find that freestyle wrestling didn’t involve a ring. ‘The disappointment didn’t last too long,’ O’Rawe fondly recalls. ‘I saw that the guys were still throwing each other around and I thought it was just fantastic. I thought “I’ll have a go at that”.’

O’Rawe has competed in America and had the chance to go into the ‘professional’ world, but ultimately chose to stick at what he knows and loves best – freestyle. His experience in America is the driving force behind O’Rawe’s ambition to promote the sport in NI.

‘The idea of being more competitive has come from America. I have brought their tactics with me and pass them on to every wrestler that I teach here. At the minute there isn’t enough wrestling in this country to raise the level, but by building more teams and developing more wrestlers in the country we can do that. Competing against each other will raise that level further.’

O’Rawe’s students benefit not only from his enthusiasm, but his life experience in the sport. O’Rawe has competed in local, national and international competitions, including the Commonwealth Games.

‘Walking around the stadium and hearing the crowds cheering was unbelievable. I have never had anything like that before. When you’re in a tournament that size and knowing that you’re going head-to-head against the world’s best, it is just awesome.

‘I want these youngsters to go through the ranks like I did. I want them to go to the Irish, Northern Irish and British championships and pick up medals, to work their way through and get themselves up to international standard and get to the Commonwealth Games. And if we get them the experience they could even make it to the Olympics.’

And with freestyle wrestling on the calendar of events for the 2012 Olympic Games, O’Rawe’s dream could yet become a reality.

For those interested in the sport, it is important to start at the beginning. Like any sport, freestyle wrestling demands high levels of self-discipline, but O’Rawe also stresses that wrestling has to be fun.

‘It would really mean something to me to see the kids learning a new move on the first night and walking away happy that they have learnt it. I have seen kids come in and their confidence has grown and seeing that is payment in itself.’

Mary Peters Award

Andrew Purssell attended a photo call with Dame Mary Peters on Sunday 5 July at the Mary Peters Track, Belfast.

Andrew, recently awarded £300 from the Mary Peters Trust proved his merit by achieving podium place, winning Silver at the British Junior Championships on Saturday 4 July in Alfreton, Derbyshire.

The Trust is the only Province-wide organisation which can assess sporting need and provide help to individuals from all recognized sports. It works alongside the Sport NI and, with the assistance of the Governing Bodies of Sport, makes financial awards towards approved out-of-pocket expenses.

John O’Rawe, National Coach NI, is the NI Wrestling Association’s Liaison Officer for The Mary Peters Trust, submitted a number of Award Applications on behalf of worthy athletes from clubs across the province.