​Add wrestling to BBEAL, please!

SINCE its inception about 25 years ago, the Baguio-Benguet Educational Athletic League or BBEAL has progressively added one contact sport after the other such as judo and wushu.

One ground sport though that has been in the Summer Olympics and all around the world for many generations now is yet to find its spot in our local tertiary sports events. I’m talking about the good ol’ wrestling.

In other countries such United States and Japan, collegiate wrestling is a highly-anticipated sport. To be named the Division Collegiate Wrestling Champion is like being branded one of the coolest, baddest dudes in the campus.

For the sake of those who post John Cena and Undertaker photos as their profile pictures, it’s not what you think it is. Sorry to break it but it’s different from the scripted, overly acted drama of two people body slamming each other in a four cornered ring. NO.

I’m taking about competitive collegiate wrestling where two people with the same weight take each other down the mat to earn points then controlling the person as you try to pin his shoulders down for a near fall.
You’re a MMA fan? Then you know Mark “Mugen” Streigle is one example of a badass wrastlur!

Actually, here in the highlands, we have our own version called ‘ginabbu’ or ‘dinnama’ or the highland wrestling.

Back when we were young boys, we would line up according to height (we don’t know the weight factor then) and try to pin each other to the ground and see who yields first. This is usually followed by ‘kinugtaran’ so as to find a way to make your opponent pay back! Ha!

As observed, the highlanders (no offense to others) have always excelled in contact sports probably because of the “ipapatik” spirit and the naturally high altitude that makes training more rigid.

BBEAL has produced wushu champions in the likes of now MMA sensation Eduard Folayang and Mark Ediva. Why not also develop wrestling and produce wrestlers capable of dominating the SEA games and the Olympics?

I dropped by at Sir Ed Laureano’s office sometime last week and he was actually also into the idea of adding it to the BBEAL games.

This skinny Igorot who ironically loves also to wrestle prays the other athletic heads of the BBEAL are thinking the same. I hope Sir Ed, this season’s BBEAL commissioner, will initiate a move to make this happen.

I am optimistic that the IOC will hear the world and retain wrestling in the Olympics which, in my point of view, is better than golf and curling because some Cordillerans are in the making of dominating the sport. Period!*