The Whidbey Wildcat Youth Wrestling Program is off to a great start with a dedicated cadre of coaches, board of advisors and parent volunteers. The program is open to anyone interested in wrestling and approximately 40 young gentlemen from the ages of 5 to 14 can be found working out three to four times a week each evening in the Oak Harbor High School mat room.

We are incredibly blessed with outstanding support from the Oak Harbor business community. Donations from these fine establishments help to keep fees affordable and make the sport accessible to as many young athletes as possible. The financial support is directly invested back into the club, and covers everything from the fees we pay to the Western Washington sanctioning organization to the cleaning supplies used to sanitize the mats before and after practice.

As parents and participants dedicated to seeing this young team grow, direct benefits are reaped by our young athletes. They are learning life lessons that include dedication, hard work, self-discipline, humility and commitment. The opportunity to participate keeps them off the streets and devoted to more productive pursuits.

We would like to publicly recognize and thank all contributing businesses for their support and commitments to our youth and the sport of wrestling. Tony Maggio from Tony’s Paints has spearheaded the fund-raising efforts and in addition to him, we are deeply grateful to the following businesses: Flyers Restaurant and Brewery, Lumberman’s, the Pizza Factory, The BBQ Joint, Mann’s Roofing, P.J. Lang’s, BroadView Appliance, People’s Bank, Diamond Rental, Frank’s Place, Northwest Mini-Storage, Fakkema’s Westgate Homes and RV Center.

We invite everyone to support Whidbey Wildcat Youth Wrestling and come to our tournaments and matches.

Martin L. Martinez

president, Whidbey Wildcat Youth Wrestling