Lambs to the Slaughter

At this very moment a potential wrestler may be panicking. What seemed a good idea at the time, when his smirking-behind-the-hand “friends” said he was the very man to represent Boggerthwaite Young Farmers' Club in the wrestling at the North Cumbria Rally, and he foolhardily agreed, now seems more akin to a suicide pact.

“Never mind, you'll get a point for taking part” seems less than reassuring. Knowing the rules would help; and what sort of mask should he wear?

The Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling at the North Cumbria YFC Field Day does have its share of lambs going to the slaughter, just as it has its share of top wrestlers such as Richard Fox and John Harrington, but the majority of those taking part know enough to get by and are hardened by an active and physical lifestyle. Every year produces novice wrestlers who have natural aptitude and a flair for wrestling but whose real interests are ploughing or lace-making and they never wrestle again till the next year's Field Day.

But, every now and then a genuine wrestler such as Heavyweight Carl Clark is found, who goes on to train and compete over many years.

Tomorrow, at The Howes Farm, Ivegill wrestling takes its place amongst the stock-judging, flower arranging, quad-bike driving, dancing, running and so on, which make up the magical mix which is a Young Farmers' Club Field Day.

Once upon a time the nearest a Carlisle wrestler would get to international competition would be to travel South of Shap. Now the influence of other countries, especially Brittany, is a natural part of the wrestling scene each year. Organisation is in hand to bring the best young traditional wrestlers from nine countries to compete in Cumbria in the European Espoirs Championships in October. The Breton town of Carhaix is proposing to give two thousand Euros travel subsidy to our wrestlers if we take ten lads and three girls minimum to compete in the Breton Backhold Championships next February; and an e-mail this morning from the Gouren President, Jean-François Hubert, urgently requests details of our wrestling calendar so that groups of Breton wrestlers can come over to compete in our style.

A calendar of events is a tricky beast because all the events affiliated to the Wrestling Association are fairly autonomous and at different stages of preparation. Board Member Linda Scott, in conjunction with Alf Harrington, is preparing a handbook for members with will include a comprehensive list of events from May to October. Wrestlers and fans are urged to become members to further the work of the Cumberland and Westmorland Wrestling Association, and in the case of wrestlers to give them a vote in the election of an active wrestler to represent them on the Governing Board.

(Roger Robson is Author of the book 'Cumberland & Westmorland Wrestling' published by Bookcase 1999 )