New Zealand Wrestlers Compete- One team one dream

New Zealand Wrestlers Compete- One team one dream

Two hundred wrestlers from New Zealand, USA, Australia and American Samoa get ready to battle for wrestling glory next month.

The “Annual International Downunder Wrestling Challenge” has finally been brought to NZ and will be held at the North Shore Events Centre on the 3rd -4th July.

International Sports Specialists Inc (ISSI), founded in 1989 by sports -passionate New Zealander George O’Scanlon, is in partnership with Olympic Wrestling NZ to host the 17th annual Downunder Wrestling Tournament.

Two days of intense wrestling competition on six mats is going to provide a unique opportunity to watch superb athletes in competition.

This tournament provides a forum for athletes who excel in their sport to compete head to head in the sport they love. All of the athletes are aged between 16 and 20 years and have been individually selected to represent their country.

An American Samoa wrestling team are competing at Downunder for the first time.

American wrestlers from fifty states will be arriving at the beginning of July.

Gateway Regional High School USA freshman 106-pounder, Dante Mininno has been selected to take part in the 17th Annual Down Under Wrestling Meet this year. Mininno went into the individual postseason undefeated and won his first district title before finishing fourth in the region as a freshman at 106 pounds. He is planning to do everything he can to take part.
“ I’ll sell whatever, do whatever it takes,” said Mininno. “I was reading the results on-line from the last few years. There’s 128 wrestlers just from the United States. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I just want to get out there and wrestle.”

Matthew Oxenham is a New Zealand National Secondary School Wrestling title holder selected for Downunder. Oxenham explained. "I was really excited about the opportunity. I'm excited to see how I stack up with wrestlers from all over the world. I feel really honoured to be selected and look forward to representing my country .It's kind of nerve racking right now just thinking about it but I'm sure once I’m wrestling I will feel more at ease."
"I like that with wrestling, everything is all on me," Oxenham said. "I've got to do the work myself to have success and that helps motivate me to work harder."

‘Once you've wrestled, everything else in life is easy’. Dan Gable (Gable won a Gold Medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich Germany without surrendering a single point. The Soviets came to the Olympics with only one goal in mind: to defeat Gable. They were unsuccessful.)

This event is open to the public 3-4th July
8am to 2pm daily

North Shore Event Centre,
Argus Place,
Auckland 0627

Two day pass is $5.00.
Two day family pass is $10.00 (2+1)

Olympic Wrestling NZ

ENDS

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