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The largest one-day elementary school wrestling tournament in Canada has been cancelled this year due to a lack of volunteers to run the event smoothly.

The annual Yukon Elementary Wrestling Championships were scheduled for April 11. But the event depended on the number of volunteers signed up to help run the day, Yukon Schools鈥� Athletic Association (YSAA) executive director Peter Grundmanis said.

A deadline of March 1 was set, he said, for their goal of 100 volunteers. But Grundmanis said they only received about 40-45 committed people and decided the growing event was too large to run with that small of a number.

Longtime organizer Ted Hup茅, the principal at Holy Family Elementary School, said the 2017 event saw a low volunteer threshold of about 50 helpers and it was clear then that the number needed to grow.

鈥淲e didn鈥檛 have enough volunteers to really do it well,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e pulled it off, but it wasn鈥檛 great.鈥�

Hup茅 said this year he worked with the YSAA to try and get an increase in volunteer numbers by putting a call out to every school community to get parent volunteers from each participating school.

鈥淲e couldn鈥檛 meet the threshold that we even had last year so it sort of fell apart,鈥� he said.

The 2017 edition of the tournament took place at the Canada Games Centre with 475 wrestlers signed up and over 1,225 matches.

Every Whitehorse school participated in the event as well as schools from Carcross, Dawson and Watson Lake.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 diminishing in popularity, it鈥檚 increasing in popularity and we need more and more people to do it safely,鈥� Grundmanis said of the amount of bodies required to pull off the day.

He explained with the amount of wrestling mats running matches at the same time, it takes about five to seven people working on each mat to help it run smoothly as well as volunteers to help with the setup and takedown of mats.

Grundmanis said the interest in the event from the kids鈥� perspective is only growing, as practices for the meet have already been happening across the city.

But he said that needs to be matched by the number of volunteers if the tournament hopes to make a return in 2019.

鈥淚t made parents and other interested wrestling supporters stand up and go 鈥榳e shouldn鈥檛 let it end, let鈥檚 make it continue,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not a forever decision, we鈥檒l see if we can get it moving forward.鈥�

Peter Harms, a retired Whitehorse teacher and currently the wrestling coach for Hidden Valley Elementary School, said it is unfortunate for the students that the event had to be cancelled.

鈥淚t鈥檚 extremely frustrating because face it, to be the largest wrestling elementary tournament in all of Canada 鈥� we鈥檙e the biggest in Canada. That is just cool and it鈥檚 gone,鈥� he said.

Harms said returning the tournament to a weekend could be a way to get more parent volunteers if the organizers continue to struggle to find the number needed.

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 slap the parents too hard because we have to be the most volunteering community around,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he sports in this town is unreal. People are volunteering for everything and anything all the time. I have no idea why this one fell through the cracks.鈥�

With the number of volunteers continuing to decrease, Hup茅 said as an organizer he takes responsibility for not getting the word out. But the tournament also needs help from the community if people want it to keep running.

鈥淧eople think it just happens,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut it doesn鈥檛 happen without a lot of background work and people helping behind the scenes.

鈥淚f this is something that people want, if it鈥檚 a worthwhile event, we鈥檒l get the people we need. We had it built, but we do need the volunteers to arrive.鈥�

Hup茅 said it takes 40 referees alone to run all of the mats required as well as scorekeepers, timers and marshals to ensure the athletes know where they need to be and when for the matches to run smoothly.

Hup茅 said he believes part of the reason volunteer numbers have dropped is lack of familiarity with the sport among parents, but he said there are roles that need to be filled that don鈥檛 involve significant knowledge of the rules.

鈥淚f we can get parents engaged, more alumni engaged, it will happen again. But it鈥檚 not something that can be done without a lot of people supporting it. We want to keep it safe and we want to keep it relevant,鈥� he said.

With the schools having already started wrestling practices, Hup茅 said all is not lost on the season.

They have resorted to a back-up plan with mini wrestling meets throughout April at various elementary schools in Whitehorse.

Golden Horn Elementary School will be hosting 脡cole Emilie-Tremblay on April 11 and Christ the King Elementary School will also be hosting Whitehorse Elementary School and Elijah Smith Elementary School on that day.

As well, Hup茅 said talks are in the works for a competition the week of April 16th with young wrestlers coming down from Haines Junction as well as athletes from the Yukon Montessori School for a meet at Holy Family.

After the modified season, Hup茅 said they will have a meeting to see what the response is and if the format was preferred.

鈥淚f the majority of schools like the format, then we鈥檒l have to change,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he one day event was a lot of fun, but it is scary. It is a lot of work.

鈥淲hat we鈥檙e trying to do is keep it going and hopefully next year we鈥檒l either do the same thing or come up with a different model. We need to satisfy the needs or capabilities of school communities.鈥�