The Lethbridge Amateur Wrestling Association has received a $12,275 grant from KidSport. (Photo provided by the Lethbridge Amateur Wrestling Association)

By Justin Goulet

Lethbridge Amateur Wrestling Association receives important KidSport funding

Oct 12, 2022 | 9:45 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – A local wrestling organization has received a special grant.

The Lethbridge Amateur Wrestling Association (LAWA) has gotten $12,275 from KidSport through the Return to Play Grant program. The funding will help LAWA provide programming in the sport of amateur wrestling for all children in the community, aged five to 18, at an affordable rate.

In a release, LAWA stated that without this funding, “it is believed that the cost to run the programs would cause the cost of entry to exceed most families’ financial threshold, making it unsustainable.”

As noted by the Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities’ Jumpstart State of Sport Report from March 2022, one in three children are out of organized sport with cost as the primary barrier. On average, revenue is down 37% for grassroots organizations, according to the report, and 75% of community sport organizations say costs to run programs have gone up.

LAWA President Riley Ellis-Toddington said, “KidSport has helped us keep wrestling affordable.”

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“LAWA is a 35-year running non-for-profit organization that has always provided programs at the lowest costs possible to our community to ensure everyone has the opportunity to take part in our great sport.”

Ellis-Toddington noted that it has become increasingly difficult each year as costs have risen, “however, thanks to the financial support provided by KidSport, LAWA can ensure that everyone who wishes to may continue to participate in wrestling.”

More on the programs offered by LAWA is available at the not-for-profit’s Facebook page. Anyone interested in signing up for one of LAWA’s programs can email lethbridgewrestling@gmail.com.

KidSport helps remove the financial barriers that prevent children from playing organized sports. The organization helps with registration fees and sport equipment to individuals aged 18 and under. It provides grants to children from coast to coast. Since its launch in 1993, over 530,000 kids across Canada have benefited from the work of KidSport. There are over 175 community chapters in Canada.

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