More than 200 wrestlers, coaches and guests are arriving in Haines for this weekend’s Region V wrestling tournament.
It’s the first time Haines has hosted the tournament in 12 years.
“In Southeast, not everyone gets to host every year. We’re one of those schools,” said coach Andus Hale.
Wrestlers from Juneau, Sitka, Skagway, Ketchikan and other communities will start weigh-ins at 3:30 p.m. on Friday and 7:30 a.m. on Saturday.
Hale said he’s looking forward to having a refreshed team of wrestlers to compete.
“For a school like us, Haines lives on the periphery and not towards the center of everything; our travel is so much more extensive,” he said.
For last weekend’s Viking Invite in Petersburg, the team left on a Wednesday and did not get back until Tuesday.
“That’s a long trip,” Hale said. “That’s huge. Not only does it take your practice time away – we find ways to practice, but it’s not quite the same – but there’s a real grind or fatigue with that travel. It’s a real thing.”
Hale said it will be a big advantage for Haines’ wrestlers to be refreshed and ready to go, as will the size of a hometown crowd. He’s optimistic that the team will send multiple wrestlers to the state championship in Anchorage on Dec. 20.
Hale said the wrestling team had planned to purchase new mats for the event and fundraised toward that goal over the summer. But, the mats they were looking at would have cost about $20,000 each and the school district did not have funds to contribute toward the goal.
“We were left with an option of just basically emptying everything – and we needed singlets – so, yeah emptying everything and not having any money for the singlets or all the travel we do,” he said.
So, they asked Skagway for help and the school ended up shipping loaner mats over to Haines on the ferry.
District staff said with coaches, wrestlers and chaperones they expect 237 people to arrive in town over the coming days, with most staying at the school.
Hale said he encourages people in the community to come out and enjoy the show.
“I think they’ll like it. And it’s also just nice to always support any endeavor that student athletes put their time into. It’s meaningful for them, so the community’s going to get something out of it,” he said.
For those who cannot make it into town, the event will be streamed on the NFHS network, a subscription service that streams high school sports.