“I really enjoyed the face-paced beach wrestling rules. It was a fun experience with a feet-to-back being three points,” Providence C.I.T. Ferhat Akdemir said.
With beach wrestling rules, most matches lasted 90 seconds or less.
On Saturday, we saw high-powered throws, smooth takedowns, and a surplus of step-outs for multiple hours. However, the event was about much more than just high-level wrestling.
“I’m doing some background stuff on the computer, but other than that, this whole event is being run by our C.I.T.’s [Coaches in Training],” Poirier said. “These kids, now, are learning how to run events, coach wrestling, be leaders, and things like that. It’s been awesome [and] that’s what our program is all about.”
Echoing the sentiments of both Mayor Nicholson and Poirier, our C.I.T. ‘s from Boston and Providence thoroughly enjoyed the event that they all worked hard to plan and execute.
Our athletes handled everything from event setup and event teardown to refereeing and scorekeeping to concessions and merchandising.
At the end of the event, it was clear that many lessons were learned, particularly the power of teamwork.
“I learned that planning and running events like these take lots of time,” Boston C.I.T. Navid Hodjat said. But, also, [it takes] patience and willingness to work from everyone who helps out during the actual running of the event.”
“I learned that when we work together to make something happen, it’s a lot easier than being independent,” Boston C.I.T. Quinn Bowles said.
Others learned the importance of preparation.
“I learned that it’s important to learn everything you can before jumping into the activity,” Providence C.I.T Randy Garcia said.
“I learned that even when you think your plans are perfect, something will go wrong,” Boston C.I.T. Dante Shepherd said with a laugh.
Most of our C.I.T.’s even pulled double-duty, helping run the event and competing in the tournament as well.
