Practise roll tweaks back to put championship in doubt

Despite getting injured mere minutes before her gold-medal match, Daley Forbes was able to persevere and win yet another Canadian wrestling championship.
Forbes, an 18-year-old who lives in Port Alberni, B.C., captured the gold medal in the juvenile girls’ 75-kilogram category at the nationals, which concluded April 14 in Fredericton, N.B. For Forbes, a member of the Hesquiaht First Nation, this marked the third straight year she won a Canadian title.

The juvenile grouping is for those aged 17 and 18. Forbes also won the national juvenile division at the 2011 Canadian tournament in Windsor, Ont. She won her first national crown at the Canadian cadets (15- and 16-year-olds) in 2010 in Burnaby, B.C.

Forbes, who represents the Alberni Valley Wrestling Club (AVWC), was one of seven competitors entered in her weight class in Fredericton. And she advanced to the gold-medal bout by easily winning her first two matches.
The chances of Forbes winning another national crown, however, were dealt a blow when she suffered an injury about 20 minutes before the final.

Forbes was practising a routine dive roll by herself when she injured her back.

“I hobbled over to my coach and he told me to stretch it out,” Forbes said.

Though her back was still bugging her as the gold-medal bout was about to commence, Forbes said the thought of forfeiting the match did not cross her mind.

Forbes’ championship final was against Kyla Litmola, a member of the Matmen Wrestling Club located in Brampton, Ont. AVWC coach James Messenger was concerned for his athlete when early on in the first round Litmola managed to take Forbes down onto her back, scoring three points.

Messenger, who has coached Forbes since 2007, said such a move against his wrestler is a rarity.

“I don’t know the last time she has been taken down for three points,” Messenger said.

Though she was trailing after that initial two-minute round, Forbes battled on. She managed to score more points than Litmola in the second round. And then she emerged victorious by pinning Litmola during the third and final round.

Throughout the bout Forbes knew she was still injured.
“I put it out of my mind,” she said of her injured back. “I don’t even remember feeling it at all.”

Forbes, however, was still feeling sore, even after returning home to Port Alberni.

“It hurts when I’m standing up and I can’t walk properly,” said Forbes, adding she was contemplating whether to have her back looked at by a doctor.

Despite the fact she already had two national titles to her credit, Forbes said her latest championship is the most meaningful one for her.

“I think it means more because it’s my senior year,” said Forbes, a Grade 12 student who is graduating this spring from Alberni District Secondary School.

Messenger wasn’t surprised to see Forbes register some more impressive results at the Canadian tournament.
“Daley has been a really competitive performer for our club at nationals,” he said.

Besides her three consecutive gold medals, Forbes also won a silver medal at the 2009 cadet nationals.
But Messenger said predicting success for Forbes - or any of his athletes - would have been difficult before they actually arrived in Fredericton.

“You never know until you get there and get rolling and you see your competition,” he said.

Forbes was also obviously hoping for another medal-winning effort.

“I was fairly confident,” she said. “But I was more nervous because it was my last chance (in this age grouping).”

Earlier this year Forbes had also concluded her high school wrestling career in style. She captured the gold medal in the girls’ 75-kilogram class at the B.C. high school tournament, staged Feb. 23 to 25 in Penticton.
There were 14 competitors in Forbes’ division at the provincial meet. She won all seven of her matches at that event. And though she had won national titles before, this marked the first time Forbes was able to win a gold medal at the provincial high school finals.

She did own a pair of silver medals from previous provincials. She was the runner-up in her category at both the 2009 and 2011 high school tournaments.

Forbes’ victory at the B.C. championships also helped Alberni District place first over-all in the team standings.
Besides finishing up her high school studies, Forbes now has to seriously start thinking about her future.

“She’s got to figure that out - what she wants to do with her wrestling career and her education,” Messenger said.
Forbes said her first choice is to stay in her home province and attend Simon Fraser University (SFU). The school’s wrestling coach has expressed plenty of interest in having her on the school team.

But since she is missing a Science credit, Forbes said she might enrol at Douglas College in B.C. before possibly transferring to SFU after one semester.

”I want to study kinesiology and then move up and get a physiotherapy degree,” she added.