The sports world is one full of sweat, energy, and contact. Even fans watching break out at the thought of their favorite teams losing! This competitive world thrives off the passion for these fun activities. Most sports require physical contact, and move too quickly for regular sanitizations. With a virus like COVID, being able to play your favorite sport has become harder. Temuulen Bolor-Erdene (9), a member of the wrestling team, understands the worry for sports facing these conditions and challenges.

   When considering the physical barriers, it gets difficult to play as much as usual. Though it’s his first year with the sport, Bolor-Erdene already sees that “it’s definitely exhausting, because wrestling is a sport where you have to use your entire body.” To wrestle in normal conditions is difficult enough. Now with the concern of potential sickness, it becomes tough to play without worrying about safety issues with your wrestling partner.

   However, regulations aren’t as detrimental to the sport as one might assume. There aren’t surefire ways to socially distance, as wrestling is a sport that revolves around close contact. Wearing a covering would limit the activity and amp up the already exhausting experience. “We don’t usually wear any masks or face protection,” Bolor-Erdene said, so the members of the wrestling team are “either tested regularly or have gotten vaccinated” for safety. Without those conditions strictly met, it’d be hard to maintain a relatively safe wrestling experience.

   Depending on how things play out in the future, the active nature of wrestling could be very much affected. Though there hasn’t been any report of plans for potential lockdowns that he can yet confirm, Mr. Cullinan, the wrestling team’s coach, explained that if more regulations come, they’ll abide by them and do what’s expected. With what they can control, however, they’re still going to “try and win under any circumstances that we can. The guidelines are in place for a reason, [and] we have a personal responsibility to make sure that we’re safe.” Mr. Cullinan has confidence that they’ll do well, for they have “a young team, but a mature team. We have a team that’s not afraid to scrap with anybody, and that goes a long way.” Even as things are tight, the team goes on strong.

   Though these safety concerns seemed troubling at first look, Bolor-Erdene was still determined to try the sport for a class and now loves it: “At first I thought that this sport would be difficult to get used to, since it’s the type of sport where you get really aggressive and wild, and I am for the most part on the more gentle side. But I actually managed to adapt relatively quickly to my new lifestyle.” With this confidence, he looks to continue later on even after the COVID situation settles. He has plans to keep wrestling even in his post-high school life, if he finds it in him. He expressed that it’s been a thrill of nervousness and excitement.

   Wrestling is one of the more underappreciated sports; its degree of recognition is much smaller than it deserves. The events take lots of energetic work and require lots of practice to perform in. Though their sport isn’t the most common, West’s wrestlers still work hard to make sure things are enjoyable for those invested. That means keeping up with regulations, taking regular checkups, staying diligent with protocols, and tons more. There’s a lot more to the sport than just sweaty dudes, headbutts, and John Cena, especially with our current circumstances.