Another activity you can add to your sports agenda this summer is the American Samoa Amateur Wrestling Association (ASAWA) summer program that is being held in partnership with the Department of Parks and Recreation. The President of ASAWA Ethan Lake stated that they have wrestling practice Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. He said they will accept anyone who wants to learn the fine art of wrestling, but they are mainly concentrating on the younger kids who want to come out — because that is where they will lay the foundation for the future of the sport in American Samoa.

Right now they are training four local athletes who will attend the Youth Olympic Games, which will be held this August in China. Also training at the facility, which is located next to Nu’uuli VocTech High School, are wrestlers that will be attending college on scholarships according to Lake.

Look for more stories on the YOG wrestlers, the scholarship recipients and other prominent youth wrestlers in future Samoa News sport editions.

The daily training sessions are from 8:00 a.m.- 12:00 p.m. for the first session while the second session is from 12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Seen here is one of the coaches, Coach Zena Iese showing two young wrestlers pinning combinations.