Raj with co-coach Ashley Topnik at Summer Games training camp.
A selection of elite Fraser Valley wrestlers will be traveling to Nanaimo this week to participate in the 2014 BC Summer Games, and they’ll be bringing a potent weapon in coach Raj Virdi — a Canadian wrestling champion turned UFV varsity coach. Virdi, who co-coaches the UFV CIS wrestling program alongside Arjan Bhullar, is this year’s choice to lead the Fraser Valley zone contingent in the Games, his first such selection in his coaching career.
“It’s going be a good experience because I’m going to get in touch with a lot of the best female and male athletes in the Fraser Valley,” said Virdi. “These athletes have been working very hard in the last couple weeks, and I am sure that they will excel in the Summer Games.”
Virdi is very excited by the opportunity, especially because it will allow him to hone his skills coaching high-level female wrestling. “I’ve worked with the kids individually before, but now we’re working as a team,” said Virdi. “I’m very proud of the athletes and the excellence they’ve shown in reaching this level of competition. I am very excited about the growth of wrestling in the Valley, and as we develop a new generation of elite wrestlers in the area I can’t help but be very positive about the future of UFV’s wrestling program as well!”
Virdi is a former member of the Canadian national team, a recipient of many international medals, and a former CIS Rookie of the Year, individual champion, and three-time All-Canadian.
The 2014 BC Summer Games will be hosted in Nanaimo from July 17-20, and will involve as many as 2,914 athletes between the ages of 10 and 19 as well as almost 600 coaches. Participants will compete for one of eight geographic ‘zones’ in these 29th annual Summer Games, which are jointly funded by the BC government and the municipality of Nanaimo.
More information about the Games can be found at www.bcgames.org/Home.aspx
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