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The Duke's Cup took place January 11th ath BC Regiment Drill Hall, and was recently featured in the BCR Army News!
"In 2018, the BCR grappling team started a relationship with the BC High School Wrestling Association and conducted some coaching exchanges in order to develop both our grapplers and local wrestlers. At that time, friend of the Regiment and President of the High School Wrestling Association Mike Roselli proposed that a multi-team wrestling tournament could be held at the BCR Drill Hall. In January 2019, the first Duke's Cup High school wrestling tournament was hosted by the BCR grappling team at the Drill Hall and the "Vancouver Island All Star'' team took the cup. The event was a hit and a regular tournament was born. Plans for the following year were set in motion immediately.
2020 saw a more ambitious plan to include even more competitors, but unfortunately extreme weather led to ferry cancellations that prevented the Island teams from participating. Despite this setback, the competition was well attended with 100+ wrestlers hitting the mats on 11 January 2020 for a round robin tournament. Adapting quickly, coaches broke their athletes up to create 4 competitive teams. After numerous intense matches in all weight classes and some impressive reversals, the scores were tallied with the "Vancouver/North Shore All Star Team" taking the Duke's Cup.
This year was special in that the "Cpl Allard Trophy" was awarded for the first time. The trophy was created in memory of the BCR grappling team's first coach and fellow Duke Cpl Cody Allard who was tragically killed in a motorcycle crash in August 2019. Cpl Allard led the BCR grappling team to multiple gold medals in their first competition at Ex RELENTLESS WARRIOR 2018 and exemplified the warrior spirit. The Allard trophy is an individual award for the wrestler who demonstrates the best warrior spirit during the competition and is selected by a committee of the coaches and referees. The first winner of the Allard trophy was J.P. Cooper of Vancouver College - he demonstrated outstanding aggression, sportsmanship and leadership on and off the mat and finished with a record of 4 wins and no losses.
Once again, the event was well received and competitors got an opportunity to explore the history of the Drill Hall during their down time. The British Columbia Regiment (DCO) is looking forward to hosting this worthy competition for years to come. Up the Dukes! "
Write up above taken directly from BCR News- see the article by clicking on the link below!