R.F. Staples School wrestler Haley Heffel competed at the Juvenile Women’s 65-kilogram division at the World Cadets Juvenile Games in Serbia on Aug. 19-24.
Heffel earned an 11th-place finish after one match at the tournament in Zrenjanin, Serbia on Aug. 22.
“It was kind of unfortunate, but I think I did well under the circumstances,” Heffel said.
Heffel typically competes in the under-65-kg division, and spends roughly 15 hours a week training (without including weight training) with wrestling clubs at the University of Alberta and R.F. Staples School.
However, she had to cut down to 60 kg to compete at the Canada Summer Games in Sherbrooke, Que. between Aug. 2-4.
She returned with a silver medal and tried to bulk up again while training for Worlds.
“I lost weight for the Canada Games, and I didn’t put the weight back on,” she added with a giggle.
“I weighed in and I was almost eight kilos under everybody else, so that kind of sucked.”
In order to prepare for the worlds, Heffel’s coach conducted one-on-one training for a week before her departure. Heffel was thankful for the support everybody in the community offered before, during and after the competition.
“I really enjoyed representing Canada,” she said. “It was pretty cool.”
The single-elimination tournament may have forced Heffel out of the competition early, but it didn’t stop the teen athlete from soaking up wrestling techniques from her peers.
“I took so much from it,” she said. “Being in the international competition, it was a really good stepping stone for the years to come, especially if I make national teams or if I compete at international tournaments again. It just felt really cool to represent Canada.”
The lessons Heffel grappled with took place on and off the wrestling mats.
“Serbia is a very poor country because of all the wars that have happened in it,” she explained.
“That kind of shook me a little bit because when I picture Europe in my head, or in the photos you see of it, I always pictured super, nice countryside and old fashioned towns.
“But in Serbia — it’s all buildings that are falling down or they have no windows because they haven’t been completed. It was an eye opener.”
