Why Pink in 2011
Press Release – 1/7/2011
Highland Jr. Wrestling Battles Breast Cancer
What: Highland Youth Wrestling team wears pink and raises funds for breast cancer research.
When: Sunday, Jan. 23
Where: Highland Regional High School, 450 Erial Road, Blackwood NJ.
Time: Starts at 8 a.m.
Contact:
Tom Myers
609-617-7962
tmyers@highlandwrestling.com
More information: http://www.highlandwrestling.com/
Wrestling is often considered the toughest sport in the world. Wrestlers run for miles, endure hours of grueling practice in hot gymnasiums, and repeat drill after drill to hone the only piece of equipment they need: their own body.
Wrestling is also pretty tough for moms, sitting up in the bleachers week after week, hour after hour, cheering on their little dynamo down below on the mat. Some moms can fill the gymnasium with their voice and others have to pace back and forth in the hallway as their little ones duke it out on the mats. Some moms can’t watch at all, because they are collecting entry fees, selling 50/50 tickets, or trying to round up all the little tykes in the gym.
When one of our own Karen Prendergast, a woman who’s been with the Highland Junior Wrestling program for years, was afflicted with breast cancer this year, it made the whole team think about what we do every week, the sacrifices parents make, and whether we could make any difference. When trying to think of a theme, a slogan for our latest shirt, we though of all the typical “tough” words emblazoned across the back of most shirts, and decided to do something a little different. We decided to go pink.
This year, every wrestler on the team and almost all of their parents and supporters wear pink Highland Junior Wrestling shirts to every tournament and every match. Not only does it make us stand out, but it starts hundreds of conversations each week, with strangers and family members, about breast cancer and what they can do about it. We have become a visual reminder, every single weekend, about this pressing issue and are glad to turn heads for a good cause.
On Sunday, Jan. 23, Highland Junior Wrestling will host its annual youth wrestling tournament at Highland High School and we will have a representative from the Susan G. Komen Foundation there to hand out information and accept donations. We will also be selling shirts with proceeds going to the American Cancer Society.
Feel free to come by to see a lot of tough little kids, all in pink.
