Wrestlers returning to Rutland
Organizers trying to ring more out of popular shows that raise money for local charities
Directors of popular twice-yearly wrestling shows that have raised $100,000 for charity hope to expand their operations.
“We’re really trying to take this thing to the next level (and) give out more money,” Mike Chisholm of Invasion Wrestling said Tuesday. “Why can’t we turn this into a seven-figure fundraiser?”
Eight pro and amateur wrestlers, including American performer Billy Gunn and hometown favourites Cougar Meat and Shotgun Stevens, will grapple this Friday at Rutland Centennial Hall. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and bell time is 7:30 p.m.
“We are the most unique fundraising event in the Valley,” Chisholm said, describing the wrestling show as a fun night out for families.
While the wrestlers are paid for their participation, no one else associated with the event makes any money off it, Chisholm said. He and and friend Mike Rizzo, who created Invasion Wrestling in 2013, simply wanted it to be a vehicle to raise money for worthy causes.
The four charities to benefit from Invasion Wrestling this year are the Kelowna Family YMCA, the Okanagan Boys and Girls Club, the North Okanagan Neurological Association and Mamas for Mamas.
Based on past events, most of which have filled the hall to capacity, Chisholm expects Friday night’s wrestling match to generate about $20,000 total for the four charities.
Tickets are $15 or four for $50, available at the door or in advance at kelownainvasion.com. A similar show takes place Saturday at the Vernon Recreation Centre.
Friday’s wrestling show will be the first held at the hall since the floor was redone and the walls painted as part of a controversial plan to upgrade the 50-year old building.
The Rutland Park Society, which oversees the hall, has been riven with infighting over the past year, with a series of changes in the board of directors.
Directors and members have squabbled mainly about what to do with nearly $900,000 the society received from the City of Kelowna in exchange for giving up land for an extension of Shepherd Road.
An earlier board had plans to use the money basically as seed funding for an ambitious plan to completely rebuild the aging hall. But other society members favoured a relatively modest upgrade to the existing building.
Chisholm, who is not a member of the Rutland Park Society, said his understanding was that $100,000 has already been spent on upgrades to the hall’s audio-visual systems, along with painting and floor work.
“I know there’s been some tumultuous things going on” in the society, he said. “But we haven’t seen any of that. They’ve been so good to us.
“We’ve had groups in Kelowna try to steer us away from Rutland Centennial Hall because what we do is so awesome,” he said. “But we’re not going to move. We want to keep our shows in the hall moving forward. It’s legendary.”