Sasa go to schools to promote armwrestling
KUCHING: The Sarawak Arm wrestling Association (Sasa) are planning to go into all schools in the state to promote armwrestling.
“We want to develop armwrestling so we have to go to the grass roots. We need to teach them the proper ways to do armwrestling so that they don’t get injured.
“We need to get the armwrestlers started at a young age and the world champion Devon “No Limits” Larratt also took up the sport when he was a kid,” said Sasa president Matthew Dominic Barin yesterday.
The Sasa team and Laratt were at the State Sports School SMK Tabuan Jaya to introduce the sport to the students.
‘This is the first time in Sarawak and Malaysia that we are going into schools to promote the sport,” he said.
Matthew said for a start, Sasa are going into two schools in Kuching and hoping to identify new talents to be groomed and exposed to competitions in the effort to produce a future world champion.
“We are going to approach the Sarawak Education Department on our plan to set up armwrestling clubs in the schools.
“Sasa wants to see international pullers from Sarawak and also world champions in the future,” he added.
Meanwhile, more than 350 students from SMK Tabuan Jaya enjoyed the one- hour session on armwrestling conducted by Larratt and his team from Sasa.
Apart from briefing the students on the sport and applying the correct and powerful techniques on armwrestling, some of the students, teachers and even the school principal Edward Ngelai
This is the first time in Sarawak and Malaysia that we are going into schools to promote the sport. Matthew Dominic Barin, Sasa president
were engaged in an armwrestling competition and matches with Larratt.
“It was my pleasure and a great opportunity to come and share the sport with the youth of Sarawak.
“This is my first time here and in Canada, we try our armwrestling in schools all the time.
“This is the best place (school) to start when you are young and your body is growing. This is the best time to make changes for any sport,” said Larratt.
On his experience in Kuching, the 42-year old world champion from Ottawa, Canada said it was a great pleasure to get to know the local culture and try the local delicacies.
Larratt and the Sasa team later did a similar introductory session on armwrestling at SMK Batu Lintang school hall where more than 400 students, teachers and school principal Bahtiar Afandi were present.