Right now, in a building at Design Works Centre in Grande Prairie, some of the best young wrestlers in Canada are on the mat.
The 2026 Canadian Wrestling Championships landed at the Design Works Centre on Friday and run through tomorrow, April 26. Nearly 900 athletes, coaches, and officials made the trip to northern Alberta representing every province and territory except Nunavut. Among them are 154 Alberta wrestlers, including eight from the host Grande Prairie Wrestling Club competing in front of their own city.
Competition runs from 9 a.m. each day. Finals are a spectacle a march-in for finalists is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. today and tomorrow. Tickets are available at the door.
Who's Competing and What's at Stake
The championships cover U15, U17, and U19 divisions across four disciplines: Men's Freestyle, Men's Greco-Roman, Women's Wrestling, and Women's Greco-Roman. There are 12 weight classes per age group per discipline meaning hundreds of individual national titles up for grabs over three days.
The field isn't just regionally competitive. Several athletes arriving in Grande Prairie came straight off international podiums. Uday Billen of Surrey, B.C. competing U19 at 125kg just won his second consecutive silver medal at the U17 Pan-American Championships in Panama. Tyler Langford of Saskatoon, also a Pan-Am silver medallist, is on the mat at 92kg in the U19 category. Gurleen Dhillon of Surrey, fresh off her own Pan-Am silver, competes in the women's U17 57kg class.
For Jaren Alaimoana of Grande Prairie, the stakes are personal. The hometown athlete has already earned national silver at the 2024 championships as a U17 and again at the 2025 event as a cadet. This weekend he's competing in front of the city that watched him develop.
Grande Prairie's Moment
This is the third time Alberta has hosted the national youth wrestling championships. Last year the event was held at Tsuut'ina Nation and drew the largest field in the championship's history. Grande Prairie now picks up that momentum.
The province contributed $58,800 through its Major Sport Events grant program to bring the event north. The championships are projected to generate more than $1.2 million in economic impact for the region as competitors and their families fill the city's hotels, restaurants, and attractions for the weekend.
The event is also being streamed live on FloWrestling for anyone who can't make it to the Design Works Centre in person.
Sources:
Government of Alberta News Release, April 23, 2026 — alberta.ca Wrestling Canada Lutte — wrestling.ca Grande Prairie Sport Hosting Society — gpshs.ca Major Sport Events Grant Program — alberta.ca/major-sport-events-grant
