NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- An exciting new event is hitting the sand at Ocean View Fishing Pier this weekend that the entire family can enjoy.
The inaugural Joe Boone Beach Wrestling Extravaganza will take place at the pier Friday through Sunday. Anybody can compete in the beach wrestling event with weigh-ins and registration on Friday from 6:00 PM- 8:00 PM and a bulk of the wrestling on Saturday.
"Action-packed action," said Frank Lipoli, one of the founders of the Joe Boone Extravaganza. "The sand will be flying, the feet will be flying. It's a very fast pace."
"We're a wrestling community," added Deep Creek head coach Travis Ferguson. "We have a different bond, so this is our first opportunity to have a cool preseason kickoff for the whole Hampton Roads wrestling community."
Beach wrestling features two competitors in a circle with the first to reach three points claiming victory. Wrestlers earn a point when they take their opponents down. If a wrestler hits his/her back, the match is over. Lipoli says there will be divisions at every level- elementary school, middle and high school, an open division and masters.
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Beach wrestling sweeps into Hampton Roads
The event will honor the late Joe Boone, who was a standout wrestler at Granby High School and went on to wrestle in college at the University of Oklahoma. Boone lost his first high school wrestling match, but that would be the only defeat he would suffer at Granby, going on to claim three state titles. He coached collegiately at Tennessee.
It will be a weekend that features fun for the entire family. A bounce-house and activities will be on-site for the kids on Saturday, the same day organizers will hold a school supply drive. A fishing tournament will be held on Sunday, which is $50 to enter and will last from 9:00 AM-3:00 PM. There will be trophies and cash prizes for the winners in the men's and women's division.
Lipoli says that beach wrestling could be the next Olympic sport and it's an activity that's growing in Hampton Roads. More events are planned for the area in the near future.
