The University of Regina says it tossed its old wrestling trophies in the trash because it needed to make room for construction.
Former wrestlers at the school say they feel disrespected after two MVP trophies, multiple plaques and several Saskatchewan Amateur Wrestling Association medals where found in the junk.
Harold Riemer, the university’s dean of kinesiology and health studies, says the mementos sat in the office of a former assistant coach for a full year after the wrestling program was cut in 2018.
The school says it asked the coach several times to pick them up, but that never happened.
A former wrestler at the school Dane Bueckert denies that claim, saying he spoke to the coach and was told he “was never notified to claim them.”
The university needed to clear the space for construction and a decision was made to throw out the awards.
Riemer says all of the information from the old MVP trophies, including the names of the wrestlers, was transferred to newer plaques in 2008.
“If you’ve been on this campus, space is extremely tight. We have, in this building, very, very little storage space and any storage space we have is effectively full right now,” Riemer said.
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“To keep personal belongings on the hope that someone, someday, is going to come and grab those personal belongings I don’t think is being a good steward of this space.”
Wrestler Jordan Tholl move said it’s another insult to the sport one year after the university cut the team.
“It’s just more insult to injury. Throughout the whole process, none of the athletes really felt like they were respected,” said Tholl, who added that the wrestler who discovered the trophies in the trash found a home for them with the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame.
“They’re happy to take them in, so that’s how easy that would have been rather than throwing them in the trash and being disrespectful.”
Riemer said the school didn’t consider donating the trophies to the hall of fame or having them reused in some way.
He noted that when the new plaques were created in 2008, the old trophies were given to coaches to decide what to do with them.
“If they want to give it to their athletes, they’re more than welcome to? They had 11 years to give it to somebody,” Riemer said.
“To be clear, the award hasn’t disappeared. The emblem of that award has changed.”
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