ALTON – The Little Redbirds Wrestling Team is hosting a Mouse Race at The Alton Moose Lodge, located at 526 E Delmar Avenue in Godfrey, Dec. 5, doors opening at 6 p.m., race starting at 7.
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The wrestling team is a part of Illinois Kids Wrestling Federation.
Proceeds of the event benefit the youth wrestling team, a non-profit organization that was established nearly 20 years ago. The team is open to anyone in kindergarten through 8th grade, requiring no experience to join. The volunteer coachs, also former Alton High wrestlers, Dustin Logan and Joshua Skelton have a vast passion for the sport and enjoys teaching kids something that allows them to gain confidence and mentorship.
“For a lot of these boys, this is their only experience with an organized athletic team before getting into school sports,” said wrestling coach Joshua Skelton, who wrestled for six years growing up. “It is a good way for these kids to learn discipline and commitment, all while having fun and meeting new friends.”
Wrestling season spans from November to March each year. The team meets for practice at the high school twice a week and participates in roughly 25 tournaments throughout the region from Madison County to Chicago.
“Practices can get pretty intense,” said Skelton. “These boys work very hard conditioning and running through drills, outside of learning new moves and gaining experience on the mat.”
The club is funded purely from the parents’ pockets, donations and the team’s fundraising efforts. The coaches are hoping for a good turnout this weekend to make for an easier flow throughout the season.
“We’re raising money to purchase new gear like singlets, warm ups, back packs and other equipment and of course to lower the cost on parents when we travel to tournaments where we need to stay overnight,” said wrestling coach and former Alton High wrestler Dustin Logan. “The main goal is to make these kids the best that they can be and to do that we have to go where the best competition is.”
Since the organization is a non-profit, it is imperative to have successful fundraising efforts to keep the club alive. Supporters of The Little Redbirds Wrestling Team organized the mouse race this year for the community to come together, have a good time and support the team.
“We decided on the mouse race because we were looking to establish a fundraiser that we can use every year from here on out and do something different than our normal pizza sales and t-shirts,” said Logan. “The plan is to have one fundraiser that's makes enough money to use till next year.”
Tickets for the race is $20. Admission includes free beer and soda.
Community supporters also have the option to reserve a table of eight for $150. Businesses that wish to sponsor the event for $50 can name a race mouse and have their logo or advertisement of their choice displayed on the track. The deadline for sponsorship is Friday Dec. 4. Contact Danyelle Green at (618) 578-0968 or Dustin Logan at (636) 290-1469 for details.
“I highly encourage everyone, especially former wrestlers, to come out and help support the team,” said Skelton. “These boys work hard so we should too.”
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