The wrestling mat will be filled with young and old at a special exhibition at Rugby’s Charles Hanneman Gymnasium on Saturday, April 3, as part of a fundraiser to establish a wrestling club.

Of course Michael Ostrem, one of the tournament organizers, knows he has to be careful throwing around the term “old.”

“We’ll have some wrestlers pushing 40,” quipped Ostrem, who is a junior in high school. “I guess, to me, that’s old.”

Twenty adults have registered to take part in an old-timers exhibition today, beginning at 11 a.m. “We were hoping to get 15, and to have 20 pre-register is great,’ Ostrem said. “And we know we will have a few more register at the meet.”

All kidding aside, Ostrem knows these guys, who may be past their prime, still have moves and will put on a good show.

“It’s just something different and hopefully will be entertaining,’ he said. “It’s been done in other towns.”

Any wrestler who is at least out of high school and has not wrestled competitvely in the past six months is eligible to participate.

The event is also tied in with a peewee youth wrestling dual tournament which will feature Rugby, Carrington and Belcourt.

Money raised from the registration fees, admission and concession sales will go to forming the wrestling club.

The club is going to serve, in large part, as a feeder program for the high school program. Other towns across the state have clubs which hold regular practices and go to meets.