Wrangell Parks and Recreation’s youth wrestling program is the department’s most popular and fastest-growing, but aging mats are weighing it down — and the department is asking the community for help.

“Our wrestling mats are so old and so heavy,” Parks and Recreation Coordinator Devyn Johnson said. “I’m not exactly sure how old they are, but they are decades old. These are the same ones that were here when I was a kid.”

“The youth wrestling program has grown so fast,” she said. “Last year we had more than 60 kids sign up, and we only had one coach with some parents helping out.”

The program is open to children in grades K-5. The season runs from January through March.

New mats are necessary because the old ones are difficult to move and store, Johnson said. “The old mats are heavy enough that we worry they might contribute to structural stress in the community center.”

The department has identified the mats it wants to buy.

“They’re like the ones at Petersburg. They are cut a certain way that makes them so much easier to store and move,” Johnson said. “But they cost $23,000, without shipping.”

To help cover the cost, the department has launched a 50-50 fundraising raffle. Tickets are $5 each. Johnson said the initial goal was to sell 400 tickets.

“We just started selling tickets on Wednesday (Nov. 5) and we’ve already sold 1,200,” she said. “So we want to keep this momentum going and see just how much we can raise.”

The drawing is planned for Dec. 19.

Johnson said she is applying for a First Bank Community Grant and welcomes leads on other grant opportunities.

“And if someone would like to donate for the wrestling mats without participating in the raffle, they can do that as well,” she said. “Donations can be accepted at wrangellrec.com. Tickets are available now at the Parks & Rec office.”