Sports Former Douglas grad going to Beijing By Garth McLennan, Sports Editor Garth McLennan sports editor B orn in Port Alberni, 27-year old Travis Cross is heading to China for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games to compete in freestyle wrestling. This is his first time to the Olympics, and it is like living the dream for the former Douglas College grad. In a recent interview with The Other Press, Cross answered immediately when asked what it felt like to represent Canada as an Olympian. “You know, wrestling in the Olympics has been a dream of mine for 17 years. I’m just so proud to represent my country for the Olympic Games. It’s really not only representing my country, but also wrestling for my team and my hometown of Port Alberni. The people back home have given me tremendous support.” Cross said. When asked if he was nervous.about the Olympics, which begins August 7th and wraps up on August 21st, Cross answers with a laugh. “I get that question all the time,” he says. “I’m not really nervous right now, but I know for sure that I will be when I get over there and everything starts getting more real. I have to look at it like being any other wrestling tournament and try my best to keep the nerves under control.” After pausing for a few moments, he says, “Being a little bit nervous is okay though.” Travis Cross attended Douglas College in 2002 and 2003 and was very successful, both academically and in wrestling. He won the National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) national championship both years and was named the outstanding wrestler both years as well. During his time with Douglas, Cross racked up a number of impressive victories, including wins at the Calgary, Edmonton, Washington and Oregon open tournaments. He also completed his diploma in both commerce and business administration. Cross was named Douglas College’s outstanding athlete both years he was here, and he names those honors, along with his NCWA college national championships, his most memorable highlights during his time at Douglas. “I would definitely say winning the NCWA college nationals is my Douglas highlight. We were the only Canadian school to enter the competition and the fact that we won, it was amazing.” Cross grew up playing hockey, but made the switch to wrestling full time when he was ten year old. “I played hockey from around the time I was five to ten. I started to wrestle in Grade seven, and I was only about 35 kilograms (77 lbs) and so my wresling manager at the school convinced me to wrestle instead because it would be more suited to my frame. That’s how I got started,” Cross says. Today, Cross weighs in at 198 pounds and stands an impressive 6’6”. While wresting has given him a lot physically, it has also allowed him to realize other dreams as well. “I’m very happy to realize my dream and compete for Canada over there at the Olympics. Wrestling has been good to me athletics-wise but is has also supported me in realizing my career dream of becoming a firefighter. It helped me go to college financially.” “T’ve always had firefighting in the back of my mind. Since I finished my diploma in business, I’d been talking 16 about it with different people and asking around. Eventually I went down to the Justice Institute and really pursued it. Pretty soon I got a job back home in Port Alberni,” Cross says when asked about his path to becoming a firefighter. When asked about how he manages his extensive wrestling schedule with such a demanding career, Cross spoke very appreciatively about how generous the Port Alberni Fire Department and his union have been. “They have been extremely supportive because I’m traveling all the time. Actually, in the last six months I haven’t been working, but my employers—the fire department— got together with the firefighters union and have given me three months of wages so I can focus on just being a wrestler. At the Olympics, I’ll be competing against guys that have complete funding and don’t have to worry about anything else. All they do is wrestle, so I have to try and mirror that the best I can,” Cross says. The City of Port Alberni is fully behind Cross. When commuting between Burnaby and Port Alberni began to become a burden for Cross, the Port Alberni community put on massive fundraisers to raise money for Cross to train at home. A number of local businesses, clubs, restaurants, family, friends and sponsors helped raise the money. They even created a t-shirt that showed Cross wrestling a panda bear in front of the Great Wall of China. Port Alberni is still firmly behind him, and Cross hasn’t lost touch with his roots. Born and raised in Port Alberni, Cross married his high school sweetheart, Melissa. Together they had a son, Nicholas, and moved into his childhood home. “I still compete for the Burnaby Mountain wrestling club,” Cross says. “Dave McKay, who taught at Douglas College and was the wrestling coach there for years, is now the head coach of the Canadian Olympic team. He actually coached Daniel Igali [who won gold for Canada at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney] for eight years and has been the Canadian Olympic coach for the last three Olympics, so onl bab LLTE I’ve had some pretty good coaching throughout.” Cross joined Canada’s national team in 2001. But even before that, he has enjoyed an incredible amount of success. During his high school tenure at Port Alberni Secondary, Cross was a two time B.C. high school wrestling champion. Shortly after that, he was a junior silver medal winner at the 1999 nationals. In 2004, he finished second at the national championships. Since then, he has won the event every year. However, he names qualifying for the Olympics at the 2007 World Championships, where he finished eighth, as the highlight of his wrestling career. Cross knows there is more to life than wrestling, though. “It’s really nice to have other things in my life, like my diploma. It’s good to have a balance in my life.”