Steve Thorpe has been a major player in Oregon wrestling for years, but now he has a voice on the national level as well.
Thorpe, who has chaired the Oregon Wrestling Association since 2011, was recently voted chair of USA Wrestling’s western region, encompassing 11 states including Alaska and Hawaii. That position also give his a seat on the Junior Olympics committee.
“The opportunities this creates, I’m a voice now and a voter for wrestling decisions being made here in the United States, not just in Oregon, not just in our region. A lot of responsibility comes with that, but I’m very excited about it,” Thorpe said.
The volunteer position has demands – “It takes a bit of work on conference calls and stuff like that,” Thorpe said.
Thorpe’s father, Wayne Thorpe, was one of the founders of the Sweet Home Mat Club and Thorpe has coached at Sweet Home for 26 years, 21 as head coach.
“It’s kind of cool that I grew up in USA Wrestling and now I get to be on the board,” he said. “It will help me grow the sport of wrestling in Oregon and meet people.”
Oregon wrestling had 3,600 members in 2011; now it has 7,000, making it the sixth-largest state organization in the nation, Thorpe said. Part of that was making membership more affordable and getting high schoolers involved.
“We’re doing it by creating a better product than anybody else,” he said. “We’re promoting and creating excitement about it.
“It’s exciting to me. I don’t just sit and watch things happen. I get to be part of decisions being made.”