Edward ‘Ted’ Thresher
Wrestling Builder - Inducted 2019
Ted was active with the Alberta Amateur Wrestling Association, starting in 1967, as a coach, official, administrator and event organizer. Ted was an outstanding national and FILA ranked official. He officiated at Nationals fourteen times and at Senior Nationals for eighteen years. He officiated internationally for thirteen years at forty-eight events, including five World Championships, three Pan American Games, and three Commonwealth Games. He also organized and co-chaired the wrestling portion of the 1978 Commonwealth Games. He was instrumental in the successful bid for Edmonton to host the 1982 World Wrestling Championships and served as the event’s executive director.
Ted attended his first international competition in Mexico City in 1972. He became an international official in 1975, and in 1977 he became a ‘FILA one’ official - next to the top level. Through the years, Ted officiated at more than 1000 international matches and travelled to events in Budapest, Dubrovnik, Stockholm, Edinburgh, Caracas, and Brisbane, as well as competitions held in the countries of France and the United States. Ted always took time to return to the roots of the sport. He officiated at many levels and conducted clinics for our national team as he prepared them for the World stage.
Ted’s ultimate goal was to become an Olympic official. He was ranked fourth among Canada’s officials, and at the time, only three were chosen. He made it to the 1976 Olympics in Montreal as a minor official and stated, “It was a privilege to be involved at almost any level.”
Through it all, he “had a sense of humour and kept things light, calm and focused on providing good officiating.”
Ted’s passion for wrestling first began after University in 1967, as he taught in the Edmonton Public School system at Garneau School. He attended many coaching clinics to better himself and soon his club was one of the top-two school-age wrestling clubs in Edmonton. He moved on to Harry Ainley Composite High School from 1974 to 1977. The wrestling program there supplied a large number of wrestlers to the University program. Along the way, Ted also coached provincial elite wrestling teams. In 1978, he restarted the wrestling program at Jasper Place Composite High School and was their coach for three years. He completed the last ten years of his career as an Adjunct Professor at MacEwan University.
Ted applied his administrative talents to the various wrestling associations. He served on the Edmonton Amateur Wrestling Association Board and then as their chairperson. He went on to serve on the Alberta Amateur Wrestling Board of Directors, the Alberta Amateur Officials Board of Directors, and the Edmonton Officials Association. He was on the Canadian Officials Board of Directors for eight years and served as their president in 1983/84.
For his contributions to wrestling, Ted Thresher was inducted into the Canadian Amateur Wrestling Association Hall of Fame on May 3, 2003.
