Hall of Fame
Paul Hughes is the most decorated wrestler York University has ever produced and his induction into the Sport Hall of Fame this year shines a light on a golden era for the sport at the institution.
A fan of sports but small at the age of 14, Hughes gave wrestling a try and loved it immediately. A few years later John Park, his club coach, became the head coach of York’s varsity program and brought Hughes with him. For Hughes, the ability to study and continue wrestling close to home held great appeal and the decision to come to York proved to be a good one for both of them as, together, they experienced a tremendous amount of success over the five years they spent at the University.
Hughes was the leader of a team that won the program’s first ever CIAU championship and its only two OUAA titles. Individually, he is the only wrestler in York history to win two national gold medals and, throughout his career, he also won silver and bronze in his weight class. He also remains one of only two wrestlers to earn York’s male athlete of the year award, an honoured he received in 1987.
“Wrestling in university is the best of both worlds because it’s an individual sport but there’s also the team concept. There’s a huge discipline component to the sport and I liked the idea that you had to be disciplined at practice and away from the mat, and by doing that you could make a big difference in the results you got.”
Hughes’ discipline led him to impressive results not only at York but internationally as well. While competing for the Yeomen, he qualified for the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh and returned home from Scotland with a gold medal. The result was a realization of a dream and the culmination of years of hard work.
“Representing your country is everyone’s dream. I was born in Great Britain and became a Canadian citizen in 1987 so I could compete for Canada. Representing my new country was a big thrill and I was so proud.”
After graduating from York in 1990 with a degree in sociology, Hughes moved out west to join a national training centre and spent one year competing for Simon Fraser University, where he won the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) gold medal with the Clan and eventually earned his teaching degree. He began working at an inner city high school in Vancouver right away and has never left. Twenty-three years later, he remains the physical education teacher as well as the high school’s athletic director, and among his many achievements he has built a successful wrestling program.
Away from school and the mat, Hughes’ latest passion is in rock climbing. He first became involved because it was something his son was participating in, and in the last eight years he has become a nationally-certified rock climbing official and worked his way up to head judge at the recent national championships. He is also a multi-sport learning facilitator for the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP).
Hughes may now live on the west coast, but his championship legacy lives on at York. Wrestling is once again blossoming at the University thanks to its return to the varsity program in 2012, and all current wrestlers are striving to experience the same success Hughes had two decades ago.
