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Prof. Mike Sharratt of Univerâ€" sity of Waterloo‘s kinesiology department was recently honâ€" ored by the sport of wrestling. He was given the Gold Star, highest award of the World Amateur Wrestling Association. The award was presented durâ€" ing the Canada Cup competitions in Toronto. The wrestling with which Sharâ€" ratt is involved is a far cry from the professional wrestling shows so prominent on Saturday afterâ€" noon TV. . It is wrestling as practised in the Olympics, in intercollegiate competition and in other amateur events. Sharratt has a twofold involveâ€" ment with the sport: first, as an official, and second, as a reâ€" searcher. A former intercollegiate wresâ€" tler (Western Mustangs) and coach of University of Windsor‘s wrestling team for seven years, Sharratt is also a top level referee and has officiated at no fewer than 15 world championâ€" ships. He was chairman of the Association of Canadian Officials for six years. Canadian wrestling officials are regarded as among the very best in the world. As a kinesiologist, Sharratt has made many contributions to the improvement of Canadian wresâ€" tling. ~ His research has included testâ€" ing Olympic and world champiâ€" onship wrestlers to develop a ‘"profile"" of the elite performer. From such studies, new training programs have evolved includâ€" ing programs designed to imâ€" prove the performances of wresâ€" tlers from Third World countries (who do not have the advanced developmental technologies ~â€" including computerâ€"based asâ€" sessments â€" available to wresâ€" tlers in developed countries). Sharratt says the USSR has, for years, had the best wrestlers in the world. Bulgarians are almost always second best. Soviet wrestlers are noted for their technique and upper body strength. As well, they have remarkable anaerobic capacity â€" the ability to sustain intense effort over prolonged periods of time. Though Canadian wrestlers have improved substantially in recent years (Canada came sixth in the recent world championâ€" ships in Hungary), we don‘t yet equal the Soviet athletes. Still, they no longer regard Canadians as easy victories, Sharratt mainâ€" tains. He says he hopes his research may have contributed to Canâ€" ada‘s development program for its wrestlers â€" a comprehensive one that includes not only techâ€" nique, but physiological developâ€" ment, conditioning and psycholoâ€" gy as well. "It is particularly appealing to me to stay involved with amaâ€" teur wrestling because it affords me the opportunity to apply the science of kinesiology to elite sport," he says. Sharratt feels one difficulty Canadians have, catching up to the Russians, is that they have a much larger population base; also, wrestling is much more popular there. "It‘s not unusual for a major amateur wrestling championship in the Soviet Union to draw 10,000 or more â€" all of them very knowledgeable about the sport," he says. "I can tell you, a crowd like that puts pressure on a refâ€" He says Soviet sports reâ€" searchers tend to be closeâ€" mouthed about their developâ€" ment programs. "They‘re particularly careful not to put anything on paper,"" he finds. Sharratt awarded Gold Star (Continued on nage 21) _ ° RECONDITIONED USED VW RABBITS 6 month or 6,000 km guarantee Fast â€" Friendly Service For expert repairs call Mike or Klaus at 884â€"7640 Fairview‘ Fark Mall 435 Conestogo Rd. W., Waterloo OPEN 8:00 A.M. TO 9:30 P.M. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 27TH Don‘t miss out on all the fantastic savings! BOXING DAY SALES Highway 8 East and Fairway Road, Kitchener +# _ Volvo Mercedes Volkswagen Unit 18A 4 e Draperies e Reuphoistering _ , Furniture stripping e Repairs and refinishing We offer you guaranteed workmanship â€" 18 years‘ experience Very reasonable prices e free estimates WATERLOO CHRONICLE, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 26, 1985 â€" PAGE 19 ACADIAN UPHOLSTERY and INTERIOR 550 Parkside Dr. Waterloo A 886â€"3302 e pickup and delivery Manon Harbec