Chuck Thompson, Vice President of Wrestling, has been with Dollamur Sport Surfaces for just over 24 years acquiring all kinds of knowledge about wrestling and what it takes to build and design a successful wrestling mat. He’s built up experience working with some of the top athletes, coaches and teams in the industry and we wanted to let you in on some of his favorite things about working for Dollamur!

Q - What is your role at Dollamur? Tell us a bit about your day-to-day as well!

A - In my 24 plus years at Dollamur I’ve worn a lot of hats but I am currently our Vice President of Wrestling.  As the Vice President of Wrestling I manage all aspects of our wrestling business segment and work with our sales team to increase sales.

Q - Do you have a background in Wrestling? Where does your passion for the sport come from?

A - Some may find it surprising but I don’t have a background in wrestling at all and I did not wrestle growing up, I played all the usual sports growing up and in high school -  football, track, but not wrestling.  During my time at Dollamur I have become a fan of the sport.  The individual responsibility, work ethic, discipline, respect and passion for the sport seen in the athletes makes it an easy sport to be a fan of.      

Q - What are some of your favorite Dollamur memories, past teams/coaches to work with, memorable athletes etc.

A - I have a lot of great memories after nearly 25 years at Dollamur.  I’ve seen Dollamur grow from small company with less than 10 employees to the world’s leading sport mat manufacturer with over 100 employees.  I’ve really enjoyed my time here and all of the people I’ve worked with over the years.  One of my fondest memories is when we invented the Flexi-roll and forever changed how lightweight mats were manufactured and rolled up for storage.  Another memorable moment would have to be inventing our Flexi-connect tapeless mat connection system.  The feeling of inventing Flexi-connect and making a contribution to the company that separates us from our competition was pretty awesome.

Q - Who is a team/athlete/coach etc. that you would like to work with and who you think would be a good partner for Dollamur? 

A - Dollamur goes above and beyond to support the wrestling community so I feel like we welcome partnering with anyone in the sport.  From high school and club coaches to some of the top wrestlers and international coaches in the sport, we want to support them all in any way we can.

Q - What are your favorite wrestling events to attend as a Dollamur representative? Despite all that is going on (COVID-19), any upcoming wrestling events we should look out for and expect to see Dollamur attending? Or any that you are especially upset are canceled?

A - One of my favorite events each year is the Cadet/Junior National Championships in Fargo, ND.  Its the final tournament of the USA Wrestling season and wrestlers from all over the country descend on Fargo to wrestle to be a champion.  It's commonly just referred to as "Fargo" in the wrestling community. It was really disappointing to see Fargo canceled last year due to the pandemic. 

Stay tuned into the Dollamur blog to read more interviews with our staff, athletes, teams and coaches!