Development

2018 Creative Sports Award to Boost UWW’s Development Projects

Thursday, January 10, 2019 - 00:25 By United World Wrestling Press

Share this article

DUBAI (January 9) -- During a dedication ceremony held in Dubai, United World Wrestling (UWW) received the H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award in the category of the best initiative of the Summer Olympic International Federations (IFs).

The 2018 edition sought to recognize the initiatives that empower youth in sports -- the award comes with a USD $250,000 prize for use in development activities.

UWW President Nenad Lalovic accepted the award on behalf of his organization, which was recognized for its innovative project “More than Medals”, the first cornerstone of the IF’s new wrestling development plan. Five camps conducted between February and July last year targeted more than 200 young elite athletes and combined high-quality training with education on important topics such as anti-doping, nutrition, training plan, and the IOC’s Athlete Career Programme. The educational part also included the athletes’ entourage. Organized on all continents, the camps also served to prepare wrestlers to qualify for the Youth Olympic Games (YOG), held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in October 2018.

While attending the ceremony, ASOIF President Francesco Ricci Bitti said, “ASOIF is very thankful to H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum for his recognition of outstanding activities of sports federations in such a generous way for the sixth consecutive year. Sports development and youth promotion go hand in hand and they are the most important fields for IFs to invest in. UWW’s project is exemplary in integrating essential educational elements into training for young athletes and UWW fully deserves this prestigious award.”

 Lalovic added, “On behalf of the wrestling family worldwide, UWW is highly honored to receive this award for the development programme ‘More than Medals 2018’ dedicated to the support and empowerment of the future generations. We reiterate our appreciation to H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum for his great initiative to support sports development.”

The application phase for the 2019 H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Creative Sports Award is scheduled to open in April 2019.

#WrestleParis

Coach Amri on road to Paris 2024 through WISH

Friday, March 29, 2024 - 11:35 By United World Wrestling Press

Share this article

PARIS (March 29) -- Beyond reaching gender parity for athletes competing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is also aiming to increase the number of female coaches through its Women in Sport High-Performance (WISH) pathway. With six participants of the programme already confirmed as coaches in Paris, Elizabeth PIKE, WISH Project Director, explains how the programme is breaking down barriers to fix the system. Only 13 percent of coaches at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 were women.

At the past four editions of the Olympic Games, Marwa AMRI (TUN) represented Tunisia in the women's freestyle wrestling competition, clinching a bronze medal in the 58kg event at Rio 2016. At Paris 2024, she will be bringing all her expertise to Tunisia’s wrestling team as a coach. Although Amri may be outnumbered by her male counterparts at these Games, her very presence indicates a growing number of female coaches.

There are a number of other female coaches still pushing to achieve their Olympic dream, such as Federica TONON, who is currently working with Vanuatu’s beach volleyball team.

Amri and Tonon have something in common – they are both participants of the WISH programme, which is funded by the IOC’s Olympic Solidarity programme, managed and hosted by the University of Hertfordshire and led by Pike.

The programme got underway in May 2022 after a successful pilot from 2019 to 2021. All four cohorts have now embarked on the 21-month programme, a mix of online learning, group tasks, dual mentoring and a residential, with the first cohort already having graduated in January this year. In total, the WISH programme will equip a total of 123 female coaches from 22 sports and 60 countries with the tools needed to take on roles at the highest level of their sport.

Read the full article on olympics.com.