Development

2018 Creative Sports Award to Boost UWW’s Development Projects

By United World Wrestling Press

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.

Development

United World Wrestling Opens High Performance Centre in China

By United World Wrestling Press

BEIJING (May 1) – The Chinese Wrestling Federation and the Chinese Olympic Committee last week hosted United World Wrestling for the opening ceremony of the “UWW China High Performance Center” at the Athletes Hotel in the National Olympic Sports Center in Beijing.

The China High Performance Center will host several wrestling-related activities including UWW advanced training camps and educational programs for coaches and referees.

“China is one of our most important partners, and it has great potential to help bring the sport of wrestling to another level,” said United World Wrestling president and IOC executive board member, Nenad Lalovic. “I am very happy to see the state-of-the-art facilities here in the training center that are now open to wrestling athletes worldwide. We hope to work closely with the Chinese Wrestling Federation in advancing the sport of wrestling in the region.”

Mr. Lalovic also held a friendly meeting with Mr. GOU Zhongwen, Director of General Administration of Sport of China, President of the Chinese Olympic Committee and discussed the wrestling development in China on this occasion.

“Although it was a short time since Ms. Zhang was appointed as the President of Chinese Wrestling Federation, we have seen the progress already in many areas,” said Mr. Gou. “We are very happy that United World Wrestling chose to allocate its high-performance center here, we will try our best to facilitate the growth of wrestling in China and contribute to the global development of the sport.”

For more information on how you can benefit from UWW educational programs, please contact development@unitedworldwrestling.org
 

Ms. ZHANG Ye, International Relations Manager, Chinese wrestling federation; Mr. LIU Guoyong, Director of the Competitive Sports Bureau of General Administration of Sport of China, Vice President of the Chinese Olympic Committee; Mr. LI Quanhai, Director of the National Olympic Sports Centre of China; Mr. GOU Zhongwen, Director of General Administration of Sport of China, President of the Chinese Olympic Committee; Mr. BIAN Zhiliang, Chairmen of the Board of Taishan Sports; Ms. ZHANG Xia, President of Chinese Wrestling Federation, Vice Director of Beijing Municipal Sports Bureau; Mr. Fouad Meskout, President of UWW African Council; Mr. Nenad Lalovic, United World Wrestling President, IOC Executive Board Member; Mr. SHENG Zetian, National Team GR Head Coach, Chinese Wrestling Federation; Ms. LIANG Lei, Development Manager, United World Wrestling