2020 World Championships

Executive Committee Confirms Wrestling World Championships for Belgrade in December

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (October 12) - The United World Wrestling Executive Committee today approved existing plans to host the 2020 Senior Wrestling World Championships December 12-20 in Belgrade, Serbia.

The committee approved the championships after receiving commitments from more than 70-percent of National Federations, a participation hurdle it had set for itself last month. The bureau will meet November 6th to discuss any changes to the event due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and it’s impact on participation.

“We are cautiously optimistic about wrestling’s return in December,” said United World Wrestling president Nenad LALOVIC. “The safety of our athletes, coaches, and staff is our top priority and we will be taking every measure to ensure that happens in Belgrade.”

The Junior Wrestling World Championships, originally scheduled for the week prior, were cancelled after feedback from the national federations indicated concerns about the number of participants able to attend.

The Congress, originally scheduled for the same week, will be discussed in the coming weeks as more information is made available from national federations.

#development

British Wrestling hosts Level 3 Coaching Course following first-ever GB Grand Prix

By United World Wrestling Press

MANCHESTER, England (January 8) – British Wrestling organized the first-ever Great Britain Grand Prix December 2-3. This competition was part of the UWW Development Department’s REDT programme and conducted in conjunction with Olympic Solidarity and British Wrestling. The REDT (Regional Education Development Tournament) is a programme designed to partner education activities with a competition to help develop wrestling across a region. Prior to the competition, a Level 3 Coaching course was conducted for 15 coaches from Great Britain (GBR), Austria (AUS), and the Netherlands (NED). This course focused on developing a coaching philosophy and an introduction into periodisation principles. 

The course was conducted by Mr. Zac DOMINGUEZ (USA). Coach Dominguez is a Gold Level Coach for USA Wrestling and has coached at numerous Continental and World Championship events. He also runs a top club and was able to relate very well to the coaches as many of them were coaching at their own clubs. “My favorite was discussing philosophy, because many of them had their own clubs and I could relate to their “problems” very well,” said Dominguez.

In addition to helping the coaches develop their philosophy for coaching, the course also targeted performance planning for wrestlers through video analysis, periodization principles, nutrition, and better understanding the rules of wrestling. The sessions included theoretical and practical sessions. Dr. Saam FALAHATI (Chief Medical Officer for British Wrestling) led the training on Nutrition and Hydration. Mr. Vaclav SCHEINER (CZE) was the assigned Referee Delegate for the competition and a certified UWW Educator. He conducted a session with the coaches on better understanding and using the rules of wrestling.

“The participants were very competent and understanding of the course materials. They were prepared very well from Level 1 and 2 UWW Certification. I was very pleased because we had great conversations and practical sessions” said Dominguez.

“British Wrestling targeted the level 3 UWW coaching course to help develop our coach’s knowledge of performance planning and developing athletes over the longer term," said Craig Anthony, Chief Executive Officer for British Wrestling. The course was expertly delivered and incredibly well received by our pathway coaches. Zac, Saam, and Vaclav provided expert knowledge and a fun learning environment that benefited everyone in the course. We are excited to see how this learning translates into improving our young developing athletes."

“After successfully finishing both levels 1 and 2 of the United World Wrestling coaching course, I was eagerly anticipating the opportunity to engage in the UWW level 3 course held in Manchester. During the program, I gained valuable insights into periodization in planning, video analysis, coaching philosophy development, evaluation of holds for Freestyle, Greco-Roman, and Women's Wrestling, as well as nutrition and hydration for wrestling," said Steve McKeown. "I extend my gratitude to UWW Educator Zac Dominguez from the USA, UWW Referee Václav Scheiner from the Czech Republic, UWW Doctor Saam Falahati from Scotland, and British Wrestling for hosting this event.”