#development

Lithuanian Wrestling Federation conducts referee training before the Druskininkai Cup

By United World Wrestling Press

DRUSKININKAI, Lithuania (June 26) --- The Lithuanian Wrestling Federation conducted a Referee Training Course from June 15-18 in conjunction with the Druskininkai Cup. The course had 13 participants and was led by Karol LEBOWSKI (POL), UWW Referee Educator.

The first two days of the course were theoretical and focused on discussing the rules of wrestling and interpreting the evaluation of technical actions by analyzing Lithuanian wrestlers during championship competitions. The final two days of the course were the practical sessions. The referees had a chance to work the competition and directly apply their skills. They focused on working as a mat chairman and with the referee team. During those sessions, they were provided feedback and improvement by Mr. Lebkowski. “The course was very popular among the participants. During the course, they asked many questions, to which we searched for answers together by analyzing the regulations,” said Mr. Lebkowski.

The participants in the course also share their appreciation of the course. Many stated that they liked the practical part carried out on the mat the most. They had never before met with a practical discussion of the referee's movement on the mat and the cooperation between the referees. They were very satisfied with the training conducted. 

Development

New Referee and Rules Courses coming to the UWW Academy

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-VEVEY, Switzerland (December 9) --- The Development Department and Referee Commission will launch a series of courses centered around Olympic wrestling and refereeing rules. Evaluating holds and situations are not always easy and can be very complex.  These courses are designed to highlight specific and more complicated rules in hopes of providing a better understanding of how situations are being evaluated. Over the next year, will be 10 courses developed and published on the UWW Academy site.

“We are excited to announce new courses on the UWW Academy Platform, designed to elevate refereeing standards and promote excellence across all levels. These courses cover essential topics such as attack-counterattack actions, evaluation of holds, takedown and control, and out-of-bounds situations," said Antonio Silvestri. "As Head of the Refereeing Commission, I encourage all referees—experienced or starting out—to take advantage of these courses. Continuous learning is key to our success, and these courses will help us maintain the highest standards of integrity, fairness, and professionalism in every match. Let's keep raising the bar together." 

The first course on Attack vs Counterattack situations has been published on the Academy site. Attack vs Counterattack situations are referees' most complicated and challenging situations to evaluate. This course will try to highlight how these situations are evaluated and what questions referees must answer during an action. While this course and the others are centered around referees, they are available and encouraged to be completed by all wrestling stakeholders.

The Attack vs Counterattack course will begin with background information and the rules which include video examples.  Then the course will provide 10 specific video examples along with explanations. Next the participants will practice their video analysis with 10 videos.  The course will finish with a 15-video quiz. All the courses that will be published will follow a similar format.

The UWW Academy is the official educational platform for United World Wrestling. It offers numerous courses on coaching, referees, rules, sports administration, and beach wrestling. The academy also offers additional resources, performance analysis metrics from major UWW events, videos, and the Wrestle4Fun curriculum. It is free and available to all participants. To get started and create your free profile, please visit  https://academy.uww.org/.