#development

More Than Medals wraps up after a week in Rome

Sunday, August 14, 2022 - 23:39 By United World Wrestling Press

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ROME, Italy (August 14) --- From August 1st to 7th, keeping with the UWW strategy focusing on youth development, the More than Medals World – Rome 2022, was held in the installation of the Olympic Training Center. "FIJLKAM" (Federazione Italiana Judo Lotta Karate Arti Marziali).

For 7 days 14 countries from the 5 continents and almost 50 wrestlers and coaches took part in the event, allowing these young athletes to exchange experiences and create good memories through different activities.

The training sessions were organized by Vincent AKA (FRA/CIV) UWW Development Officer with the help of each national coach so everybody could experience the other countries' training styles and learn new ways. A video analysis session was also carried out to enhance the ability to understand the tactical resources in wrestling.

Frank CHAMIZO (ITA), a world and Olympic medalist, joined the camp as an ambassador, shared his techniques and experience with the youth, and encouraged them to pursue their dreams in wrestling further.

Additionally, a beach wrestling session was carried out, allowing the participants to taste (literally) the sand and uniquely enjoy wrestling. Also, the athletes had fun with some group beach games.

ITAParticipants of the More Than Medals camp visit historical sights in Rome. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

Different seminars were held to enrich the development of the athletes, like Wrestle for Climate, Olympic Movement Faster, Higher, Stronger, among others.

Dr. Federico Verdi carried out the Anti-Doping seminar from the Italian Committee on Anti-Doping Education, Training, and Research. His seminar was centered on general Anti-Doping rules, the rights and responsibilities of athletes and coaches (rules for minors and adults), testing procedures, clean sports values, and ethics.

For the coaches' development, five sessions of the UWW coaching clinic were dictated to continue working on the concept and nurture of coaching; they are a fundamental gear to keep athletes going with their respective sport and performance.

One day was designated for a tour of the city of Rome, where they were exposed firsthand to what is to be in one of the classic cities of the history of mankind and admire its beauty. The purpose of this activity was to get to know a different country, grasp the cultural exchange, and create open-minded individuals. They have the opportunity to taste Italian ice cream and share a good time under the sun in this emblematic city, for example.

This activity couldn't have come true without the support of the FIJLKAM (Federazione Italiana Judo, Lotta e Arti Marziali).

This camp once again marked the success of the continued More than Medals program that United World Wrestling has been offering to young athletes since 2017.

#BeachWrestling

Beach Wrestling World Series sees 30 percent rise in participation

Monday, October 16, 2023 - 23:59 By United World Wrestling Press

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(Left to right): Rui MARTA (POR), Mohamed MAHMOUD ALY (EGY), Ed DUNCAN (USA), Pedro SILVA, Jean-Daniel REY, Marian BERBEC (ROU), Jian WANY (CHN), Erol KARACA (UKR), Papakonstantinou KONSTANTINOS (GRE).

SARIGERME, Turkiye (October 16) --- After four stops on three continents, the Beach Wrestling World Series came to an end in Sarigerme, Turkiye this weekend.

The World Series began in Buenos Aires (ARG) before travelling to Singapore (SGP), returning to Saint-Laurent-du-Var (FRA) and Constanta (ROU) and the final stop in Sarigerme.

The 2023 edition of the series saw both the number of participating countries and wrestlers grow exponentially. The number of participating nations doubled from last year with more than 50 nations participating from five continents. There was a growth of 30 percent in the number of wrestlers, both men and women, on the beach.

The Beach Wrestling Committee organized its yearly meeting on the sidelines of the final stop in Turkiye with committee President and United World Wrestling Bureau member Pedro SILVA headed the meet.

Silva presented the report to the committee members, underlining the continuous growth of Beach Wrestling. The report noted the participation of additional countries like Venezuela, Columbia, Argentina, Bangladesh, Singapore, Senegal, Australia, among others, highlighting that Beach Wrestling being on the right path.

“We are very happy with the progress, growth and development that we are witnessing worldwide regarding Beach Wrestling,” said Silva, Beach Wrestling Committee President. "This must leave us all proud of our achievements and also very confident about our future.”

The meeting reviewed the current rules and regulations of Beach Wrestling and Committee members agreed that a few minor adjustments need to be made.

From the next season of Beach Wrestling will see an activity period being added to avoid any subjective decision by the refereeing body in case of negative wrestling with a 0–0 score.

It was also noted that wrestlers should be paired better in a situation with three groups. Bleeding time in Beach Wrestling was also increased to four minutes.

The Beach Wrestling calendar for 2024 was also discussed in the meeting as UWW received many proposals. UWW will do its best to publish the 2024 calendar by the end of this year.

The Committee also spoke about the potential collaborations that can be finalized for next season (producers of rings, wrestlers’ apparel).

Members also brought up the topic of sustainability and climate change and it was unanimously approved that Beach Wrestling should spearhead these projects.

The World Series in 2023, especially the final stop, showed that the discipline has the dedication of people associated with it. With the support of each National Federation, the future is full of hope and bright.

Follow Beach Wrestling on Instagram: @uwwbeachwrestling or on Youtube: @BeachWrestlingWorldSeries.