Obituary

Nico Coetzee, UWW Educator and Head Coach of South African Wrestling, Dies at 56

Thursday, May 27, 2021 - 15:03 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (May 27) -- Nico Coetzee, head wrestling coach of South Africa and UWW Educator, died suddenly on Tuesday. He was 56.

Coetzee was active in all aspects of wrestling in Africa. He was the head wrestling coach for South Africa since 2009, and for the past several years was a UWW Instructor tasked with assisting in the education and development of wrestling across the continent.

"We are deeply saddened to learn of Nico's death," said United World Wrestling president Nenad LALOVIC. "He was one of the sport's best leaders on Africa and we will miss his input. I send my condolences to his family, his wrestlers, and all those who called him a friend."

Coetzee grew up in the then small-town Boksburg, in South Africa. After finishing school, he completed his Honours Degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Pretoria. At school Coetzee participated in long distance running, rugby, boxing, and wrestling.

When his son was born, Coetzee's passion for wrestling, and specifically coaching, was ignited. He joined the Boksburg Wrestling Club as a coach and climbed the ladder to coaching excellence very fast. In 2006 he became the provincial head coach and three years later became the head coach for the South African Wrestling Federation.

In 2019, coach Coetzee was awarded the Gauteng Sports Coach of the Year. He had been instrumental in the development of the National Coaching Framework of the South African National Olympic Committee, SASCOC, now SASCA (The South African Sports Coaching Association), where he was elected a board member.

In addition to his many leadership roles in South Africa, Coetzee was also a sport-specific mentor for the WSLA High-Performance Coach program, which provides leadership training opportunities to women in sport.

"Nico was a lovely man and oversaw several projects developing wrestling on the continent and around the world," said Development Director Deqa Niamkey  "I always appreciated his positivity and energy. He's the kind of person who really did make a difference in our sport and used it as a way to enhance humanity as a whole."

"We are devastated."

#development

Bulgaria hosts OLYMP to increase media literacy

Wednesday, October 15, 2025 - 09:49 By United World Wrestling Press

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BULGARIA (October 15) -- Bulgaria hosted a seminar on the OLYMP project, funded by the European Union's Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) Programme, at Diana National Wrestling Hall on October 9. The project aims to improve the media literacy of athletes, coaches, and sports managers.

The seminar was led by Georgi BANOV, one of the doyens of Bulgarian sports journalism, who has covered 14 Olympic Games in winter and summer sports, as well as a number of world and European Championships in wrestling, weightlifting, athletics, biathlon, and more.

The seminar was organized for the athletes of the national wrestling teams. The event was hosted by Belcho GORANOV, Chairman of the Ethics and Legal Commission of the United World Wrestling (UWW) and project manager on behalf of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee (BOC).

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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The team emphasized that the seminar is part of a six-month cycle of informal training under the OLYMP project, which covers a total of 110 young athletes. The program includes weekly sessions in small groups focusing on media and information literacy, critical thinking and analytical skills, as well as developing the participants' confidence and ability to defend their positions with reasoned arguments.

The weekly classes will include readings and discussions on biographies, novels, sports magazines, as well as topics related to sports management and economics. Additional informal activities -- meetings with prominent athletes and film screenings -- will be held twice a month, with each event featuring moderated debates and practical challenges for “fact checking” and ethical behavior on social media.

Banov drew the athletes' attention to how to verify the information they receive through social media and other sources, how to recognize fake news, how to search for reliable information, and how to use social networks correctly, avoiding hate speech.

At the end of the media literacy program, a combined (formal and informal) assessment is planned – short tests and case studies, observation of group work, participant portfolios, and satisfaction surveys—to report on the specific results of the training and its impact on the engagement of young athletes in public life.

Read more on BOC website