#development

Qatar hosts Regional Coaching and Referee course

Thursday, June 29, 2023 - 12:23 By United World Wrestling Press

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DOHA, Qatar (June 29) -- Qatar Wrestling Federation hosted its first-ever Regional Coaching Course and an Introduction to Refereeing Course. The courses were conducted between May 29 and June 3 in Doha and had participants from seven different countries namely Qatar, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Brazil, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.

These courses were conducted in conjunction with United World Wrestling, Olympic Solidarity, Qatar NOC and the Qatar Wrestling Federation.

The coaching course was led by Mohamed ADBELFATTAH. The referee course was led by Kamel BOUAZIZ who is the vice-president of the Referee Commission and President of the Arab Wrestling Federation.

Arsen JULFALAKYAN, President of the Athletes Commission and former world champion and Olympic medalist, assisted in the delivery of the courses.

The Regional Coaching Course was conducted over a five-day period with 20 coaches -- 18 men and two women. They participated in a Level 2 Course [Introduction to Practice Planning].

The course focused on basic video analysis, the development of effective training sessions, the mental development of wrestlers, and coaching the seven basic skills of wrestling. 

ARSParticipants go through a practical training session with Greco-Roman legend and world champion Arsen JULFALAKYAN (ARM) (Photo: United World Wrestling)

During the course, the coaches actively practiced and developed their skills through practical evaluations. The coaches also had the chance to work with Julfalakyan. The participants were able to learn valuable Greco-Roman techniques from both educators.

"The course in Qatar was interesting and eventful. Coaches and referees from the region participated in it," Julfalakyan said. "We carried out productive work both in theory and in practice. You could notice that the Qatar federation is determined to develop wrestling in the country."

“The course went very well. We had representatives from many countries," Abdelfattah said. "It is clear that Qatar is committed to growing the sport.” 

The Introduction to Refereeing Course, led by Bouaziz, was conducted for five days and had five participants who learned the foundations of being a referee.

The areas covered during the course included: the safety of the athletes, evaluation of holds, referee mechanics, positioning, and controlling the bout. The participants also worked directly with the coaches during a session to learn common areas of mistakes from referees and coaches. 

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Kamel BOUAZIZ (TUN) leads the five-day Introduction to Refereeing Course in Qatar. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

"During the theoretical courses, most of the participants eagerly received the information, asked the questions, and wanted to know the latest changes to the rules. They are passionate about refereeing," Bouaziz said.

"We express our deep gratitude and appreciation to UWW Bureau Member, Head of Athletes Commission Arsen Julfalakyan, Vice-president of UWW Referee Commission-Educator Kamal Bouaziz, UWW Educator Coach Mohammed Abdelfattah, and UWW Development Department for invaluable support in helping us achieve this remarkable growth," Sheikh Fahad bin Hamad Al Thani, President of Qatar Wrestling Federation and Member of Qatar Olympic Committee, said.

"The wealth of knowledge and impactful teaching style of the UWW experts empowered coaches and referees with insight and experience that resonated profoundly."

#WrestleZagreb

Zagreb Open Best Move: Blades Suplex

Friday, February 14, 2025 - 15:22 By Vinay Siwach

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ZAGREB, Croatia (February 14) -- Kennedy BLADES (USA) is making the suplex her own. After thrilling a packed Champs de Mars Arena with a majestic suplex at the Paris Olympics, the 21-year-old star began her 2025 season with two of them at the Zagreb Open last week.

"When I get behind, in my mind, I am like I have to execute this because it's so rare to hit a suplex," Blades said in Zagreb. "So every time I get behind in matches or big stages, I try to hit the suplex. I want to do it at the world stage because I know it will be on the highlights."

At the Zagreb Open, Blades was at 68kg, two weight classes down from 76kg, in which she won the silver medal at the Paris Games. She debuted at 68kg with a fall over Kendra DACHER (FRA) and another fall over world bronze medalist Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE).

The first glimpse of her suplex in the match against Noémi SZABADOS (HUN). Close to a minute had gone in the bout when Blades used her reach for a outside single-leg. Instead of going for a takedown, she stood up and locked Szabados from behind and out came the throw.

However, the perfect arch was missing and it was awarded four points.

Blades wasn't satisfied. In Round 5 and leading 7-0, Blades countered Karolina POK (HUN) in a perfect set up for a suplex. Pok made a half-hearted attempt for a headlock but Blades snuck out and moved behind.

Pok knew it was coming. She did not resist and Blades did not relent. A picture-perfect arch, a beautiful throw, safe landing and a cheeky smile at the end. Blades was content.

"I just feel like when someone gets a headlock, they probably have to throw it really hard because growing up, I used to wrestle Greco in the summer," she said. "So my coach always taught us how to set up the suplex if they grab your head for a headlock and they don't go. When someone gets in a headlock position and they don't go super hard, then the suplex is there. If I would ever be in that position, I just go flat because I know that they can probably throw me. "

While it has become relatively easy for Blades to throw her opponents at 68kg, she still needs to tackle their speed and movement.

"I think at 68kg, the girls just feel lighter and that's what makes it a tiny bit easier," she said. "The difference though is that they wrestle a little bit more so my conditioning and footwork needs to be better. Whereas at 76kg, they're kind of hand fighting. It's more like strength. But at 68kg, it's speed and technique. It's hard to distinguish if it's easier or not, but I think the fact that I was able to lift the girls up easy was the best thing ever."

The suplex isn't new to Blades. She performed one at the U20 World Championships back in 2021, then at the Olympics and now in Zagreb. However, Blades picks the one in Paris as the best one so far.

"The best suplex is probably my Olympic one because that was straight back on her neck, on the Olympic stage, first match." she said. "I was on fire. I kind of want to see that the suplex I just hit because I think it was pretty nice. But the Olympic one is so hard to beat and I was in a pink singlet."