Development

Saudi Wrestling Federation Hosts Introduction to Refereeing Course for New Female Referees

Thursday, February 18, 2021 - 16:11 By United World Wrestling Press

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Following the vision of the Saudi Wrestling Federation, headed by Mr. Mashaal Aljomaih, a five-day introduction to refereeing course for females was conducted January 31- February 04, at the Green Halls in Riyadh under the auspice of the General Manager of the Leadership Development Institute Abdullah Bin Faisal Hammad.

The introduction to refereeing course was the first course ever for new female referees in KSA. Sixteen female participants from all over the kingdom attended the five-day course in Riyadh. And it was a great opportunity to introduce them to refereeing wrestling and its basic rules.

The course was financially covered by the Saudi Wrestling Federation and the Leadership Development Institute. Saudi Federation covered the domestic flight tickets and the full accommodation for all the female participants, while the Leadership Development Institute covered all the other expenses.

The UWW Educator Sherif HALAWA from Egypt assisted by the Cat I International Referee Mohsen Yamani, Chief of Saudi referees conducted the course. The Course was also an opportunity to teach the female participants how to use the electronic Arena system during the wrestling competitions. The Cat III international referee Saud Alsuhaibi assisted Mr. HALAWA in teaching the female participants how to use the Arena system.


The Saudi Wrestling Federation hosted an introduction to refereeing course for female referees. The course lasted five days and was held in Riyadh. 

During the course, three specialized lecturers from Kind Saud University did also some sessions in 3 different topics (Sports Psychology, Sports injuries, and Sports management). The Leadership Development Institute covers all the lecturers’ expenses.

All the female participants did not practice wrestling before. Therefore, during the course there was some theoretical sessions about the wrestling rules basis, some practical sessions on the mat (however they did not have the referees’ uniform), and some practical sessions on Arena system to manage a competition. For 5 days, the female participants watched many videos about wrestling rules and some matches to let them feel the sport of wrestling.

The Saudi Wrestling Federation made a decision to assign the new female referees to the coming national competitions to work as referees, especially to manage the Arena system and to work as judge. They must gain the experience through continuous participation at competitions, and step-by-step, they'll take the whistle and work as referees on the mat soon.

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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.