#DigitalTransformation

United World Wrestling together with N3XT Sports begins the digital transformation process

Monday, July 18, 2022 - 11:26 By United World Wrestling Press

Share this article

COSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland and BARCELONA, Spain - United World Wrestling (UWW) and N3XT Sports today announced a new partnership under which N3XT Sports will support UWW to accelerate its digital transformation by creating a digital-first approach in the organization and transform the sport using digital tools.

UWW has already prioritized digital transformation as one of five strategic pillars for the governing body’s 2022-2026 Strategic Plan, which was presented and approved at the UWW Congress in 2021.

UWW aims to create new value for its ecosystem, grow the sport itself, and modernize and digitize its processes and operations. By embarking on this journey, UWW will future-proof the organization, optimize internal processes, generate sustainable financial revenues, provide support to all the national federations and the entire wrestling ecosystem. 

The partnership between UWW and N3XT Sports aims to accelerate this transformation process and ensure maximum efficiency and benefit through a multi-year investment. N3XT Sports has been supporting UWW since early 2021 as UWW recognized the need to create new sources of value to the sport. As such, UWW’s digital transformation journey, with the support of N3XT Sports, touches on both revenue maximization and cost optimization, increasing efficiency and providing shared services within its national federations and event organizers.

Nenad Lalovic, UWW President, said: “One of the key areas of the 2022-2026 Strategic Plan, built together with our National Federations, is to embrace and foster digital transformation in order to modernize and digitize our organization. In order to achieve this, we have partnered with N3XT Sports, a leading digital transformation agency in the sport industry, that is guiding us to continuously create value for fans, wrestlers, and the global wrestling ecosystem, to ensure a sustainable and independent UWW through digital, data and innovation.”

UWW has modernized as an International Federation ever since rejoining the Olympic Program in 2013. The next stage of transformation for the federation is aimed at increasing the focus on a direct-to-consumer (D2C) strategy that delivers excellence in digital content and data to fans, media and marketing partners, as well as best-in-class shared digital, innovation and data tools to the National Federations (NF), local organizing committees, coaches, and wrestlers in order to ensure sustainable financial growth.

As part of the agreement, N3XT Sports will help design and develop the project through its digital arm, N3XT Labs. This will support on the creation and monetization of best-in-class data analytics tools and digital assets, as part of a reimagined UWW commercial portfolio, including a new UWW mobile application for fans and internal stakeholders, and Customer Data Platform (CDP) aimed at collecting and engaging data from all UWW digital audience touchpoints.

In addition, drawing on N3XT Labs’ digital expertise in sports and cloud architecture, the creation of a robust project governance structure will support the digital monetization of the UWW’s wider business strategy, whilst also developing new D2C revenue streams across the federation and its entire ecosystem.

Hisham Shehabi, COO of N3XT Sports, said: “We are thrilled to work with UWW and guide the federation through its digital transformation. To make this new digital strategy possible, UWW is committed to developing and launching various digital and data products to reach fans directly, without intermediaries, thus gaining a better understanding of their tastes and habits, and fundamentally, building the global home of wrestling and wrestlers. Our focus at N3XT Sports is to accelerate the construction and operation of this digital and data ecosystem that caters to UWW fans, internal stakeholders, national federations, and athletes.”

ABOUT United World Wrestling

United World Wrestling (UWW) is the international governing body for the sport of wrestling; its duties include overseeing wrestling at the Olympics. It presides over international competitions for various forms of wrestling, including Greco-Roman wrestling, freestyle wrestling for men and women, as well as others.

ABOUT N3XT Sports

N3XT Sports is an end-to-end digital transformation agency that works with international sporting organizations in football, basketball, and the Olympic Movement, to identify and address their most critical challenges, enabling them to achieve sustainable competitive advantage within the rapidly changing sports landscape. 

N3XT Sports was born in the world’s epicenter of innovation in Silicon Valley, has its operational HQ in Barcelona and its team is spread in different countries in Europe such as France, Italy, England, Spain, and Switzerland as well as in the United States, Morocco and Canada. 

Contact information

N3XT Sports - bea@n3xtsports.com
United World Wrestling - Eric.olanowski@uww.org

#WrestleBelgrade

Japan secures 2 Olympic spots; Elor returns to World Championships final

Wednesday, September 20, 2023 - 23:48 By Vinay Siwach

Share this article

BELGRADE, Serbia (September 20) -- The World Championships in Belgrade has seen a number of champions fall to young stars but the biggest of all could have come on Wednesday as Lucia YEPEZ (ECU) scored five points on Akari FUJINAMI (JPN), who entered the tournament with a 122-match winning streak which goes back to her junior high school days.

In the 53kg quarterfinal, Yepez scored raced to a 5-0 lead against Fujinami, who admitted that she felt anxious after giving up the lead, but composed herself and pinned the Ecuadorian.

Fujinami recovered from that shock match and defeated Maria PREVALORAKI (GRE) to secure a spot for Japan for the Paris Olympics next year. According to Japan Wrestling Federation rules, a wrestler who qualifies the weight for Paris with a medal in Belgrade automatically secures a spot on the Japan team as well.

"In the match against Ecuador, it's something that's never happened up to now," Fujinami said. "It ended up being a good match. Right now, I don't know, it really hasn't sunk in."

Yepez opened the bout with a double leg for two then hit a single leg which Fujinami defended before Yepez grabbed her around the waist and threw the Japanese, earning two more points. A stepout made it 5-0. Fujinami then got back to doing what she does best and locked up a lace to lead 14-5.

She gave up two more points but Fujinami locked the arm and got the fall with 1:10 remaining on the clock. The 2021 world champion explained that she will try to win her second world gold medal on Thursday.

"I came for the Olympic berth and to become the world champion and I want it to carry over to tomorrow," she said. "In the third-round match, I got a little anxious at one point, but I just thought, it's OK, just do what I always do. It was a tough match, but I was able to pull out the win."

Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) will join Fujinami on that trip to Paris as she entered the final at 62kg, securing her spot on the Japan team.

However, Ami ISHII (JPN), returning silver medalist, will have to slog it out in the bronze medal bouts to secure her spot after she was stunned by Buse TOSUN (TUR) 11-1 in the 68kg semifinals.

Fujinami will now face Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (AIN) for the gold medal after the Individual Neutral Athlete snatched a victory from U20 world champion ANTIM (UWW) in the final second of the semifinal.

Antim scored a takedown with an ankle pick and led 4-3 with three seconds remaining and got her grip loose. The willy Kaladzinskaya locked Antim's elbow and scored an exposure with 0.3 seconds on the clock for a remarkable 5-3 win.

Motoki had to dig deep to beat world silver medalist at 59kg Grace BULLEN (NOR) as she etched out a 2-1 win. Motoki will now face Olympic silver medalist Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ).

Motoki will look to join the list of Japanese wrestlers who have denied Tynybekova a world or Olympic gold medal in the last two years. The Kyrgyz wrestler lost to Yukako KAWAI (JPN) in the Tokyo Olympics final and then to teenage star Nonoka OZAKI (JPN) in the World Championships last year.

Tynybekova has bounced back, beating Ozaki in the Asian Championships and will have her hands full as she takes on Motoki for her third world gold medal.

Kyrgyzstan's first world champion, Tynybekova defeated Tokyo bronze medalist Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR), 2-2, in the quarterfinal, a completely contrasting win than her 10-0 win in Tokyo over the Ukrainian. Tynybekova then defeated Luisa NIEMESCH (GER) 4-2 in the semifinal.

At 68kg, Tosun did not let Ishii settle down after giving up a stepout, using a headlock when Ishii was going for an underhook for four points. Tosun tried pinning Ishii but the Japanese survived and as she was trying to escape, Tosun put her on the back for two more points to lead 6-1 with four minutes left. And as Ishii tried calming herself, Tosun scored another takedown on the edge.

Ishii tried an underhook again and Tosun hit another headlock, this time getting only two points. But that made the score 10-1 and Tosun managed to push Ishii out to win 11-1 with 3:19 left on the clock.

Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL) reached the final from the other side of the bracket as she pinned Emma BRUNTIL (USA) in the other semifinal. She defeated Koumba LARROQUE (FRA) 2-1 in the quarterfinals.

In the non-Olympic weight class 72kg, defending world champion Amit ELOR (USA) entered the final with another dominant display, winning her semifinal against Kendra DACHER (FRA) 12-2. Elor took out 65kg world champion Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) in the quarterfinals.

Chasing her second straight title, Elor will take on Davaanasan ENKH AMAR (MGL) in the final after the Mongolian defeated two-time returning world silver medalist Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ) 6-2.