#development

UWW holds second educator course in Istanbul

By United World Wrestling Press

ISTANBUL, Turkey (March 25) – United World Wrestling hosted their second course for Educators in Istanbul, Turkey, March 16-20. The course focused on improving and developing the participants skills as an educator.  The Educators that attended participated in interactive activities to learn the principles of adult education, strategies for formative assessments, how to give feedback, and modern educator characteristics.  Each participant was required to deliver a Micro-Leadership session on one of the course topics to further practice and develop their skills. “The Educator Course was a success. The participants were highly engaged and are now committed to advancing the development of wrestling agenda. We will definitely see great progress in next Olympic cycle” – Deqa Niamkey (UWW Development Director)

Of the participants that attended, 12 of them were new educators to UWW.  They were required to attend 2 additional days to learn the foundation of educator skills.  After their initial training, they were joined by the remaining educators to participate in the rest of the course. 

The course was conducted by Mr. Vincent Aka (CIV/FRA) and Mr. Zach Errett (USA).  Mr. Aka is a the development officer and educator trainer for UWW.  Mr. Errett is the Education Manager for UWW.  They led a group of participants from every continent. “Today, after completing the training of our educators, we have taken a very important step towards the vision of professionalizing our national structures. From now on, our educators represent for us a bridge thrown from United World Wrestling to support the development of our national federations. Our educators, inhabited by the new approach of United World Wrestling, are the seeds that we launch in the fertile ground of the federations to energize the much-desired development of our basic structures. I am very proud to participate in this new stage. And we must continue this work for future generations of the wrestling family.” said Vincent Aka.  “It was a fantastic course!  The participants were openminded and worked very hard to apply the skills that they learned during the course.  This made for an enjoyable and productive course.  There is no doubt that these educators will help grow and develop wrestling around the world,”  said Zach Errett.

The organization of the course was assisted by the Turkish Wrestling Federation and the Associated Wrestling Styles – Istanbul Office.  “The course would not have been possible without the hard work by these groups! A special thanks to Mr. Seref Erouglu, President of Turkish Wrestling Federation and Mrs. Rodica Yaksi, Mr. Onur Simsek, and Farnaz Panahizadeh for all of their efforts to organize and provided a fantastic hotel and environment for the course,” said Deqa Niamkey.

TURAttendees participated in interactive activities to learn the principles of adult education, strategies for formative assessments and how to give feedback, among many other skills. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

Comments from some of the participants.

“I can see the change from Old Coach's mentality as a Power dictator to coach's try to learn new things every day to be a better coach more flexible and open mind.  I feel UWW is moving in the right direction to grow wrestling around the world, and We saw the United of Wrestling World form all educators around the world.  All educators from Different cultures, traditions, Languages, even music, and dance are different, but Everyone comes together Unites on the love of wrestling.” – Mohammed Abdelfattah (EGY/USA)

“This course has empowered us to spread wrestling coaching and refereeing skills using practical, contemporary and fun techniques to deliver our message to grow the sport.”  - Stefan Rudevics (AUS)

"I am going home from this educator's course filled with positive emotions and very happy that I was able to learn a lot of new things and new ways on how to improve as an educator.  This course has given us, UWW educators, an amazing opportunity and new skills which will help us deliver our future courses to NF's on a much higher level, and that by doing so we will be able to contribute to UWW Development department and its mission of helping our sport of wrestling evolve worldwide!" – Davor Petanjek (CRO)

“Thank you to the UWW Development Team and the Turkish Wrestling Federation for the opportunity to work and learn with coaches and referees from around the world!  The Educators Course was an invaluable experience!  I gained knew knowledge and ideas for educating athletes and coaches for success in competitive environments.  The Educators Course also helped reinforce a global network of coaches and referees that can share ideas across borders.” – Clarissa Chun (USA)

It was a very good course and I learned new experiences. I held training classes in my country for many years, but I always felt that my training courses were boring. Now I have learned that with good planning, active and happy training classes can be held. During this period, I met trainers and educators from other countries, and we had a good and intimate relationship with each other. All in all the course was great and caused changes in my behavior, thoughts and performance in my work life as well as my daily life in the future. I hope to be able to help develop my favorite sport, wrestling.  – Mohammad Mosalaeipour (IRI)

#BeachWrestling

African Beach Games: Olympic medalist Oborududu solid on sand

By Vinay Siwach

HAMMAMET, Tunisia (June 29) -- Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR), an Olympic silver medalist, has achieved remarkable feats on the wrestling mat.

At the African Championships in women's wrestling, the 34-year-old holds the record for the most gold medals, with 12. In Tokyo, she became the first African woman wrestler to reach an Olympic final, making her one of the best among wrestlers who have wrestled on the mat.

However, on Wednesday, Oborududu stepped onto the sands for the first time and returned home with a gold medal at the 2nd African Beach Games in Hammamet, Tunisia.

Despite being a regular in Olympic wrestling at 68kg, Oborududu decided to represent Nigeria in Hammamet, where Beach Wrestling made its debut on the African Beach Games program.

Read: Traditional Wrestling Hotbed Senegal Dominates African Beach Games 

While most victories in Beach Wrestling resemble Olympic wrestling, there are a few differences. In Beach Wrestling, a throw awards three points, ending the bout. If a throw is not executed, the bout continues for the stipulated three minutes. The wrestler who accumulates at least three points before their opponent is declared the winner.

Oborududu achieved this in three of her four bouts. She made her debut against Erica NGAKALI (CGO) in Round 1 and had no trouble defeating Ngakali 3-0 to secure victory via superiority.

In her next match against Patricia ELNOUR (SUD), Oborududu triumphed 3-1, advancing to the semifinal against Anta SAMBOU (SEN). Despite facing a challenge and giving up two points, Oborududu held on for a 3-2 victory, securing her spot in the final against Amy YOUIN (CIV).

Youin, who had not conceded a single point in the group stages and the semifinal, scored two points against Oborududu in the final. However, Oborududu used her experience and strength to defeat Youin 3-2, capturing Nigeria's first-ever gold medal in Beach Wrestling at the African Beach Games.

Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) made a golden debut at African Beach Games in Hammamet. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

"Another gold in the bag!," Oborududu wrote on her Instagram. "Glory to God for yet another addition and new win in my career. This win is quite personal to me, as this is my first hand trying beach wrestling. I stepped on the sand with hope as usual. 'Well, I'm here to wrestle yeah, so let me give it my best shot like I always do on the mat' I said to myself. And guess what? I won gold in the ongoing African Beach Wrestling (Games), Tunisia 2023."

This marked the beginning of Nigeria's gold rush, as they went on to win two more gold medals in women's Beach Wrestling. The only weight class in which Nigeria failed to win gold was at 70kg, where Safietou GOUDIABY (SEN) claimed the top spot.

Miesinnei GENEISI (NGR)Miesinnei GENEISI (NGR) made a perfect run to the 50kg gold at the African Beach Games. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

At 50kg, Commonwealth Games and African champion Miesinnei GENEISI (NGR) showcased her dominance, winning all her bouts without conceding a single point.

Geneisi, who had previously won the African Beach Championships in May, began with a 3-0 victory against Emma WANGILA (KEN) in Round 1. She followed it up with a similar scoreline, defeating Cheima CHEBILA (ALG) in Round 2. When Mbuka CAROLINA (ANG) withdrew due to injury in Round 3, Geneisi was declared the winner after three wins in the round-robin bracket involving five wrestlers.

Nahamie SAMBOU (SEN) secured two wins, earning the silver medal, while Cheima CHEBILA (ALG) won the bronze after defeating Wangila in the Round 3 bout.

Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR)Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR) won the gold medal at 60kg at the 2nd African Beach Games. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

Another African champion who won a gold medal was Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR) in the 60kg weight class. While not as dominant as her compatriots, she managed to win gold with close victories.

Kolawole began with a 3-0 win over Siwar BOUSETA (TUN) but encountered difficulty in a 2-1 win against Nogona BAKAYOKO (CIV) in Round 2. Mame SAMBOU (SEN) also put up a fight, but Kolawole emerged victorious with a 2-1 scoreline, securing her place in the semifinal. Emily WANYAMA (KEN) proved no match for Kolawole, who won 3-0 via a fall to advance to the final.

Chaimaa AOUISSI (ALG) provided a formidable challenge in the final, but she was unable to overcome the 1-0 deficit. Kolawole secured the victory and the gold medal with a 1-0 scoreline.

Safietou GOUDIABY (SEN)Safietou GOUDIABY (SEN) won the 70kg gold after beating Bea MEIRING (RSA) in the final. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

Maintaining a clean slate, Goudiaby emerged as the champion in the 70kg weight class. Goudiaby only had to wrestle one bout to reach the semifinal, as her first opponent, Winrose ALIVISA (KEN), withdrew due to an injury sustained in a previous bout.

In the semifinal, Goudiaby prevented Faiza AOUALI (ALG) from scoring and won 2-0, securing her place in the final against Bea MEIRING (RSA), who defeated Olympian Khadija JLASSI (TUN) 4-1 in the other semifinal.

Meiring, however, struggled in the final against Goudiaby who won 3-0, a victory by superiority.

Both Nigeria and Senegal ended with 75 points each in the team titles. However, with two extra gold medals than Senegal, Nigeria was declared the team title winner while Senegal finished second. Algeria, with 47 points, finished third.

RESULTS

50kg
GOLD: Miesinnei GENEISI (NGR)
SILVER: Nahamie SAMBOU (SEN)
BRONZE: Cheima CHEBILA (ALG)

60kg
GOLD: Esther KOLAWOLE (NGR) df. Chaimaa AOUISSI (ALG), 1-0

BRONZE: Mame SAMBOU (SEN) df. Emily WANYAMA (KEN), 3-1

70kg
GOLD: Safietou GOUDIABY (SEN) df. Bea MEIRING (RSA), 3-0

BRONZE: Khadija JLASSI (TUN) df. Faiza AOUALI (ALG), 3-0

+70kg
GOLD: Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) df. Amy YOUIN (CIV), 3-2

BROZE: Anta SAMBOU (SEN) df. Erica NGAKALI (CGO), via fall