#WrestleBelgrade

UWW hosts Congress before World Championships in Belgrade

Friday, September 9, 2022 - 11:15 By United World Wrestling Press

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BELGRADE, Serbia (September 9) -- The United World Wrestling hosted its ordinary Congress Friday, a day before the World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.

UWW President and International Olympic Committee Executive Board member Nenad LALOVIC opened the Congress which was attended by 106 countries.

President of IOC Thomas BACH addressed the gathering with a message to remain united and work towards Olympic solidarity.

Lalovic, who has attended 11 executive board meetings in the last 12 months, echoed the same views during his opening remark.

Nenad LALOVICUWW President Nenad LALOVIC addressing the Congress in Belgrade. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

"We as sports lose in such [conflict] situation," Lalovic said. "Our family is not about politics but about wrestlers and fans. So we should remain united.

"Our athletes promote peace around the globe. We had problems in the past but we hope our medals will shine in the right way."

The attendees of the Congress also held one-minute silence to mourn the death of bureau member Lucio CANEVA and Francois CARRARD.

The Congress discussed the improvement of wrestling via youth engagement, women's wrestling, associated styles, the image of wrestling and digital transformation. The reports of all the different departments of UWW were also presented during the Congress.

The Congress also held the election for seven bureau members for a five-year term. A total of 122 votes were cast with the majority being 61 votes.

Out of the seven, four were re-elected which include Theodoros HAMAKOS, Karl-Martin DITTMANN, Rodika YAKSI, Namig ALIYEV. The three newly elected members were Daniel IGALI (NGR), Razvan PIRCALABU (ROU) and Zhang YE (CHN).

The Congress emphasized that to continue on their goal to be self-reliant they need overall growth with more sponsors, and engagement and take wrestling to regional and local levels.

Details of the Congress are available at uww.org.

World Cup

UWW cancels 2023 World Cups

Friday, April 28, 2023 - 10:41 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (April 28) -- United World Wrestling announced the cancellation of the 2023 Greco-Roman, Freestyle and Women's World Cups, which were scheduled to take place in Tehran, Iran on November 24 and 25, and in Coralville, Iowa, USA on December 9 and 10, respectively.

The decision to cancel the World Cups was made after careful consideration and analysis of the challenges and complexities involved in organizing such high-profile events during a pre-Olympic year. With many countries focusing on preparing their wrestlers for the 2024 Olympics in Paris, the potential lack of participation in the World Cups in 2023 was a major concern for UWW. Additionally, the World Championships in Belgrade, scheduled for September 2023, would have added further pressure on countries.

The lack of local support to host the events during November and December was also a contributing factor in the decision by the Bureau to cancel the World Cups. Finding local organizing committees to host the team competition has proven to be a significant challenge.

UWW was in constant touch with the national federations of Iran and the USA and arrived at its decision after discussions with both federations.

UWW recognizes the importance of the World Cups as team events that provide an opportunity for national teams to showcase their talent and compete on a global stage. The organization is committed to working towards ensuring that the World Cups are held in the future.