#SportsDepartment

UWW Hosts Event Organization Workshop in Italy

Friday, August 5, 2022 - 19:00 By United World Wrestling Press

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ROME, Italy (August 5th) – In continuation of United World Wrestling’s first Event Organization Workshop held in Panama City (21-24/01/2022) for the Americas, Italy hosted a similar workshop at the U17 Rome World Championships (22-25/07/2022). The workshop, which the UWW Sports Department conducted, was held to assist in educating the host cities for the upcoming World Championships, World Cups, and European and Asian Championships.  

United World Wrestling’s objective is to acknowledge tools and get a deep comprehension of the UWW Event Organization. This objective will help increase the quality of our competition's delivery and continue to ensure wrestling’s growth.

During the workshop, discussion topics included: the benefits of organizing an event, planning, bidding process, and functional areas, among many others. 

One differentiation from the workshop in Panama to the one held in Italy was the walk-through of the venue where the U17 World Championships were held.  

Also, one of the objectives is to encourage discussion among host NFs and share their experiences, especially with those that will host future events.

ITA
Participants from the Event Organization Workshop pose for a picture at the Palla Pellicone, the arena where the U17 World Championships were held. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

In addition to the arena work through and workshop, the participants had the chance to speak with the different commissions that were working at the event. These activities helped make the workshop more useful for all participants. 

Following the workshop's conclusion, participants completed a short survey, providing valuable feedback that’ll be utilized in the planning of UWW’s next Event Organization Workshop editions.  

 "I liked the positive energy of everyone who participated in the seminar. I also appreciated the group's interest and the instructor's willingness to help," one participant said. 

Thanks to the participant's experience, the open dialogues generated during the sessions benefited everyone. They showed different points of view while opening diverse discussions that will help in the decision-making process and organization of upcoming events.

#WrestleLA

UWW announces new Olympic qualification process for LA 2028

Monday, February 2, 2026 - 12:14 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (February 2) -- United World Wrestling has overhauled the qualification process for the Olympic Games.

Beginning with the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the 16 wrestlers who qualify per weight class will earn their spots through four routes: the World Championships, Continental Qualifiers, the World Olympic Qualifier, and the UWW Rankings.

The first phase of qualification will be the 2027 World Championships that will award 72 quotas for the Olympics. Each medalist [gold, silver, two bronzes] in the 18 Olympic weight classes will earn LA 2028 spots for their respective National Olympic Committees (NOC).

The second phase will be the UWW Rankings in which the first three wrestlers of the rankings, not qualified in the first phase, will obtain one quota place for their NOC for the LA28 Olympic Games. The UWW Rankings will include the seven main events organized before the LA28 Olympic Games:

- 2027 Senior Continental Championships*
- 2027 Ranking Series (3 events)
- 2027 Senior World Championships
- 2028 Ranking Series (1 event)
- 2028 Senior Continental Championships*

*UWW may include Continental Games for ranking but will only consider best two out of three continental results.

This means that 54 more wrestlers will earn Olympic quotas for their respective NOCs.

Phase three for qualifying will include the Continental Qualifiers -- Europe, Asia, Pan-America, and Africa & Oceania. These tournaments will award two quotas per weight class.

Top two wrestlers, the finalists, in each of the 18 Olympic weights will earn LA 2028 quotas for respective NOCs. A total of 144 wrestlers will be awarded at these continental events.

The fourth and final phase of qualification will be the World Olympic Qualifier which will offer 18 quotas. The gold medal winners in each of the 18 Olympic weight classes will earn the spot for their respective NOCs.

Only the countries that did not obtain a quota place during the previous three phases may participate in the World Olympic Qualifiers. The participating countries may only send two wrestlers across all styles at the World Qualifier.

For the LA 2028 qualifying cycle, UWW will award quotas at the following events:

4 quotas - 2027 World Championships
3 quotas - Ranking Series UWW Rankings
8 quotas - Continental Qualifiers (2 Europe, 2 Asia, 2 Pan-America, 2 Africa & Oceania)
1 quota - World Olympic Qualifier

Furthermore, the 2028 Continental Championships will be held before the Continental Qualifiers, ensuring that the three quotas via ranking are finalized before continental qualification events begin.

Ranking Series Participation Guidelines

Each country may enter a maximum of two wrestlers per weight class and a two-kilogram weight allowance will apply for Ranking Series events, but not for Continental or World Championships where standard weight rules apply.

The point allocation for these Ranking events will also be reviewed.

Seeding Changes

During the Olympic cycle, seeds will be assigned based on the following event tiers:

Four-seed events:
Continental Championships
Continental Qualifiers
World Qualifier

Eight-seed events:
Ranking Series
World Championships
Olympic Games

Seeding for the 2028 Olympic Games will be based on results from:

- Three 2027 Ranking Series events
- 2027 Continental Championships (or Continental Games, if applicable)
- 2027 World Championships
- One 2028 Ranking Series event
- 2028 Continental Championships

These same events will be used to seed wrestlers throughout the 2028 season, including the Ranking Series, Continental Championships and Qualifiers, the World Olympic Qualifier, and the Olympic Games.

For the 2027 Ranking Series events, 2027 Senior Continental Championships and the 2027 Senior World Championships, the results of 2026 Senior World Championships will also be considered to seed the athletes.

As is the rule, the ranking points obtained at the 2026 Senior World Championships will be removed after the 2027 Senior World Championships.

A key change is that at the Olympic Games, the seed belongs to the country, which keeps the seed even if it replaces the athlete who earned it. In all other events, the seed belongs to the wrestler, and a nation loses that seed if a different athlete competes.

For clarification regarding the new Olympic qualification process, all NFs and NOCs can contact sports@uww.org.