Development

UWW Hosts First Regional Educational Development Tournament

By United World Wrestling Press

PRETORIA, South Africa (December 7) -- United World Wrestling's Development Department conducted the first-ever Regional Educational Development Tournament (REDT) in South Africa.

This event was hosted in collaboration with the South Africa Wrestling Federation. The REDT is a regional course and tournament centered around training and educating the coaches and referees. At the conclusion of the courses, there is a scheduled tournament to provide opportunities for countries in the region to compete in international competitions.

The INTUTHUKO Development Week in South Africa was conducted from November 26 to December 1. This event included participants from South Africa, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Angola.

“It was a great experience seeing many coaches and referees attending the Level 2 clinic," SAWF President Sakkie Bosse said. "The UWW instructors were very professional in the way they conducted the clinic and every assignment was presented with great expertise and professionalism. The coaches and referees received information which they could apply in their wrestling career."

UWW Development Director Deqa Niamkey added that despite the challenge of COVID-19, the team made sure it becomes a success.

“Despite the current world challenges with the rising of COVID-19 cases, the wrestling family stays strong and is striving to continue the development of the sport. We thank the South African Wrestling and all those who participated. We will renew the event once the situation is cleared as this program showed tremendous success for the developing wrestling nations," Niamkey said.

From November 26-30, a Level 2 Coaching Course was conducted by Vincent Aka and Zach Errett. This course included working with 17 coaches and focused on the development of practice plans.

“Thank you, it was very educational,” said Zumicka Geringer (RSA).

"We promise that we are going to use all that we learn here and show our capacity as a coach trained by the best educators Vincent Aka and Zach Errett,” said Celstino Chicago (ANG).

From November 28-30, Charles Villet and Stanislav Sernek piloted a non-certification referee course (Next Level). This course included 19 referees working to improve their skills and knowledge.

During the final day of both courses, the referees and coaches worked together. Both groups were able to learn from each other and see the value in working together. The referees and coaches also completed training on Athlete Safeguarding, regarding the role that both play in keeping athletes safe and free from abuse.

“The UWW instructors Zach Errett, Vincent Aka and Charles Villet, were very professional and highly skilled in the subjects they presented," Bosse said. "Thank you to the three of them. South African Wrestling Federation appreciates the effort they put into the Level 2 clinic. Thank you to the organizing committee of South African Wrestling Federation for hosting the event in a professional manner."

The INTUTHUKO was scheduled to end with a small regional competition. However, due to COVID-19, the competition had to be canceled at the last minute.

For more information on REDT events in the future, visit www.uww.org.

#WrestleLA

UWW announces new Olympic qualification process for LA 2028

By United World Wrestling Press

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.