#UnitedWorldWrestling

UWW, ICSD sign four-year MoU to promote wrestling

Wednesday, November 15, 2023 - 13:15 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (November 15) -- United World Wrestling and the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD) took a significant step to promote wrestling, signing a four-year Memorandum of Understanding on Wednesday.

The MoU will enable both organizations to work together to help and assist deaf wrestlers around the world to take up, participate, and develop in wrestling.

Both UWW and ICSD will also work to develop wrestling for deaf women, search for common strategies, and establish actions to preserve wrestling against the dangers of doping and violence. UWW has also agreed to collaborate for the training of officials.

As the Deaflympics, World Championships, and other tournaments are already in place, UWW will, in the future, appoint a referee delegate for the aforementioned tournaments. Moreover, UWW and ICSD will collaborate in organizing clinics and seminars for coaches, trainers, and referees during ICSD competitions.

The two organizations will place special importance will be placed to improving the quality of the practice of wrestling and establishing a referee training policy for deaf environments.

According to the signed MoU, ICSD competitions will be integrated into the UWW international calendar, UWW will establish the program of the competitions and grant, upon adherence to the regulations in force, a UWW permit for the Summer
Deaflympics and all deaf championships.

In an effort to integrate, all wrestlers participating in ICSD competitions will be encouraged to have a valid UWW license for the current year, which will also provide insurance in case of an accident. If a wrestler does not have a UWW license, it is the respective ICSD Member Nation's responsibility to get the insurance of the wrestler, as UWW will not bear any kind of responsibility whatsoever in case of an accident.

All ICSD Member Nations will be made aware of the convention by ICSD while UWW commits itself to implement the necessary means towards the promotion of wrestling in Deaf Sports structures through its national federations.

#BeachWrestling

Youth Olympic quotas in focus as Katerini hosts U17, U20 BW Worlds

Wednesday, September 24, 2025 - 08:47 By United World Wrestling Press

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KATERINI, Greece (September 23) -- Thirty countries, close to 300 wrestlers, a global glory and a Youth Olympic dream.

Over two days this week, on September 25 and 26, the world’s best age-group beach wrestlers descend upon the scenic Katerini Beach, where the sun sets behind the imposing Mount Olympus. In this postcard-perfect surroundings, they will hope to write their scripts at the U17 and U20 World Championships.

The tournament will be live on the YouTube channel of United World Wrestling's Beach Wrestling channel.

The championships will be taken into consideration for quotas for the 2026 Youth Olympic Games qualifier, adding another layer of significance to the U17 event.

United World Wrestling has received a request for quotas from more than 100 National Olympic Committees with a total of 300 male and 269 female wrestlers. Currently, there are 48 quotas per gender. In this context, the World Championships in Katerini will add excitement to the race for the Youth Olympic Games, scheduled to be held in Dakar.

The U17 and U20 World Championships will be held across eight weight classes each in men’s and women’s categories. Last year, Ukraine and the United States reigned supreme in the men’s and women’s events, respectively, of the U17 World Championships. This year, too, they will be among the favorites to lift the team titles.

Once again, this year, Ukraine has entered a jumbo team with eight wrestlers in the U17 men’s competition. Only hosts Greece (12), Georgia (11), and Moldova (9) have a contingent bigger than theirs. On the women’s side, the USA has fielded the largest delegation among the 24 teams, with 9 wrestlers. In Beach Wrestling, a country can register a maximum of 3 athletes per weight category.

It won’t be so straightforward for both teams to retain their titles, with challengers emerging from other nations, particularly hosts Greece, who would hope to put on a good show in front of their home crowd. Romania, Moldova, Georgia and Iran will remain strong contenders despite Ukraine's legacy in the competition, especially the women's.

Earlier this month, the U15, U17 and U20 African Beach Wrestling Championships were held in Casablanca, where Algeria bagged the U17 men’s and women’s titles. The serene Ain Diab beach in the Moroccan capital hosted the age-group tournaments before the Beach Wrestling World Series, marking the first time the event was held in an African city.

Soon after the U17 and U20 Beach World Championships, the Katerini Beach will host the World Series on September 27 and 28. The penultimate stop of the event is set to be the biggest of the 2025 season so far in terms of participation. There have been a record number of entries, underlining the sport’s continued global growth.

The World Series will return to Africa in October for its final instalment of this season, when the tournament will be held in Alexandria, Egypt, on October 18 and 19.