Development

Women's Referee Course and Empowerment Seminar Held in Colombia

Monday, December 17, 2018 - 16:18 By United World Wrestling Press

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MEDELLÍN, Colombia (December 18) -- United World Wrestling held its first-ever women's-only Introduction to Refereeing Course last week for the Pan American countries in Medellín, Colombia.

The course had a total of 32 participants from 15 different countries and provided resources to women who are new to refereeing and helps them improve on their existing knowledge. The activities are part of an ongoing effort by United World Wrestling to increase the involvement of women in all aspects of the sport.

"The first-ever women Referees and Empowerment course is an awesome end to one of the Development department’s most successful years,” said Deqa Niamkey, United World Wrestling Development Department Director. “It is amazing to see the determination and devotion of these women to develop wrestling in their countries. Women's wrestling has a bright future ahead."

The course – led by instructors Eduardo PAZ GONÇALVES (BRA) and Abraham GALVA (PUR) -- included five days of classroom and on-the-mat learning and sharing of personal experiences in the sport. Attendees said they felt empowered by the course to go back to their home countries and start implementing changes.

"Change and adaptation are so important in the future of wrestling. Woman face many different issues in a male dominated sport,” said Shelby Tremblay (CAN): It's amazing for the United World Wrestling to recognize that there needs to be change and create great opportunities like this. Everyone's experiences are different and it's really neat to come together and share our own Wrestling stories to help shape the future."

Many attendees looked forward to seeing how the project would further impact the sport at home, and abroad.

"The growth of women's wrestling in our sport is amazing regarding athletes, but we are still behind in the number of referees and coaches, it will be great to reach the 50/50 gender equality in the future,” said Ruth Hossein (ARG). “To increase the number of women, concrete actions are necessary, and this course is a great opportunity for the region."

“As a Leadership coach, I am positive the change that started in Medellin, among women referees in Wrestling will have two aspects: a ripple effect in their countries and regions as they role model what good referees and leaders do, and also it will have a positive impact in the sport," said Gabriela Mueller Mendoza, coach, speaker, who has supported Olympic movement for over a decade. "Empowering girls and women in any society is the quickest most effective way to progress an sport in an excellent vehicle for change to happen. UWW’s leadership is convinced about their commitment to the ambitious Olympic agenda, and this  course in Colombia was a tangible way to walk the talk."

The program was also securing institutional support from the sport's top leadership.

"We are excited to see this progress for our women's outreach," said United World Wrestling president Nenad Lalovic. "These efforts are in line with Agenda 2020 and we will continue them in the future."

#WrestleZagreb

Blockbuster WW bouts on cards at Zagreb Open

Saturday, January 6, 2024 - 20:06 By Vinay Siwach

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ZAGREB, Croatia (January 5) -- Three World Championships finals rematches are on the cards in women's wrestling at the Zagreb Open next week.

World champion Yui SUSAKI (JPN) can lock horns with silver medalist Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL) at 50kg, Delgermaa ENKHSAIKHAN (MGL) will look to avenge her loss in the final to Buse TOSUN (TUR) at 68kg and Sakura MOTOKI (JPN) will look to overcome a heart-wrenching loss to Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) at 62kg.

All four 62kg world medalists are entered for the January 10-14 tournament in the Croatian capital with Tynybekova returning to the mat after finishing with a bronze medal at the Asian Games. Motoki will get a chance to take on Tynybekova who handed the Japanese a 4-1 loss in Belgrade last year.

Two bronze medalists, Grace BULLEN (NOR) and Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR), will also look to upset Motoki and Tynybekova respectively. Motoki defeated Bullen in the semifinals 2-1 while Kolidenko lost the quarterfinals 2-1.

The line-up also includes Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL), Ana GODINEZ (CAN) and Kayla MIRACLE (USA). China is sending three wrestlers -- Jia LONG (CHN), Yaru WU (CHN) and LILI (CHN) -- hoping to find the best one for the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in April.

At 50kg, Susaki and Dolgorjav are likely to meet in the final but Ziqi FENG (CHN), who won bronze in Belgrade, can stop that rematch. Feng troubled Susaki in the World Championships semifinal, taking two points in a 4-2 loss. A Feng vs Dolgorjav bout can prove to be a thriller.

Tosun, whose stunning run in Belgrade win the 68kg world title, will be in action in Zagreb. She would like to continue her winning run but Enkhsaikhan will look to end that. Enkhsaikhan was pinned by Tosun in the World Championships final in a shocking manner after she threw the Turkish wrestler for a four.

Tetiana RIZHKO (UKR) and Forrest MOLINARI (USA) are also in the fray with three wrestlers from Bulgaria -- Yuliana YANEVA (BUL), Sofiya GEORGIEVA (BUL) and Mimi HRISTOVA (BUL).

China will send Feng ZHOU (CHN) and Qian JIANG (CHN) to find the best representation for the Paris Olympic qualifying events.

It's the same story at 76kg as it is sending Juan WANG (CHN) and Yuanyuan HUANG (CHN). But the weight class will also see Samar HAMZA (EGY), world silver medalist Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) and world bronze medalist Adeline GRAY (USA). The United States also has Kennedy BLADES (USA) and Kylie WELKER (USA) at 76kg.

France's entries include Pauline LECARPENTIER (FRA), Kendra DACHER (FRA) and Ambre CHEVREAU (FRA) while Ukraine is trying to pick between Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR) and Anastasiia SHUSTOVA (UKR).

The 53kg weight class is wide open with more than one wrestler good enough to win the gold medal. Three Chinese and three U.S. wrestlers dominate the entries. Chun LEI (CHN), Qianyu PANG (CHN) and Min ZHANG (CHN) will look to finish at the best position to lay claim to the national team's spot.

The U.S. has Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA), Haley AUGELLO (USA) and Dominique PARRISH (USA). The weight class has not been qualified yet by the nation and the Pan-Am Olympic Qualifiers' represtative will be selected in February.

World bronze medalist Lucia YEPEZ GUZMAN (ECU) and European champion Jonna MALMGREN (SWE) are entered for the competition along with young prodigy Mariia YEFREMOVA (UKR) and Karla GODINEZ (CAN).

World silver medalist Anastasia NICHITA (MDA) is the favorite to win the gold medal but will have to go through Helen MAROULIS (USA) and three Chinese walls in Qi ZHANG (CHN), Kexin HONG (CHN) and Yongxin FENG (CHN).