Development

2018 Creative Sports Award to Boost UWW’s Development Projects

Thursday, January 10, 2019 - 00:25 By United World Wrestling Press

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DUBAI (January 9) -- During a dedication ceremony held in Dubai, United World Wrestling (UWW) received the H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award in the category of the best initiative of the Summer Olympic International Federations (IFs).

The 2018 edition sought to recognize the initiatives that empower youth in sports -- the award comes with a USD $250,000 prize for use in development activities.

UWW President Nenad Lalovic accepted the award on behalf of his organization, which was recognized for its innovative project “More than Medals”, the first cornerstone of the IF’s new wrestling development plan. Five camps conducted between February and July last year targeted more than 200 young elite athletes and combined high-quality training with education on important topics such as anti-doping, nutrition, training plan, and the IOC’s Athlete Career Programme. The educational part also included the athletes’ entourage. Organized on all continents, the camps also served to prepare wrestlers to qualify for the Youth Olympic Games (YOG), held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in October 2018.

While attending the ceremony, ASOIF President Francesco Ricci Bitti said, “ASOIF is very thankful to H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum for his recognition of outstanding activities of sports federations in such a generous way for the sixth consecutive year. Sports development and youth promotion go hand in hand and they are the most important fields for IFs to invest in. UWW’s project is exemplary in integrating essential educational elements into training for young athletes and UWW fully deserves this prestigious award.”

 Lalovic added, “On behalf of the wrestling family worldwide, UWW is highly honored to receive this award for the development programme ‘More than Medals 2018’ dedicated to the support and empowerment of the future generations. We reiterate our appreciation to H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum for his great initiative to support sports development.”

The application phase for the 2019 H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Creative Sports Award is scheduled to open in April 2019.

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UWW to continue tests for Greco-Roman tie-breaker rule

Thursday, June 19, 2025 - 11:18 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (June 19) — The Technical Commission of United World Wrestling has decided to further test the tie-breaking rule for Greco-Roman bouts that end with a 1-1 score.

UWW had announced in March that it would test a new Greco-Roman rule at the European Championships in April. This rule awarded victory in a 1-1 Greco-Roman bout to the wrestler who scored the first technical point.

Testing at the European Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia yielded positive results. However, to fully evaluate the rule, the Commission agreed to conduct further tests at more events.

Beginning with the U15 European Championships in Caorle, Italy from June 25, all future events till the 2025 World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia will be conducted under the new rule which awards the victory to the wrestler who scored the first technical point if the match ends 1-1. This means that the 2025 World Championships in Zagreb will be part of the testing.

The change comes after it was unanimously acknowledged that the existing rule, which awards victory to the athlete who scores the last point, may unintentionally encourage passivity at the start of the bout. Wrestlers could strategically aim to secure a passivity point in the second period, ultimately winning the match without demonstrating consistent engagement throughout.

UWW once again stresses that the modification will be implemented exclusively for Greco-Roman and will apply only to matches that end with a 1-1 score. For all other score scenarios, the existing wrestling rules will remain in effect.