#development

British Wrestling Association Hosts Two-Day Referee Conference

By United World Wrestling Press

MANCHESTER, United Kingdom – The British Wrestling Association (BWA) recently hosted an inaugural Referee Conference in Manchester, UK on April 9-10. This seminar was done in conjunction with the UWW Development Department and conducted by Mr. Carlos Garcia (ESP). The course had 16 participants from the BWA and included four current UWW referees and 12 national referees, with four of them being new. 

“With some of our UWW Officials seeking upgrades in the near future, the conference provided a fantastic opportunity to learn from Carlos Garcia who was a key feature in making the whole weekend a success. The conference was incredibly well received by our officials, and it is our intention to make this an annual activity following UWW's annual publication of rule changes," said Craig Anthony, CEO of the British Wrestling Association.

GBRParticipants of the British Wrestling Association's (BWA) two-day course go through a practical training session. (Photo: David Morgan)

The goal of the course was to provide training on the new rules and focus on some of the more challenging areas for referees. The referees participated in theoretical and practical sessions during the two-day course that included the work in the following areas:  the new 2022 rule changes, takedown and control, out of bound situations, risk vs no risk, passivity, fleeing the mat/hold, referee mechanics, positioning during a bout, and mat chairman responsibilities.

“All participants showed great interest and commitment during the course. They asked many great questions and collaborated with the other participants.  All in all, it was very pleasant to work with them” said Carlos Garcia.

"British Wrestling's inaugural Referee Conference was an important step in our continued growth and efforts to build back better from the Coronavirus pandemic. After such a long time off the mat for many of our domestic referees, it was important for us to schedule an update on rule changes as well as to continue their development and raise officiating standards as a key part of the competition experience,” said Craig Anthony.  This seminar is part of their 2021-'25 strategic plan to “Develop the wrestling workforce to deliver the best combat sport experience in the UK.” 

This is just one of the many activities that have helped BWA grow over the past few years. “Since British Wrestling started its new strategic plan 2021-'25, everybody seems to be fully committed to further developing wrestling in the UK.  And you can see it and feel it in the way everybody performs and collaborates with the same goal:  compete at the highest level,” said Carlos Garcia.

Photos were taken by David Morgan (On the Mat | Flickr/On The Mat (@onthematuk) • Instagram)

#development

UWW hosts pre-Belgrade Worlds training camp

By United World Wrestling Press

DIVCIBARE, Serbia (October 2) --- United World Wrestling, together with the support of the Olympic Solidarity Sports Development Unit - Athletes and Sport Development Division via the Youth Athletes Development – International Federation Training Opportunity, organized a ten-day acclimatization camp before the first of six qualification events for the Paris Olympic Games from September 5-15, in Divcibare, Serbia.

Over 130 athletes and coaches from 50 nations participated in this year’s training camp and the UWW Technical Assistance for Competitions program.

SRBWrestlers who attended the training camp warm up for practice with a friendly game of basketball. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

‘We understand the importance of this competition and the financial difficulties our federations are facing with the worldwide inflation. At United World Wrestling, we always have our athletes at heart and try to support them as much as we can, to be fair to everyone to have an equal chance to take part in the 1st Paris Olympic Games Qualifier for wrestling, to help them on their first step towards achieving their Olympic dreams,' said Deqa NIAMKEY, UWW Development Director. ‘We had a record-high number of athletes and coaches this year in our supporting program.’