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British Wrestling Association Hosts Two-Day Referee Conference

Wednesday, April 27, 2022 - 14:10 By United World Wrestling Press

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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)

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Kyrgyzstan hosts 2022 Asia More Than Medals camp

Wednesday, June 29, 2022 - 11:35 By United World Wrestling Press

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CHOLPON, ATA, Kyrgyzstan (June 29) --- Aligned with the UWW strategy that is focusing on youth development, the 2022 More Than Medals U17 training camp Asia was held in Cholpon Ata, Kyrgyzstan from 23rd to 30th of June.

Eight countries, 50 wrestlers and coaches took part in this camp. Among them, six U17 Asian Championships gold medalists and one silver medalist.

Mirlan Amatbekov, Bureau member of the Wrestling Federation of The Kyrgyz Republic on behalf of the federation presented at the camp opening on the 23rd of June.

The Anti-Doping seminar was carried out by Zhagul Nazirbaeva from the national Anti-Doping agency on the 25th of June. The seminar was centered on general Anti-Doping rules, rights & responsibilities of athletes & coaches (rules for minors and adults), testing procedure, and clean sport values, ethics.

Aisulu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ), Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ), Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) and Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) joined the camp as the ambassadors on the 25th and 28th of June and shared their techniques and experience with the youngsters and encouraged them to further pursue their dreams in wrestling.

A fun activity-day was organized with the support of the Wrestling Federation of The Kyrgyz Republic. The traditional Kyrgyz culture and the nomad life were introduced, and the young athletes had a chance to cruise and swim in the famous Issyk Kul lake.

This camp once again marked the success of the continued More than Medals program that United World Wrestling has been offering to the young athletes since 2017.

KGZCamp attendees pose together for a group photo. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

‘We are very happy to join this More than Medals Asian camp in Cholpon Ata, we learnt a lot during this camp and hope to enhance our performance in the upcoming championships. The hospitality and the organization of this camp was amazing. On behalf of the Indian wrestling federation coaches and athletes, we are very thankful for United World Wrestling organize such high standard camp.’ Shyam Budaki, wrestling coach of India.

‘I like this training camp very much. A big thank you to United World Wrestling for giving me such a great experience. We learn a lot of wrestling techniques from each other and made friends with participants from other countries, we will be missing each other.’ Nurudinova Aidai, women’s wrestling 53kg athlete from Kyrgyzstan.

As part of United World Wrestling’s commitment in advancing wrestling development in youth, the More Than Medals program has been resumed after 2 years of the COVID pandemic. The program aims at delivering high-level training camps at continental and world levels with added social, cultural activities, Anti-Doping education, nutrition advice, leadership skills and more.

‘This age period has the highest dropout rate for young athletes, and the More than Medals program aims to keep these athletes in wrestling and help them realize their full potential as wrestlers. More importantly, the theme ‘fun and friendship’ runs through the program, after all, these athletes are all under 17 years of age.’ Deqa Niamkey, UWW Development Director, ‘We invested a lot in youth development with an aim to secure the future of wrestling.’

KGZMore Than Medals attendees spend time together off the mat. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

A special thank you to the Wrestling Federation of The Kyrgyz Republic for hosting such an amazing camp for the U17 athletes from all over Asia.

The More Than Medals World training camp will be organized in Rome from the 1st to 7th of August.