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Bulgaria hosts Grappling referee educator course

Tuesday, August 23, 2022 - 12:31 By United World Wrestling Press

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Sofia, Bulgaria (August 22) – United World Wrestling hosted the first-ever Grappling Referee Educator Course in Sofia, Bulgaria.  The course was held from 12-16 August at the Ramada Hotel in Sofia.  The course was conducted prior to the start of the U20 World Championships which was hosted by the Bulgarian Wrestling Federation.

The course was attended by 5 expert Grappling referees.  They included Mr. Vito PAOLILLO (ITA), Mr. Richard TADO (USA), Mr. Hrant KOTANJYAN (ARM), Mr. Akim ABDRAKHMANOV (KAZ), and Mr. Gary BIRD (CAN).  At the course, they learned various techniques and adult learning principles to help deliver more effective courses.  The educators were able to practice and improve those skills directly during the course.  “The Educator course was an outstanding experience of Learning. It totally changed my view on how you should run a course to make the participants interested and engaged in the topics.  It worked well because being a student in this you see in real time how this new method is working on you during the course and how Zach manage to keep you always active and never bored during the 3 days.” said Vito PAOLILLO. “The UWW Educator Course this week in Sofia, Bulgaria was an amazing experience. Not only from a student’s perspective but it also excelled from educators’ point of view. Our instructor, Zach Errett brought a plethora of knowledge to the course and instructed our class with the highest level of today’s information and respect.” said Richard TADO. “The skills that I got on how to conduct my future courses was important knowledge on how to make people interested and engaged in session.” said Hrant KOTANJYAN.

TextParticipants from the first-ever Grappling Referee Educator Course gather for a photo. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

This educator course was conducted on the first 3 days and was led by Zach Errett, UWW Education Manager. “I was very impressed with this group.  They were very open and willing to learn new skills to help them as educators.  It was amazing watching them improve each session and apply the principles that were taught during the course.  I see great things in the future for the Grappling referees.”  Said Zach Errett.

After the educator course completed, the Grappling Referee Educators stayed for 2 additional days to develop materials for their upcoming courses.  They were able to discuss best practices and the content that should be covered.  This group also had the opportunity to attend part of the U20 World Championships.  While there, they observed how the Olympic styles referees work at the competition.  This provided a chance to look for ways to improve the referees in Grappling.  “I appreciate the continued support from UWW and I’m looking forward to working with all the UWW Federations as we all grow the sport of UWW Grappling across the world.” said Richard Tado.

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Afghanistan Coaches Build Skills at UWW Level 1 Coaching Course

Tuesday, June 30, 2026 - 06:58 By United World Wrestling Press

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ALMATY, Kazakhstan (June 30) -- Eleven coaches from Afghanistan were among 21 participants who completed a United World Wrestling Level 1 Coaching Course in Almaty, strengthening the country's coaching capacity while building closer ties with neighboring Kazakhstan.

Organized through a partnership between Olympic Solidarity, the Kazakhstan National Olympic Committee, the Afghanistan National Olympic Committee, the Kazakhstan Wrestling Federation, and United World Wrestling, the course focused on developing internationally recognized coaching competencies while fostering collaboration between the two wrestling nations.

Apart from the 11 coaches from Afghanistan, coaches from Kazakhstan also joined for a comprehensive program. The curriculum covered coaching responsibilities, skill development using UWW's Key Factors teaching methodology, athlete-centered learning through discovery games, coaching self-reflection, risk management, and practical coaching assessment.

Afghanistan

UWW Educator and former world champion Mohammed ABDELFATTAH praised the participants for their commitment throughout the program.

"I was very impressed with the overall level of the participants," Abdelfattah said. "The coaches were highly motivated, actively participated in every session, and continuously asked thoughtful questions throughout the course."

Abdelfattah was particularly encouraged by the technical level demonstrated by the Afghan coaches.

"The Afghan coaches demonstrated a strong technical understanding of wrestling." he said. "After speaking with several participants, I learned that traditional wrestling is extremely popular in Afghanistan and shares many technical similarities with Olympic wrestling. This provides coaches with an excellent technical foundation for further development."

The practical sessions proved to be a particular highlight, with coaches working through technical demonstrations, problem-solving exercises, and athlete-centered coaching activities designed to strengthen both technical instruction and coaching methodology.

The Afghanistan Wrestling Federation views the course as an important step in its long-term development strategy. Dr. Yonus POPALZY, an Afghan NOC and Olympic Council of Asia member, was instrumental in the development, organization, and success of the course.

Participants highlighted the practical nature of the course and the opportunity to exchange ideas with coaches from different backgrounds.

"The course exceeded our expectations. The practical sessions and interactive teaching methods gave us new ideas that we can immediately apply in our daily coaching."