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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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Qatar hosts Regional Coaching and Referee course

Thursday, June 29, 2023 - 12:23 By United World Wrestling Press

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DOHA, Qatar (June 29) -- Qatar Wrestling Federation hosted its first-ever Regional Coaching Course and an Introduction to Refereeing Course. The courses were conducted between May 29 and June 3 in Doha and had participants from seven different countries namely Qatar, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Brazil, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.

These courses were conducted in conjunction with United World Wrestling, Olympic Solidarity, Qatar NOC and the Qatar Wrestling Federation.

The coaching course was led by Mohamed ADBELFATTAH. The referee course was led by Kamel BOUAZIZ who is the vice-president of the Referee Commission and President of the Arab Wrestling Federation.

Arsen JULFALAKYAN, President of the Athletes Commission and former world champion and Olympic medalist, assisted in the delivery of the courses.

The Regional Coaching Course was conducted over a five-day period with 20 coaches -- 18 men and two women. They participated in a Level 2 Course [Introduction to Practice Planning].

The course focused on basic video analysis, the development of effective training sessions, the mental development of wrestlers, and coaching the seven basic skills of wrestling. 

ARSParticipants go through a practical training session with Greco-Roman legend and world champion Arsen JULFALAKYAN (ARM) (Photo: United World Wrestling)

During the course, the coaches actively practiced and developed their skills through practical evaluations. The coaches also had the chance to work with Julfalakyan. The participants were able to learn valuable Greco-Roman techniques from both educators.

"The course in Qatar was interesting and eventful. Coaches and referees from the region participated in it," Julfalakyan said. "We carried out productive work both in theory and in practice. You could notice that the Qatar federation is determined to develop wrestling in the country."

“The course went very well. We had representatives from many countries," Abdelfattah said. "It is clear that Qatar is committed to growing the sport.” 

The Introduction to Refereeing Course, led by Bouaziz, was conducted for five days and had five participants who learned the foundations of being a referee.

The areas covered during the course included: the safety of the athletes, evaluation of holds, referee mechanics, positioning, and controlling the bout. The participants also worked directly with the coaches during a session to learn common areas of mistakes from referees and coaches. 

TUn
Kamel BOUAZIZ (TUN) leads the five-day Introduction to Refereeing Course in Qatar. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

"During the theoretical courses, most of the participants eagerly received the information, asked the questions, and wanted to know the latest changes to the rules. They are passionate about refereeing," Bouaziz said.

"We express our deep gratitude and appreciation to UWW Bureau Member, Head of Athletes Commission Arsen Julfalakyan, Vice-president of UWW Referee Commission-Educator Kamal Bouaziz, UWW Educator Coach Mohammed Abdelfattah, and UWW Development Department for invaluable support in helping us achieve this remarkable growth," Sheikh Fahad bin Hamad Al Thani, President of Qatar Wrestling Federation and Member of Qatar Olympic Committee, said.

"The wealth of knowledge and impactful teaching style of the UWW experts empowered coaches and referees with insight and experience that resonated profoundly."