Cambodia hosts educational activities in lead up to Southeast Asian Championships

Monday, January 16, 2023 - 22:09 By United World Wrestling Press

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (December 20) -- In a move to strengthen wrestling in Southeast Asia, United World Wrestling (UWW) organized a series of educational activities in Phnom Penh, December 8-15 before the 2022 Southeast Asian Championships.

These activities included: a Training Camp, a Level 1 Coaches Course, an Introduction to Refereeing Course, Level 1 UWW Referee Course (obtain category III referee license), and a UWW Event Organization – IT course.

A total of 80 participants including athletes, coaches, referees and IT specialists took part in the events. The educators were Zach Errett (USA), Igor Ligay (KAZ), Vincent Aka (CIV/FRA) and Youssef Bouaziz (TUN).

These courses were held with the support of the Olympic Solidarity, the Cambodia Olympic Committee and the Cambodian Wrestling Federation. “The 2022 Southeast Asian Wrestling Championship is the largest ever international senior wrestling tournament in Southeast Asia. The participating countries’ participation and preparation for this competition will help grow wrestling in the region for years to come," said Casey Barnett, VP of the Cambodian Wrestling Federation and SEA President. "It has been successful with the support of the amazing United World Wrestling development team and technical officials who conducted training to Southeast Asian federations prior to the competition. Before the competition, UWW trained dozens of referees, coaches, athletes and IT officials to provide critical human resources to grow the sport in our region.”

CAM Participants from five nations attended the seven-day training camp. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

Training Camp – 8-15 December 2022
A total of 40 participants from 5 countries took part in this training camp. Training sessions were led by UWW Educator, Vincent Aka (CIV/FRA). Training included learning new and different techniques, games, match conditioning, and discussions on the preparation for competitions. Also, during the camp, Komeil GHASEMI (IRI), a 2012 London Olympic champion, was able to show techniques and serve as a role model for the athletes. “It was a good camp! The wrestlers were committed and willing to learn to improve their level.” said Mr. Vincent Aka.

CAM1 Two Coaching Courses took place in Cambodia over three days. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

Coaching Course – Level 1, 12-15 December 2022
This course is part of UWW’s educational program that paves the way towards improving coaching skillsets and facilitating delegates with tools to strengthen their professional work.

The Coaching Course Level 1 was divided into two sessions: theoretical and practical. The structure of this course was designed in a way that any lesson learned in the classroom was applied on the mat. The main topics covered in the course were the implementation of discovery games, introducing new techniques, improving coaching skills, giving feedback, age group characteristics, Anti-Doping and athlete safeguarding. The course was conducted by UWW Education Manager, Zach Errett (USA). “It was great working with coaches from the Southeast Asian region. They worked very hard, and we saw them grow during the course. It is exciting to see the direction they are headed in this region.” said Mr. Zach Errett

Introduction to Refereeing, 12-15 December 2022
The course was conducted by UWW Educator Igor Ligay (KAZ). Referees had theoretical sessions and practical sessions on the mat. They studied the evaluation of actions, referee mechanics, the start and end of matches, and referee positioning during the match. The participants also had an opportunity to practice their skills with simulation matches prior to the start of the competition. After the Introduction to Refereeing Course, all attendees took part in the 2022 SEA Championships and participated in the Level 1 UWW Referee Certification Course. This will allow them to become licensed UWW referees. “It was a very good course. In this group, all the participants were young and inexperienced. However, they were eager to learn and improve. This was a good course to have before the competition started,” said Mr. Igor Ligay.

CAM2 Participants of the IT Course gather for a photo. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

Event Organization – IT Course, 14-15 December 2022.
The IT course was conducted by UWW’s IT Specialist Youssef Bouaziz (TUN). A total of 8 participants from 6 countries participated in the course. The participants were provided a hands-on experience using different tools - Arena, UWW timing and LGTV software. The course consisted of theoretical and practical parts and had 3 main chapters. First, how to create and manage competitions. Next, how to manage UWW timing. Lastly, how to stream and record an event. “I am very happy that this region has a good young generation that wants to improve the event level in their country. They were excited and asked many questions on how to improve. It was great to see them look to the future and how they will improve wrestling for their federations.” said Mr. Youssef Bouaziz

CAM3 Wrestlers drill during one of the training session. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

Words of Participants
“Training camp was a great opportunity to learn new techniques, and exchange experience between different athletes. We had a great time and hope to participate in such events in the future. I want to thank the Cambodian Wrestling Federation and United World Wrestling for this great opportunity to grow,” said Dorn Srors, a Cambodian female athlete.

"Learning is a lifelong process. Therefore, I am thrilled to be part of the United World Wrestling course on coaching. It was a great opportunity for me to learn and unlock new skills with other coaches from Southeast Asian regions," said Komeil Ghasemi, the Head Coach for Cambodia.

“I take this opportunity to share my big thanks with the organizing committee and all involved in this course for giving me a chance to witness the value/gratefulness of the Introduction to Refereeing course in Cambodia from December 12-19, which was conducted with the support of Olympic Solidarity and United World Wrestling. Without any doubts, this course helped me to enlighten my knowledge in referee duties which come in any forum and to face them with much more confidence than yesterday,” – said Piyumi Lakshika, a women's referee from Sri Lanka.

“The UWW IT Training Course by Mr Youssef Bouaziz was incredibly informative and interactive. This training has equipped me with lots of tangible and professional tools to leverage on and use in achieving excellent desired results. With the help of the practical sessions during the training, now I know how to utilize available resources to get ahead of any issues that may arise,” - Chen Weiming, Wrestling Federation of Singapore.

Cambodian Wrestling Federation is working very hard to develop wrestling in its country and the region. UWW is committed to working alongside them in this journey to help them grow and strengthen the whole Southeast Asian region. This event had a record number of participants, and UWW is excited about the growth of wrestling in Southeast Asia.

#UnitedWorldWrestling

UWW announces 2024 Hall of Fame inductees

Wednesday, July 31, 2024 - 10:07 By United World Wrestling Press

PARIS (July 31) -- In his earlier life, Steeve GUENOT (FRA) was a railwayman. He juggled his day job with his passion, wrestling, which led him to the Olympics.

There, on the biggest stage of all in Beijing 16 years ago, the Frenchman scripted history—winning a gold medal to end his country's 80-plus-year drought of producing an Olympic champion wrestler. That moment changed his life, and Guenot went on to inspire a generation of wrestlers.

For his path-breaking achievements on the mat and his restoration of belief in an entire nation, the French hero was inducted into the United World Wrestling Hall of Fame days before the Paris Olympics were declared open.

The Beijing Games gold medallist, who also won a bronze at London 2012 and a bronze medal in the 2007 World Championship, was among the three wrestlers included in this year's list. The other two were freestyle legend Mavlet BATIROV (RUS) and Canadian trailblazer Tonya VERBEEK (CAN).

Additionally, referee Vassilis PAGONIS (GRE) and legendary Armenian coach Levon JULFALAKYAN (ARM), too, were accorded the prestigious honor this year.

The Hall of Famers are permanently recognized on UWW's website, at the organization's headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland, and in the international wing of the USA Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Mavlet BATIROV (RUS) is a two-time Olympic champion. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Martin Gabor)

A 66kg category Greco-Roman champion, Guenot was born to a family of wrestlers in 1985. Both his parents were involved in the sport, and his siblings were, too. Like him, Guenot’s brother Christophe is an Olympic medallist. But no one scaled the heights that Guenot did.

France hadn't won an Olympic gold medal in wrestling since the 1936 Games when Emile Poilve finished on top of the podium.

Guenot broke that hoodoo and went on to win a lot more. After a highly successful playing career, he moved to coaching and was involved in grooming young wrestlers at his club in Dijon, something he has done to date.

Joining him on the list of honors is a Russian legend whose name is synonymous with excellence. One of the true greats of the sport, Batirov won admirers all over the world with his gritty wrestling style. He was one of the most dominant wrestlers in the noughts, particularly in the 55kg men's freestyle category, before he moved to 60 kg due to weight class adjustment.

Born in 1983, Batirov’s first big moment came in 2004, when he won the gold medal in the 55 kg category at the Athens Olympics. He went on to win his second Olympic gold medal four years later while competing in the 60 kg category and during that four-year cycle, he won the world title as well as a world championship bronze at 60kg.

These results, combined with multiple European championship medals, sealed his status as one of the finest wrestlers to ever step on the mat. After he retired from the sport, Batirov gave back to it by mentoring and coaching young wrestlers and sharing his deep insights into the game with them.

Tonya VERBEEK (CAN) was the head coach of the Canadian national team. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Tony Rotundo)

Like Guenot and Batirov, Verbeek too has had an outsized influence on the sport, especially in her country.

After the Ontario native picked the sport as a schoolgirl at age 11, Verbeek reportedly remained undefeated throughout her career as a school-level wrestler. She nearly mirrored that level of success as a senior in international wrestling.

Despite the total dominance of Japanese wrestlers, Verbeek carved out a niche for herself with her fearless style of play. She was the first Canadian woman to win a wrestling medal at the Athens Games, a silver, went on to add a bronze to her collection four years later in Beijing and completed the hattrick of medals by clinching the silver medal at the London Olympics. Apart from these, she has multiple worlds, Pan-Am and Commonwealth Games medals.

After retiring, Veerbek would break more barriers, becoming the head coach of both the men's and women's Canada teams. She currently coaches the women's program at the University of Iowa.

Armenia coach Levon JULFALAKYAN (ARM) inducted into UWW Hall of Fame. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

While all these wrestlers across the three events are legends in their own right, few actually come close to doing what Julfalakyan did.

As a wrestler, he has won it all -- Olympic gold, World Championship gold, and European Championship gold. His Olympic title in 1988 was a great exhibition of his art, as he won all his bouts in a one-sided manner to romp through the field and win the gold.

After he hung his boots, Julfalakyan turned to coaching. The academy where he coached turned into a conveyor belt of talented wrestlers. He has produced an Olympic champion, and multiple Olympic silver bronze medallists, as well as seven world and 14 European champions.

His elder son, Arsen, went on to win a silver medal at the London Olympics. In 2011, Julfalakyan was also feted at home after the country's government released postage stamps in his honor.

Vassolos PAGONIS, referee. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

Last but not least, referee Pagonis has also been included in the Hall of Fame. The Greek referee has officiated in five Olympics, 20 World Championships, and 25 European Championships. At the 1996 Olympics, Pagonis was feted with a Golden Whistle award.

Cambodia hosts educational activities in lead up to Southeast Asian Championships

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UWW announces 2024 Hall of Fame inductees