Development

Federacion Española de Lucha Concludes Two-Year UWW Grassroot Programme - Sport for All

By United World Wrestling Press

MADRID, Spain (November 13) -- FELUCHA concluded its UWW Grassroot Programme with El Club de Luchas Olimpicas Power in Torredelcampo, Andalucia.

The club hosted over 150 children from 3 to over 14 years old on a weekly basis. Thanks to the UWW Grassroot programme funding, the club promoted wrestling throughout the entire region to recruit more children and members to the club.


A variety of promotional activities were held between 2018 and 2019 for the children and youth to familiarize and practice various activities, including wrestling. The programme was open to all youth and children, including those from disadvantaged financial incomes. Training sessions were held in a variety of sports and activities, including swimming, hiking and wrestling. 

FEL President Javier Iglesias SERNA said, "The aim of the joint initiative was to create a variety of transversal activities to engage the youth and children of this region. We want the future generation to feel considered and part of the wrestling family."

 Educational sessions were also given to the physical education teachers on techniques, nutrition, psychology while keeping the focus wrestling as a valuable educational tool.


"We are very happy and thrilled with the outcomes of such small initiatives," said UWW Development Director Deqa NIAMKEY. "Federacion Espagnola de Lucha has been collaborating with UWW in the last years and is paving the way for the future generations of Spain. Now more than ever, we realize the importance of sport for all human beings, not only for the physical training but most importantly, the mental well-being. We want such initiatives within all our NF’s around the world as it is the first milestone to sports development from grassroots to elite."

Federacion de Lucha Espagnola President Francisco Javier IGLESIAS SERNA commented, "We thank UWW for its support with the Grassroot Programme - Sport for All project which has helped the development of Olympic wrestling in Spain. Spain is working on future projects in support of the base of Olympic wrestling with the creation of degrees to encourage young people and the help of sports equipment to clubs, with the support of the base we guarantee better training and greater opportunities for young people can reach technification with better training. We hope to continue counting on UWW's support for future projects."

#WrestleParis

Coach Amri on road to Paris 2024 through WISH

By United World Wrestling Press

PARIS (March 29) -- Beyond reaching gender parity for athletes competing at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is also aiming to increase the number of female coaches through its Women in Sport High-Performance (WISH) pathway. With six participants of the programme already confirmed as coaches in Paris, Elizabeth PIKE, WISH Project Director, explains how the programme is breaking down barriers to fix the system. Only 13 percent of coaches at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 were women.

At the past four editions of the Olympic Games, Marwa AMRI (TUN) represented Tunisia in the women's freestyle wrestling competition, clinching a bronze medal in the 58kg event at Rio 2016. At Paris 2024, she will be bringing all her expertise to Tunisia’s wrestling team as a coach. Although Amri may be outnumbered by her male counterparts at these Games, her very presence indicates a growing number of female coaches.

There are a number of other female coaches still pushing to achieve their Olympic dream, such as Federica TONON, who is currently working with Vanuatu’s beach volleyball team.

Amri and Tonon have something in common – they are both participants of the WISH programme, which is funded by the IOC’s Olympic Solidarity programme, managed and hosted by the University of Hertfordshire and led by Pike.

The programme got underway in May 2022 after a successful pilot from 2019 to 2021. All four cohorts have now embarked on the 21-month programme, a mix of online learning, group tasks, dual mentoring and a residential, with the first cohort already having graduated in January this year. In total, the WISH programme will equip a total of 123 female coaches from 22 sports and 60 countries with the tools needed to take on roles at the highest level of their sport.

Read the full article on olympics.com.