Diplomacy

Lalovic Visits Baku, Meets President Aliyev

By United World Wrestling Press

BAKU (April 29) -- United World Wrestling Nenad Lalovic has traveled to Baku to meet with Ilham Aliyev President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Lalovic presented Aliyev with the UWW Golden Order, in recognition of the president's role in development of international wrestling. The Golden Order is the highest honor in international wrestling. 

Lalovic also congratulated Aliyev on his recent re-election as president and hailed the excellent organization of the Formula 1 race in Baku. He also described Azerbaijan as one of the world's leading countries in wrestling.

Saying that Azerbaijan is hosting prestigious international sporting events, Lalovic also mentioned the success fo the first European Games, which were held in Baku in 2015. Lalovic also emphasized Azerbaija'ss recent silver medal performance at the Freestyle World Cup in Iowa City, United States.

President Aliyev thanked Lalovic for his leadership and said the development of sport in Azerbaijan is crucial to raising the healthy young generation and sporting prospects.

 

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UWW steps up for 2028 LA Olympic cycle with new Refereeing Commission

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (March 10) -- As the new Olympic cycle kicks off, United World Wrestling has announced a new set of Refereeing Commission and appointed an independent group to maintain the standards of officiating in matches.

UWW's aim is to enhance the efficiency and performance and continuous improvement in officiating in wrestling. Taking a step in that direction, UWW has appointed an independent refereeing group to assess the standards of the officials and the officiating. The group will directly refer to the UWW President and UWW Bureau Members.

The three-member group will consist of Antonio SILVESTRI, Kamel BOUAZIZ and Arsen JULFALAKYAN. Former world champion and Olympic silver medalist Julfalakyan will provide valuable expertise as an athlete and a different perspective from that of a referee.

UWW has also reinvented the Refereeing Commission with headed by Levent SEN. The new commission will retain the same functions and responsibilities and ensure high level of officiating across all competitions.

Additionally, it will be responsible for training new referees and equipping them with the necessary knowledge to progress in their roles. The Commission will work closely with the Development Department to establish the referee education pathway and content.

For referee education and training, UWW has set up theoretical training through online content on UWW Academy, Nearpod and webinars. All the training material is available on the UWW website (uww.org). Ibrahim CICIOGLU will be in charge of the education in close collaboration with the Development department and provide expertise and advice to all parties.