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Poreč hosts 2023 Wrestling Festival

Sunday, June 11, 2023 - 14:24 By United World Wrestling Press

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POREC, Croatia (June 11) --- In a world where sport events have transcended their traditional boundaries, the Porec Wrestling Festival 2023 is set to revolutionize the wrestling scene. Supported by United World Wrestling (UWW) and set in a beautifu coastal resort in the Istria region in Croatia, this festival is much more than just a wrestling competition. 

Olympic Solidarity Technical Course for Coaches and Referees

The Olympic Solidarity Technical Course for Coaches and Referees was successfully conducted with the support of the Croatian National Olympic Committee and United World Wrestling. The courses took place May 24-28 at the Valamar Diamant Hotel in Poreč. It consisted of a Level 1 Coaching Course, led by the UWW-certified educator Gary MAYAAB (USA). The main focus of this course was to introduce coaching techniques and emphasize safety measures for young Croatian coaches.

Additionally, a five-day 'Introduction to Refereeing' course was conducted simultaneously. This course was led by Davor PETANJEK, a UWW-certified referee educator and UWW IS category referee from Croatia.

"The coaches were very knowledgeable and technically balanced in their skills," said Gary Mayabb.  Their experience level is high for being relatively young on average, the future of Croatian wrestling is bright/ They are smart, passionate and can articulate about "WHY" they coach."

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Wrestlers were going big at the Wrestling Festival Tournament in Porec. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

Adriatic Trophy & Wrestling Festival Tournament

The Adriatic Trophy (U20) and Wrestling Festival Tournament (U15 & U17) took place on May 27-28, providing a platform for over 300 Greco-Roman and women's wrestlers (U15, U17, and U20) to demonstrate their skills on a grand stage.

With the endorsement of United World Wrestling, this tournament ensured the highest level of competition, attracting top talent from various countries. It served as an inclusive platform for all wrestlers to showcase their abilities and shine. On tap to watch the action was Cuba's esteemed four-time Olympic Champion, Mijain LOPEZ NUNES.

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Olympic champions Zhan BELENIUK (UKR) and Mijain Lopez drill together at the Greco-Roman training camp in Croatia. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

The International Training Camps (GR, WW)

One of the standout features of the 2023 Porec Wrestling Festival is UWW's incorporation of the women’s training camps to help athletes refine their techniques and tactical insights.

Traditionally, Croatia is known for its high-level Greco-Roman camps, regularly organized in Porec. From May 29th-June 2, Olympic bronze medalist Clarissa CHUN (USA) led a women’s training camp with 13 nations and over 100 women’s wrestling athletes 

‘Thanks to the support of UWW, this is the biggest women’s wrestling training camp Croatia has ever hosted, and we are determined to continuously grow women’s wrestling in the region,’ said Secretary General of the Croatian Wrestling Federation Tin BREGOVIC. "Majority of our women’s wrestlers are young, and this camp offered a great opportunity for them to learn from esteemed coaches and practice with other women athletes at their age to promote skill development. The combination of world-class coaches and international participants will undoubtedly lead to a significant boost in the overall wrestling landscape."

Edit DOZSA (ITA) also provided a session on women’s wrestling rules on May 30. Additionally, a Women's Wrestling Rules Game Night was organized in the evening to help reinforce the knowledge learned in a fun and competitive environment. The winners received Nike wrestling shoes.

A ‘Safeguarding Athletes’ session was also conducted for all participating athletes and coaches on June 1.

Seminars in Women’s Wrestling Development

Dr. Ms. Kuniko TANIOKA (JPN), Vice President of Japan Wrestling Federation, Chairperson and President of Shigakkan University, and Dr. Hideyuki GOTO (JPN), Professor, Club manager and Team Doctor of the Wrestling Club of Shigakkan University, along with Prof. Dr. SC. Mario Baić (CRO), Dean of the Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Zagreb led the educational seminars for the coaches and athletes, cantered on the areas of women’s wrestling injury prevention, nutrition and physical fitness preparation for elite wrestlers.   

The Porec Wrestling Festival was a great success, combing training sessions with educational seminars and allowing coaches and athletes from different nations to have an expert exchange platform. Combined with social events and excursions, the festival was truly a celebration of wrestling, helping to bring together top experts and athletes from the sport.  

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Wrestling Australia Hosts Education Week prior to Youth Nationals

Tuesday, October 25, 2022 - 15:23 By United World Wrestling Press

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SYDNEY, Australia (October 25) – Wrestling Australia and Combat Australia organized an Education Week prior to their Youth Nationals.  During the week, the participants had an opportunity to participate in a Level 1 Coaching Course and the Introduction to Referee Course.  The coaching course was held on 17-19 October and the referee course was on 20-21 October.  On 22 October, Wrestling Australia hosted their Youth National Competition at the Whitlam Leisure Centre.

The Level 1 Coaching Course was conducted by Mr. Zach Errett (USA) – UWW Education Manager.  This course had 11 participants (8 men and 3 women).  The coach participants focused on many topics that would improve their coaching skills.  The areas of emphasis included:  implementing discovery games, identifying key factors in a technique, introducing new skills, improving coaching skills, checking for comprehension, risk management, age group characteristics, athlete safeguarding and anti-doping.  “We all learned a lot in a short period of time - the quality of teaching was great and very professional.” said Aryan Negahdari.  The coaches also participated in practical assessments on many of these areas.  They were asked to demonstrate the coaching skills that they were learning.  They ended the course with a technical session that covered various areas on different wrestling techniques and drills.  “This group of coaches was great!  They were eager to learn and had a great effort each day.  It was great to see them grow as coaches during the course.”  said Zach Errett.

AUSParticipants of the Level 1 Coaching Course and the Introduction to Referee Course host their certificates after completing the course in Sydney. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

The Introduction to Referee Course was conducted by Mr. Stefan Rudevics (AUS) – UWW Referee Educator.  This course had 14 participants (11 men and 3 women). The referee participants focused on skills that would provide a solid foundation as a referee.  The areas they focused on were evaluation of holds, starting and ending matches, referee mechanics, positioning, safety of the athletes, and controlling the bout.  “"It was fun, and the days went quick. We learnt by doing; pre- and post-course film sessions and putting it all into action on the youth Nationals with close senior referee support. Stefan was supportive, patient and very knowledgeable. He gave us feedback throughout the whole event and discussed multiple sequences of us refereeing on video, both simulated and live.” said Luke Massey.  During their course, they were asked to referee simulated matches.  This allowed them to use the skills that they were learning.  Many of these referees also participated in the Youth Nationals after the course.  “The course is a fantastic starting point for a refereeing journey, especially to complete it with a competition which helped us gain confidence, humility and insights.” Said Jackie Hattingh. During the event, they were evaluated and given feedback during the sessions.  “Throughout the course, the participants were able to build on their knowledge of wrestling and learn how to referee matches. They expanded their knowledge of the rules and understood new and different philosophies of wrestling they had not contemplated before. As an educator, it makes me so proud to see such development of my students. From little to no refereeing knowledge, to confidently and competently calling challenging matches and feeling good about it shows UWW's development program works.” said Stefan Rudevics.

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Stefan RUDEVICS (AUS) (middle) leads the Introduction to Referee Course. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

Wrestling Australia and Combat Australia are actively looking to grow the sport and improve their workforce.  Since they began these referee courses, their national referee enrollment has risen from 7 to 41. This is almost a 500% growth in referees since we started, including 11 female officials.   “We would like to thank Zach Errett, Stefan Rudevics & UWW for the fantastic opportunity they provided our emerging coaches and referees. The training that Zach and Stefan provided throughout the week was of very high value and incredibly important for the growth of our sport here in Australia. The people they trained this week can now go out to practice their new skills and plant the seeds for future.  The feedback we received from all attendees was that they learnt so much and have already started to apply these new skills within days. We look forward to repeating this type of training on a regular basis as it is so important for the growth of our great sport of Wrestling.” said Andrew Kanatli – President of Wrestling Australia