#development

Romania hosts first coaches course of the year

Tuesday, February 14, 2023 - 13:50 By United World Wrestling Press

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IZVORANI, Romania (February 10) – The Romanian Wrestling Federation (FRL), supported by United World Wrestling and the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee, hosted the first coaching course of the year. The course was held in the Olympic Center Sydney 2000 on February 6-9. The course was hosted by Mr. Răzvan Pîrcălabu (UWW Member and President of Romanian Wrestling Federation) and attended by Mr. Mihai Covaliu (President of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee) and Mr. Eduard Novak (Minister of Sports in Romania).

At the course, more than 150 Romanian coaches were present.  The program included theoretical and practical sessions along with a written examination. During the three days, the coaches had the chance to learn from international Educators and guest speakers that included:

  • Mr. Arsen Julfalakyan (UWW Member and President of Athletes Commission)
  • Mr. Petru Toarcă (UWW Lecturer)
  • Mr. Ferenc Gyarmati (Olympic Referee and UWW Instructor)
  • Mrs. Ramona Ceamuru (Director of National Training Center for Romanian Coaches)
  • Mrs. Alina Gherghisan (Sports Psychologist of Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee)

ROMA birdseye view from the first coaching course of the year. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

During the course, all the participants learned the foundations of being a successful coach. Topics included: role of coaches, coach vision, coach as a key resource of performance, psychological approach for young wrestlers, discipline in sport, proper nutrition-healthy food and importance of the recovery.  The coaches also had practical on-the-mat sessions with Mr. Julfalakyan and Mr. Toarcă.  These sessions focused on different situations in the standing and par terre positions.  Lastly, the coaches participated in a referee course. This course was conducted by UWW Instructor Ferenc Gyarmati.

ROM1All eyes from the coaches course are on world champion Arsen JULFALAKYAN (ARM). (Photo: United World Wrestling)

“I would like to thank the Romanian wrestling federation for the invitation. It was really a very unique experience. Not every time you can have the opportunity to work with more than 150 coaches from different styles and in a country with such a rich wrestling traditions,” said Mr. Julfalakyan.

The Romanian Wrestling Federation aims to improve wrestling activities at all age groups. Providing educational courses is an important chapter in their overall development strategy for the Federation. This course was a big success and a great start to 2023.

More than 1000 Wrestlers in Saudi Arabia's Biggest Competition

Wednesday, February 25, 2026 - 16:40 By United World Wrestling Press

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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (February 24) -- Saudi Arabia organized its largest wrestling competition to date with more than 1000 wrestlers participating in the 10-day event.

The Saudi Wrestling Federation organized the event from February 8 to 17 with wrestling in Freestyle, Greco-Roman and Women's Wrestling. The age groups included U12, U17, U23 and senior level.

The tournament was also open to government and private clubs which surged the number of wrestlers participating. The clubs included wrestlers from different nationalities. According to the Saudi federation, 1,173 wrestlers participated with 1,034 male and 139 female wrestlers.

Over the 10 days, 1,491 matches were conducted using the official UWW Arena competition management system to ensure professional organization, transparency, and technical accuracy.

"The number of registered wrestlers in the Kingdom has doubled in recent years," Sherif HALAWA, UWW Certified Educator & Head of Sports Performance of the Saudi Wrestling Federation, said. "This development has already produced historic achievements, including Saudi Arabia’s first-ever Asian silver medal at the U20 Asian Championships."

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia, which termed the event as National Championships, has made steady success recently. It has also managed to grow wrestling at grassroots, women’s participation, referee development, and high-performance pathways.

"The technical level of Saudi wrestlers has improved significantly in recent years," Yusup ABDULSALAMOV, Senior Manager of High Performance at the Saudi Olympic Training Center, said. "There are promising talents capable of achieving strong international results in the near future. Saudi wrestling is clearly on the right path."