World Championships

Senior Athletes to Participate in Historic Training Camp Prior to World Championships

Tuesday, September 3, 2019 - 15:05 By United World Wrestling Press

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Over 150 participants from 35 countries

NUR-SULTAN, Kazakhstan (September 3) -- United World Wrestling has announced it will host its largest-ever training camp prior to the 2019 Senior World Championships in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. 

The training camp will take place September 4-18 at the Olympic Cycling Centre in Saryarka. 

Over 150 participants from 35 countries have registered for the camp, which is being organized by UWW Development Department in collaboration with the Kazakhstan Wrestling Federation.

 

“With the athletes at the heart of the our technical assistance and development programmes, the UWW Development Team has worked hard to ensure all the athletes enjoy a proper acclimation camp prior to the World Championship” said President Nenad LALOVIC. “Arriving early in a country to train for the world championships is key to success and it’s even more important because these world championships qualify nations for next year’s Olympic Games.”

The United States, Cuba, Korea and several other nations are sending wrestlers to the training camp. Some notable training camp participants include Olympic champion Hyeonwoo KIM (KOR), two-time world champion RYU Hansu (KOR), world No.2 Seunghak KIM (KOR), world silver medalist Adam COON (USA), world No.3 Minseok KIM (KOR) and world No. 4 Luisa VALVERDE MELENDRES (ECU).

 

The 2019 Senior Wrestling World Championships will begin Saturday, September 14 with Greco-Roman action. The event will feature 1000 wrestlers from 101 nations across 9 days of competition in Greco-Roman, women’s wrestling, and freestyle

UWW and Iran sign MoU to bring Chouke under Associated Styles

Sunday, April 20, 2025 - 13:07 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (April 20) — United World Wrestling and the Iran Wrestling Federation took a significant step to promote Choukhe, signing a four-year Memorandum of Understanding.

The MoU will enable both organizations to work together to promote and protect Chouke, a traditional form of wrestling, under the UWW Associated Styles.

Both UWW and the Iranian federation will also work to develop Chouke under their umbrella. This agreement's objective is to facilitate the protection, development, and promotion of Chouke. As per the agreement, both parties will hold regular meetings to exchange ideas and share knowledge.

Chouke is a traditional form of wrestling in Iran with wrestlers performing on mud in a marked circular ring. Each bout is of five minutes with more than one bout conducted at the same time. In case of a tie with a one-minute break, three minutes of extra time are added. Within three minutes, the wrestler who earns the first point will be the winner.

This style of wrestling does not allow the wrestler to touch his opponent's legs. The bout can only be fought with grips above the waist. There are different ways to score points in Chouke.

One point is awarded for a takedown, two points are awarded if a throw is completed outside the ring, and one if completed inside. Most other moves award only one point. A fall occurs when even one shoulder touches the ground.

Both wrestlers have to wear the official clothes to compete in Chouke. A t-shirt, a special jacket and a short are considered to be official outfit. The shirt must be long enough to go below the waist and the sleeves be long till the elbow. A strong cloth belt must be tied around the waist of the wrestlers and is fixed at the back and the wrestlers compete barefoot.

The old form of wrestling has a special place in Iranian history, and the agreement will help with its growth and development in Iran. UWW's commitment to work closely with the Iran federation for Chouke is in line with its vision to grow and promote all the traditional forms of the oldest form of the sport.