#DigitalTransformation

United World Wrestling together with N3XT Sports begins the digital transformation process

Monday, July 18, 2022 - 11:26 By United World Wrestling Press

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COSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland and BARCELONA, Spain - United World Wrestling (UWW) and N3XT Sports today announced a new partnership under which N3XT Sports will support UWW to accelerate its digital transformation by creating a digital-first approach in the organization and transform the sport using digital tools.

UWW has already prioritized digital transformation as one of five strategic pillars for the governing body’s 2022-2026 Strategic Plan, which was presented and approved at the UWW Congress in 2021.

UWW aims to create new value for its ecosystem, grow the sport itself, and modernize and digitize its processes and operations. By embarking on this journey, UWW will future-proof the organization, optimize internal processes, generate sustainable financial revenues, provide support to all the national federations and the entire wrestling ecosystem. 

The partnership between UWW and N3XT Sports aims to accelerate this transformation process and ensure maximum efficiency and benefit through a multi-year investment. N3XT Sports has been supporting UWW since early 2021 as UWW recognized the need to create new sources of value to the sport. As such, UWW’s digital transformation journey, with the support of N3XT Sports, touches on both revenue maximization and cost optimization, increasing efficiency and providing shared services within its national federations and event organizers.

Nenad Lalovic, UWW President, said: “One of the key areas of the 2022-2026 Strategic Plan, built together with our National Federations, is to embrace and foster digital transformation in order to modernize and digitize our organization. In order to achieve this, we have partnered with N3XT Sports, a leading digital transformation agency in the sport industry, that is guiding us to continuously create value for fans, wrestlers, and the global wrestling ecosystem, to ensure a sustainable and independent UWW through digital, data and innovation.”

UWW has modernized as an International Federation ever since rejoining the Olympic Program in 2013. The next stage of transformation for the federation is aimed at increasing the focus on a direct-to-consumer (D2C) strategy that delivers excellence in digital content and data to fans, media and marketing partners, as well as best-in-class shared digital, innovation and data tools to the National Federations (NF), local organizing committees, coaches, and wrestlers in order to ensure sustainable financial growth.

As part of the agreement, N3XT Sports will help design and develop the project through its digital arm, N3XT Labs. This will support on the creation and monetization of best-in-class data analytics tools and digital assets, as part of a reimagined UWW commercial portfolio, including a new UWW mobile application for fans and internal stakeholders, and Customer Data Platform (CDP) aimed at collecting and engaging data from all UWW digital audience touchpoints.

In addition, drawing on N3XT Labs’ digital expertise in sports and cloud architecture, the creation of a robust project governance structure will support the digital monetization of the UWW’s wider business strategy, whilst also developing new D2C revenue streams across the federation and its entire ecosystem.

Hisham Shehabi, COO of N3XT Sports, said: “We are thrilled to work with UWW and guide the federation through its digital transformation. To make this new digital strategy possible, UWW is committed to developing and launching various digital and data products to reach fans directly, without intermediaries, thus gaining a better understanding of their tastes and habits, and fundamentally, building the global home of wrestling and wrestlers. Our focus at N3XT Sports is to accelerate the construction and operation of this digital and data ecosystem that caters to UWW fans, internal stakeholders, national federations, and athletes.”

ABOUT United World Wrestling

United World Wrestling (UWW) is the international governing body for the sport of wrestling; its duties include overseeing wrestling at the Olympics. It presides over international competitions for various forms of wrestling, including Greco-Roman wrestling, freestyle wrestling for men and women, as well as others.

ABOUT N3XT Sports

N3XT Sports is an end-to-end digital transformation agency that works with international sporting organizations in football, basketball, and the Olympic Movement, to identify and address their most critical challenges, enabling them to achieve sustainable competitive advantage within the rapidly changing sports landscape. 

N3XT Sports was born in the world’s epicenter of innovation in Silicon Valley, has its operational HQ in Barcelona and its team is spread in different countries in Europe such as France, Italy, England, Spain, and Switzerland as well as in the United States, Morocco and Canada. 

Contact information

N3XT Sports - bea@n3xtsports.com
United World Wrestling - Eric.olanowski@uww.org

Development

2025 UWW Pat Shaw Memorial concludes in Guatemala City

Tuesday, June 3, 2025 - 11:30 By United World Wrestling Press

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GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala (June 2) -- The 2025 UWW Pat Shaw Memorial - Regional Education Development Tournament (REDT) successfully concluded once again in Guatemala City, continuing the tradition of excellence in wrestling development across the Americas.

From May 26 to June 1, athletes, coaches, referees, and officials gathered at the Center for High-Performance and Development of America (CARDA) and the Erick Barrondo Sports Complex for a week of intensive educational activities and training camps. The event offered a unique platform where participants could simultaneously improve their technical, pedagogical, and competitive skills.

The coaches’ course was conducted under the leadership of Iranian expert Professor Reza AZIMI, assisted by Ardeshir ASGARI (NCA), who also supported with translation. A total of 22 coaches from 11 countries took part in these sessions, which combined theoretical classes with practical on-mat application, allowing for immediate implementation of newly acquired knowledge.

In parallel, the referees’ course was led by Guatemalan international referee Hugo FIGUEROA, with the participation and support of UWW Referee Commission Member Rafael GALVA LEBRON (Puerto Rico). A total of 13 referees from 9 countries attended the seminar, actively engaging in discussions, case studies, and on-mat evaluations.

Throughout the entire week, participants demonstrated strong enthusiasm and commitment, sharing experiences and strengthening the regional wrestling community.

The educational portion of the event officially opened on May 26, with an inauguration ceremony attended by several dignitaries, including Ramón Francisco GONZÁLEZ PINEDA, President of the Guatemalan Wrestling Federation, and Francisco Eduardo LEE LÓPEZ, President of United World Wrestling Americas, who addressed all participants with words of encouragement.

The training camp allowed athletes from across the continent to train together, guided by both educators and coaches from the participating nations. Thanks to the excellent facilities at CARDA and the availability of five official mats, strength and conditioning areas, saunas, and recovery facilities, athletes were able to prepare under optimal conditions.

GUAWrestlers warm up and get ready to compete at the XXXIV "Pat Shaw" Memorial Cup. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

The week culminated with the XXXIV "Pat Shaw" Memorial Cup, held on May 31 and June 1. This year’s competition featured 619 matches across three wrestling styles: Freestyle (FS), Greco-Roman (GR), and Women’s Wrestling (WW), in four age groups: Senior, U20, U17, and U15. Over 308 athletes from 16 countries competed, including delegations from Barbados, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, and the United States.

The entire competition was managed using UWW’s official Arena system, with full implementation of the latest UWW standards in terms of competition management, medical protocols, anti-doping education, and technological support, with valuable collaboration from the UWW Americas T&R team.

The Pat Shaw Memorial - Regional Education Development Tournament continues to serve as a cornerstone for the development of wrestling in the Americas, providing athletes, coaches, and referees an invaluable opportunity for growth within a fully integrated educational and competitive framework.

United World Wrestling firmly believes that programs like these represent the ideal path for sustainable development, offering new generations of participants access to high-level international events while enhancing both their technical and personal growth within our sport.