#development

Uruguay hosts pair of Coaches Courses, Introduction to Refereeing

By United World Wrestling Press

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (November 11) --- Keeping with the series of UWW courses that are taking place in the American continent, on this occasion was the time of Montevideo from November 1 to 7. The courses were: Coaches Course Level 1 and Level 2 and Introduction to Refereeing. A total of 31 participants took part in the course. The majority of the coaches were from Uruguay, but there also were participants from six other countries.

This course is part of the UWW's education program, and the purpose is to provide the coaches with tools to strengthen their professional work. The course consisted of several sessions between theoretical and practical, structured in such a way that what was learned in the classroom was applied on the mat.

This course was made with the support of the Olympic Solidarity, the Uruguayan Olympic Committee, and the Uruguayan Wrestling Federation.

URUParticipants from the Uruguay courses gather for a photo. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

All the activities were held in the brand-new Combat Sports Training Center, founded in 2019, with two mats and a classroom that makes it easy to take the course.

The opening ceremony was held on November 2 and was attended by distinguished personalities such as the President of the National Olympic Committee, Julio C. MAGLIONE, the National Secretary of Sports, Sebastián BAUZÁ and the President of the Uruguay Wrestling Federation, Dante STEFANO.

We had the educators Pedro ROJAS (PUR) for the coaches and Ignacio D'Alessandro (ARG) for the referees. 

"We are very pleased with the outcome of the course. We found a group of participants with a basic level of knowledge of the sport but who were willing to learn and make the most of the concepts and tools provided. We had five days of very fruitful work, and we went back home knowing that we had left the bases for Uruguay to start implementing a successful development program. We want to come back in a while to help them take it to the next level". say Ignacio D’Alessandro, Referee Educator.

The Uruguayan Wrestling Federation is starting to work very hard in the development of the sport in its country. And from the UWW, we hope to continue working in this way with them and accompany them in their growth and institutional strengthening.

#UnitedWorldWrestling

UWW Appeal Committee concludes investigation into Olympic qualification match

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (May 29) -- The United World Wrestling (UWW) Appeal Committee has reached a decision regarding the appeals filed against the UWW Disciplinary Chamber's ruling dated April 23, 2024, concerning the officiating of Match 266 (ITA vs AZE) at the European OG Qualifier in Baku, Azerbaijan.

After carefully considering the statements from the refereeing officials involved (Alexei Bazulin, Roman Pavlov, Ibrahim Cicioglu, Kamel Bouaziz, and Casey Goessl), the reports of the two review panels, and the opinions of impartial refereeing experts, the Appeal Committee concluded that there was no indication of bias in the officiating of the match. The issues identified were determined to be related to refereeing errors and technical aspects of officiating.

To ensure a fair and proportionate outcome, the Appeal Committee has referred the case back to the UWW Disciplinary Chamber for reconsideration. The Disciplinary Chamber has been instructed to reassess the appropriate sanctions, if any, based solely on the refereeing errors and technical officiating issues in accordance with the relevant UWW rules and regulations.

Considering the above, the Disciplinary Chamber revisited the case and issued the following decision:

Considering the above, in particular, that the appeal panel found that “there is no indication of bias amounting to a breach of the fundamental principles of integrity and fair play in the officiating of Match 266” and that “since this case is about the refereeing errors and questionable decisions of a technical nature”, pursuant to the UWW Regulations and rules the Disciplinary Chamber renders the following revised sanction:

  1. The suspension against the refereeing delegates (Mr. Bouaziz, Mr. Cicioglu, Mr. Goessl) is reduced until 31 May 2024; notwithstanding the foregoing, the refereeing delegates are reinstated in the selection for the Olympic Games and may be considered, subject to the final selection by the Refereeing Commission and the UWW Bureau, to officiate only as mat chairmen during the Games.
  2. The suspension against Mr. Bazulin is reduced until 31 May 2024; notwithstanding the foregoing, Mr. Bazulin is reinstated in the selection for the Olympic Games and may be considered, subject to the final selection by the Refereeing Commission and the UWW Bureau, to officiate as referee during the Games.
  3. The suspension against Mr. Pavlov is reduced to the same period as the judge’s, i.e. until 30 September 2024.

The UWW remains committed to upholding the integrity of the sport and ensuring that all competitions are conducted fairly and in accordance with the rules and regulations.