#Grappling

UWW Announces Grappling U23, Senior World Championships Hosts

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (March 1) -- United World Wrestling announced the host cities for its top two Grappling events in 2022.

Grappling is one of UWW's fastest-growing styles, with events and participation numbers growing each year.

The Grappling World Championships will be held September 5-8 in Belgrade, Serbia. As is the norm, it will be before the Olympic-style World Championships which are also scheduled in Belgrade.

In 2021, the event was held in Belgrade prior to the U23 World Championships. This year, it only gets better with the Championships to be held at the Stark Arena. This will be one of the biggest organizations of the Championships to date for grapplers to exhibit their talents of submission.

A month later, the U23 Grappling World Championships will be organized in Pontevedra, Spain. The beach city will be the host as Grappling and its stars close out the year on a high in Spain, a country that continues to emerge as a big nation for sports talents. 

“We have grand plans for Grappling and it will be UWW's priority moving forward,” Nenad LALOVIC, President of UWW, said. “This sport has enormous potential and we look forward to working with grappling experts and combining our knowledge from the Olympic styles.”

The first Grappling competition for the year will be the Senior European Championships that begin in Budapest, Hungary from March 26-27.

Grappling, formerly organized by UWW’s Associated Styles office in Istanbul, Turkey, has been brought back to UWW Headquarters in Switzerland with hopes of progressing the sport to the next level.

For the full list of events on the Grappling calendar and all other styles can be accessed at uww.org/events.

#UnitedWorldWrestling

UWW and European University Sports Association Sign MoU

By United World Wrestling Press

POREC, Croatia (June 2) -- United World Wrestling (UWW) and The European University Sports Association (EUSA) formally signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two organisations in Porec, Croatia on May 30.

The MoU was officially signed by the two presidents: UWW President Nenad LALOVIC and EUSA President Haris PAVLETIC at an official signing ceremony. The MoU marks a commitment by EUSA and UWW to cooperate to further university sport, specifically in wrestling across Europe, and to explore the possibilities of working closer together, including on the potential of EUSA Wrestling events in the future.

Both presidents expressed their pleasure to formalise the cooperation, and excitement for the future of wrestling in European university sport.

The MoU was signed on the occasion of the “Unisport HR Finals”, the finals of the Croatian University Sport competitions, and a range of UWW Wrestling events, including the Beach Wrestling World Series, which all took place in the Croatian city.

“The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with United World Wrestling marks an important milestone in strengthening cooperation between international sport federations and the university sport movement," EUSA President Pavletic said. "We are particularly pleased to welcome wrestling into the EUSA Combat Sport Championships starting from 2027 in La Nucia, Spain, creating new opportunities for student-athletes to compete, develop, and promote the values of excellence, respect, and fair play."

The EUSA delegation was additionally represented by Vice President Aitor Canibe SANCHEZ, Secretary General / CEO  Matjaz PECOVNIK, and Director of Sports Events Liam SMITH.

About United World Wrestling:
United World Wrestling is the international governing body for the sport of wrestling, recognized by the International Olympic Committee. Headquartered in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland, UWW oversees Olympic wrestling disciplines, including Freestyle, Greco-Roman, and Women’s Wrestling, as well as associated styles such as Grappling, Pankration, Belt Wrestling, and Beach Wrestling. UWW works with national federations worldwide to promote, regulate, and develop the sport at all levels.

About EUSA:
EUSA organises European Universities Games and European Universities Championships across 25 sports, attracting more than 6,000 participants from over 500 universities each year. (eusa.eu)