Development

UWW Training PE Teachers at ISF Gymasiade in Bahrain

By United World Wrestling Press

Bahrain (December 2) – United World Wrestling partnered with the International School Sports Federation (ISF) to train PE teachers at the ISF Gymnasiade in Bahrain. The ISF Gymnasiade event took place from 23-31 October. This annual event involves competitions for sport school athletes over 26 sports. Wrestling has been a part of this event in each edition. During the Gymnasiade, ISF also provides training to local PE teachers to potentially implement more sports within their curriculum.

UWW was fortunate to be able to provide training sessions to the PE teachers on using the Wrestle4Fun curriculum. The training was led by UWW Educators Ahmed Khedhri (TUN) and Rafael Galva (PUR).

The training was held on 25 October and included 51 participants. The training included 2-hour theoretical and 2-hour practical sessions, with participants actively participating in Wrestle4Fun activities. These activities provided the participants with the advantages of adding wrestling to physical education. “Collaborating with PE teachers provided a very valuable experience. I hope this experience will become more common, allowing wrestling to be part of the physical education curriculum,” said Mr. Khedhri.

Mr. Galva also participated in the ISF International Educational Forum. During the forum, Mr. Galva discussed Promoting a Healthy Lifestyle to School Kids. He also spoke about the importance of positive role modeling from parents and coaches. 

ISFParticipants go through the Fun and Skills Zone at the ISF Gymnasiade in Bahrain. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

Mr. Galva and Mr. Khedhri also conducted sessions at the Fun and Skills Zone throughout the event. This was a chance for young athletes to try wrestling games and activities. This included athletes from many different sports and countries.

The wrestling competition was held on October 28-30 and included participation in all three styles. The competition had 321 athletes from 18 countries participating. 

Wrestle4Fun is developmentally appropriate for all age levels and designed to support girls’ and boys’ physical literacy journeys. It has five stages based on different developmental levels. Each stage has 15 lessons. In total, there are 75 lessons with over 200 games and activities. The entire Wrestle4Fun programme can be found on the Academy platform.

The UWW Academy can be found at https://academy.uww.org/.

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UWW President Lalovic Meets Azerbaijan President Aliyev in Baku

By United World Wrestling Press

BAKU, Azerbaijan (July 29) -- United World Wrestling President Nenad LALOVIC met President of Azerbaijan Ilham ALIYEV on Wednesday. Baku is hosting the U17 World Championships from July 27 to August 2.

Lalovic and Aliyev discussed the success of wrestling and Lalovic emphasized that the U17 World Championship was organized at a high level. He also expressed his gratitude to Aliyev for his support and for the activities of UWW.

Azerbaijan has been one of the most successful wrestling countries and it continues to develop and hosts various events. Lalovic mentioned that UWW has had successful cooperation with the Azerbaijan Wrestling Federation for organizing wrestling events.

Wrestling Nenad LALOVICNenad LALOVIC, left, with Azerbaijan President Ilham ALIYEV.

Aliyev mentioned the importance of the U17 World Championship held in Baku for the future success of young wrestlers, and noted the importance of organizing such sporting events in our country in the future.

Azerbaijan is hosting the U17 Worlds after 14 years and the 2026 edition has already created history with 675 participants, the most ever. 

During the meeting, both noted that wrestling has rich traditions in Azerbaijan, and touched upon the work being done at the state level for its development.

An exchange of views was held on issues of cooperation between Azerbaijan and UWW.

The participants of the tournament praised the arrangements in Baku and gave positive reviews of the same.

Armenia's head coach Gagik KHACHATRYAN told the team that his team's experience in Baku had been positive.

"I've been a coach for many years, and nowhere have we been welcomed the way we have here," he said. "My impression of Baku is very positive. The organisation is at a very high level. Everything is well coordinated - the competitions, the logistics, the overall workflow," he said.

 

He also praised the spectators for their sportsmanship and positive attitude.

"Everyone treated us very warmly. Nobody showed any negative attitude," he said. "The fans supported fair competition and clean sport."