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Women in Sport: Coaches begin the WISH Programme

Sunday, September 4, 2022 - 06:32 By United World Wrestling Press

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London, England (August 22) – Women in Sport High-Performance Pathway (WISH) kicked off the first edition of the programme on 23 May.  WISH was designed to equip women coaches with the potential and ambition to gain roles at elite coaching levels within their sports. The programme is specifically designed to help coaches develop their sport-specific skills, leadership skills and behaviors and build confidence. United World Wrestling is participating along with seven other IF’s and is being supported by Olympic Solidarity, the University of Hertfordshire, and Females Achieving Brilliance (FAB).

United World Wrestling selected three coaches to participate in the first edition. Those coaches include Martine DUGRENIER (CAN), Aline DA SILVA (BRA) and Carissa HOLLAND (AUS). They recently had the opportunity to attend the Residential Session at the University of Hertfordshire (August 14-20).  “The WISH Programme was really well conducted," said Carissa Holland. "We not only learn about leadership qualities and skillsets, but I learned a lot about myself (especially coming out of the recent Commonwealth Games in Birmingham).”  

The residential session was a weeklong event where the coaches attended working sessions and participated in learning activities with the 24 other coaches in attendance.  Some of the key learning points included leadership skills, creative problem-solving, creating connections, mindset, having uncomfortable conversations and visualizing the future, among many other topics.

WISH
Participants of the WISH programme gather for a photo. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

“The residential week was great. We had the opportunity to meet great people all around the world and learned from experienced well accomplished people," said Aline da Silva. "It was very inspiring. I have learned to embrace a leadership role, to empower others and enjoy the journey! I’m excited to see where the program will lead me over the next 20 months,” said Martine Dugrenier. “The week was more than I expected; I shared a lot with the coaches and improved my knowledge about my leadership. I came back home excited to improve all I learned there and keep the connections.”

The WISH Programme is a 21-month programme.  These coaches will continue meeting with the WISH Leadership Team and work with their leadership mentors and sport-specific mentors.  WISH was originally piloted as the WSLA High-Performance Coach Programme.

UWW participated in the original pilot program with four coaches. After a successful experience, the WISH Programme was developed and expanded to include participation by more International Federations.  UWW has renewed its participation in the outstanding programme.

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Kenyan Wrestling Federation aims to go beyond the summits 

Tuesday, November 14, 2023 - 18:33 By United World Wrestling Press

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NAIROBI, Kenya (November 14) The Kenyan Wrestling Federation, in partnership with the Kenyan Olympic Committee, is working to grow and develop wrestling in their country. Today, the Kenyan Wrestling Federation is one of the leading wrestling federations participating at the world and continental levels. Based on that, the NOC and the KWF have decided to organize courses for their coaches and referees to help their training further.

The coaches and referees participated in a Level 1 Coaching Course and an Introduction to Referee Course from October 20-24. The Refereeing Course ended with a competition on October 25, intending to evaluate the referees understanding.

The Level 1 Coaching Course was conducted by Vincent AKA – UWW development officer from the Ivory Coast. The course had 25 participants (18 men and seven women). "The participants were very disciplined, excited, and asked questions. Their active participation during the course showed their willingness to learn," said Aka.

For the first time, the Kenyan Wrestling President came to the closing ceremony, sending a warm word to the participants and the trainers. "We appreciate you; thank you for coming to Kenya to train our coaches and referees," said Mr. President.

At the closing ceremony, Humphrey KAYANGE, a Kenyan IOC member representing the President of the Kenyan National Olympic Committee, sent a very encouraging word to the participants. "Continue to enjoy the sport; you have so many opportunities. There are so many opportunities where the National Olympic Committee supports you. But this is a start; you cannot stop here," said Kayange.

Kayange also mentioned there's a lot of potential in Kenya for wrestling. "There's a lot of Mahabilas in Kenya and we need to create a pathway for them. We also want to continue to support all the coaches and referees who have shown their commitment," said Kayange.

KENKenya hosted an Introduction to Referee Course in Nairobi in late October. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

The Level 1 Course focused more on how to coach. The coaches participated in practical assessments to demonstrate their skills, while the theoretical part was a written examination. 

Mr. Charles VILLET – UWW Educator, IS, Olympic Referee and Rio Golden Whistle winner, conducted the Introduction to Refereeing course. This course had the same participants. 

The referee participants focused on skills that would provide a solid foundation as a referee. They focused on evaluations of holds, starting and ending matches, and referee mechanics, among many other areas. The participants learned these areas through theoretical and practical applications. Then, at the end of the course, the new candidates refereed the local U17 tournament. This allowed them to use the skills that they learned during the course. 

"All of you are winners. This sport is the best for development, respect, teaching people, and respecting your father, mother, and country," said Villet. 

"We have been fortunate in these areas, especially on technical issues. Techniques are changing, and how people execute techniques becomes different. We need to improve our technical game because that is the base of everything," said Mr. Wallucho, the Kenyan Wrestling Federation Secretary.