calendar

Wrestling Body Approves Standardized Competition Calendar

By Eric Olanowski

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY (August 27) -- United World Wrestling’s Executive Committee has approved a standard yearly calendar. The approval came after requests by national federations to have a fixed annual calendar to improve athlete participation, streamline budgeting and increase promotions.

The Executive Committee received and approved the following proposed dates: 

  • U23 Continental C'Ships: One month prior to Senior Continental C'ships 
  • Senior Continental C'Ships: April/May 
  • Cadet Continental C'Ships - Last two weeks of June 
  • Junior Continental C'Ships - First two weeks of July 
  • Cadet World C'Ships - Last week of July 
  • Junior World C'Ships - Middle of August 
  • Senior World C'Ships - Middle of September 
  • U23 World C'Ships - October 
  • World Cups - November

In addition, the Executive Committee also approved the timeline for host city candidacies:

By following these procedures, wrestling ensures that the calendar will be set four (4) years in advance, which will give national federations, host cities, and organizers more time to prepare for their events. 

#development

South Africa completes phase one of UWW DNSS Program

By United World Wrestling Press

PRETORIA, South Africa (November 17) --  The South African Wrestling Federation successfully completed the first phase of the United World Wrestling National Development and Support Strategy (DNSS) from October 17 to 26.

Under the supervision of Vincent AKA, UWW International Development Officer for Africa, and the coordination of Markus DEKKER, member of the SAWF Coaches Council, a nationwide development mission was undertaken. The UWW-SAWF team visited provincial associations, conducting technical assessments, talent identification sessions, and workshops for coaches.

South Africa

Using the UWW National Federation Assessment Tool (NFAT), the mission provided a detailed overview of the current state of wrestling in South Africa -- from grassroots participation to elite athlete preparation.

The tour covered major provinces including Western Cape, Eastern Province, Free State, Northern Cape, Gauteng North, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and North West, engaging hundreds of athletes, coaches, and local administrators.

The assessment revealed strong technical potential among the U15 and U17 categories, as well as a growing passion for wrestling across communities and schools.

The mission also identified the need for stronger governance structures and more consistent communication between SAWF, provinces, and clubs to unify efforts under a national development plan.

Both teams will continue to work towards second phase of the program which will include establishing two regional pilot centers [Pretoria and Western Cape] to act as training and coordination hubs, launch a "School Integration" program linking PE teachers, schools, and wrestling clubs, developing a national athlete database to monitor and support emerging talents.

It will also aim to organize governance and compliance workshops to reinforce management capacity, implementing UWW coaching courses nationwide, forming a National Technical Committee to coordinate DNSS implementation and introducing measurable evaluation indicators to ensure accountability and progress tracking.