#development

2024 Southeast Asian Championship & Oceania Invitational (REDT): A New Era of Regional Collaboration in Wrestling

Thursday, October 10, 2024 - 13:48 By United World Wrestling Press

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CHIANGMAI, Thailand (9 October, 2024) - The 2024 Southeast Asian Championship & Oceania Invitational was a Regional Educational Development tournament (REDT), held from September 25-29 in Chiang Mai, Thailand, marked a historic moment for the sport of wrestling in the region. This event was the first in over nine years to include Oceania teams, a significant milestone that highlighted the potential for collaboration and growth between Southeast Asia and Oceania.

A total of 13 countries participated, with Southeast Asia represented by Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, and Oceania by American Samoa, Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, and Tonga. Over the five days, 284 athletes competed across three wrestling styles—Freestyle, Greco-Roman, and Women’s Wrestling—within the U15, U17, and senior age groups.

The feedback from participating teams was overwhelmingly positive. For both Southeast Asia and Oceania, the championship provided a valuable opportunity for athletes to gain crucial international exposure while competing against teams of a similar skill level. This event acted as a development springboard, allowing the athletes to refine their skills and measure their progress in a competitive yet supportive environment.

The enthusiasm from Oceania teams was particularly notable, with several expressing their strong desire to be invited back in future editions. Many teams have already committed to increasing their participation in the next event, and there is significant interest from additional Oceania nations should this tournament become a regular fixture on the calendar.

SEAWrestlers jocky for position at the 2024 Southeast Asian Championship & Oceania Invitational was a Regional Educational Development tournament (REDT). (Photo: United World Wrestling)

As we look to the future, the success of the Southeast Asian Championship & Oceania Invitational underscores the importance of fostering regional cooperation. The event has laid the foundation for further development in both regions and holds immense potential to become a cornerstone for wrestling in Southeast Asia and Oceania.

The 2024 edition was not just a competition but a powerful demonstration of unity, skill, and the collective ambition to elevate wrestling in these developing regions. The positive outcomes have set the stage for ongoing collaboration, and the prospect of even greater participation in future years is a testament to the event's success.

We look forward to welcoming even more nations and athletes as we continue to grow the sport of wrestling in Southeast Asia and Oceania.

#development

Wish Programme Cohort 4 wraps up in London

Wednesday, September 6, 2023 - 00:14 By Eric Olanowski

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LONDON, England (September 5) – Women in Sport High-Performance Pathway (WISH) kicked off the 1st Edition of the programme on May 23, 2022. 

Since then they have started 2nd, 3rd, 4th cohort to help develop more women coaches in sport. 

The WISH Programme is designed to equip women coaches, who have the potential and ambition, to succeed in gaining roles at elite coaching levels within their sports. The programme is specifically designed to help coaches develop their sport-specific skills, leaderships skills and behaviours, and build confidence. United World Wrestling is participating along with many other IF’s and is being support by Olympic Solidarity, University of Hertfordshire, and Females Achieving Brilliance (FAB).

United World Wrestling has had two additional coaches started the most recent cohorts. Teresa MENDEZ (ESP) and member of UWW Gender Equality Commission along with W.I.Lalanthi Disanayaka (SRI) are participating in the 4th cohort. A total of 124 coaches benefited from the programme which 12 are from wrestling. The coaches are from 60 nations representing the five continents and across the 33 Olympic sports.

 “I highly appreciate the opportunities provided by UWW to promote women wrestling. This week was amazing to be a group of women coaches from all Olympic sports. The programme and content prompted me to learn more about myself. I strengthen my self-confidence, learned positive thinking, how to better self-evaluate to improve, and to self-reflect to find a solution to any problem,” said Teresa Mendez.

W.I.Lalanthi Disanayaka “My country is facing so many economical and social issues but thanks to sport, we can promote a better society especially for the younger generations. Never in my dreams, I would have thought I would be selected for such scholarship. I am very grateful and will pursue the development of wrestling in my country”.

The residential session was a weeklong event where the coaches attended working sessions and participated in learning activities with over 20 coaches from other sports in attendance. Some of the key learning points included leadership skills, creative problem-solving, creating connections, mindset, having uncomfortable conversations, visualizing the future, etc.

“The WISH (Empowering Woman Coaches) is dear to me. Bringing women coaches, managers, administrators from around the globe to work on common challenges in sports is the only way forward to bridge the gap of gender equality," said Deqa Niamkey, UWW DD and WISH Strategy Chair. "We still have a long way to go before reaching the 50/50 gender equality but through such programmes, rest assured, we are on the right track. We are currently discussing with the University of Hertfordshire, WISH committee, IOC/OS to expand the programme to regional, continental level and in different languages.”

The WISH Programme is a 21-month programme. These coaches will continue meeting with the WISH Leadership Team, 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 to this outstanding programme.