#development

UWW Hosts Educator Course in Guatemala

Wednesday, February 9, 2022 - 12:39 By United World Wrestling Press

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PETEN, Guatemala (February 7) --- The first of two UWW Educator Courses was conducted in Peten, Guatemala, from 2-4 February. The course included 14 UWW Educators. The educators were mostly from Central and South America but also included a few educators from Europe.

This course was designed to help provide professional development and improve the skills of the educators.

During the course, they participated in activities to help them better understand adult learning principles, the use of formative assessments, and strategies to give proper feedback. The educators also conducted micro-leadership sessions where they had to teach the other educators some topics that are within the UWW education courses. The training was conducted by Vincent AKA (CIV) and Zach ERRET (USA).

“The course was great! The educators were very professional and were actively participating throughout the course. It was great to see them apply some of the principles that were covered in the course.”  Said Zach ERRET, UWW Education Manager.

GUA
14 UWW Educators from Central and South America and Europe came together for the first of two UWW Educator Courses. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

“Seeing these educators literally integrate the process of professionalism through training is heartwarming. And I have total confidence in their ability to train our future coaches and referees with regard to what they have demonstrated during their training. They can always count on our department to support them in their mission for the coming years.” said Vincent AKA, UWW Development Officer.

This course also included an opportunity to experience and learn the culture and history in Guatemala. At the conclusion of the course, the educators had an opportunity to visit and tour Tikal National Park. This was one of the sites of the ancient Mayan civilization.

This experience allowed the educators to build stronger relationships with each other. 

“Visiting Tikal National Park was amazing! We do not often get a chance to see historical sites and learn about the culture of the country. To have an opportunity to learn about this ancient civilization and see it firsthand was outstanding. Hosting the course and providing this experience is just another great example of the vision that President Lee has to not only raise the level of wrestling in the Americas but to provide an incredible experience for those attending events.” Said Zach ERRETT, UWW Education Manager.

This course and tour were organized by Mr. Francisco LEE LÓPEZ (President of UWW Americas) and his team. They did an amazing job of organizing the entire event and provided a top environment for a lifetime's training and cultural experience.

#Grappling, World Grappling Championships

Crane defends as U.S. takes charge at Grapping World Championships

Tuesday, August 22, 2023 - 11:19 By Vinay Siwach

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WARSAW, Poland (August 23) — It may have only won two finals out of the five its grapplers reached, but the result was good enough for the United States to win the team title over Kazakhstan for the second straight year at the Grappling World Championships in Warsaw.

Led by defending champion Kevin CRANE (USA), the U.S. accumulated 135 points to win team title while Kazakhstan finished second with 108 points. Home team Poland stepped on the podium at third with 91 points.

Crane defended his gold medal at 84kg by beating Defending champion Kevin CRANE (USA) home favorite and returning bronze medalist Mateusz MAZUR (POL), 5-4, in a thrilling final. Crane got the final underway with two points as Mazur decided to play from the bottom. Crane was called passive on the top and a point was added to Mazur’s score.

Mazur, the European champion, managed to get Crane off the top and brought him down on his back to score two points. As time passed, Mazur failed to continue his active grappling and was cautioned for stalling which gave a point to Crane who now led 3-3 on criteria.

With just over a minute left, Crane got a single leg for two while Mazur tried to match his pace. Crane was happy to concede a point for stalling but Mazur gave it one final go with 15 seconds on the clock. He got out of the bottom position and tried getting Crane down. However, Crane managed to survive a slip and kept Mazur on his back as the clock ran out.

Perhaps that win hyped up compatriot Mario GONZALEZ (USA) as he dominated the 130kg final against Lukasz OLECH (POL), winning the gold medal 12-1. In earlier rounds, Gonzalez upset returning world champion John HANSEN (USA) 6-2.

For the first two minutes of the final, both Gonzalez and Olech seemed to be playing the waiting game and it was after two minutes that Gonzalez got a point for Olech’s passivity. He scored two stepouts to make it 3-0.

With the clock ticking, Olech tried building some forward pressure but Gonzalez was quick to get out of the underhooks. As Olech fell because of his forward movement, Gonzalez scored two points by Olech on his back. With Olech’s shoulders touching the mat, Gonzalez was awarded three points and later awarded four as he continued to lock Olech. Only in the final seconds was he called for stalling, giving up a point in the 12-1 win.

Poland won a gold medal as defending champion at 100kg Andrzej IWAT (POL) won via submission against Eliot KELLY (USA), who was sporting a full-sleeve, in the final. Kelly finished fifth last year while Iwat has not lost in United World Wrestling’s Grappling competitions since the Grappling Gi loss in Pontevedra last year.

Iwat began from the bottom but never let Kelly get control from the top. As the two scrambled, Iwat got hold of Kelly’s leg and locked it despite them rolling over twice. With 3:40 left in the match, Kelly tapped out giving Iwat his second gold medal at the World Championships.

Poland could have had another world champion but Saar SHEMESH (ISR) came back to beat Piotr FRECHOWICZ (POL) 5-5 in the 92kg final after the two dominated their runs to the final.

Expectedly, both did not give an inch to each other in the gold medal match which went down to the wire. Frechowicz scored the opening two points as he controlled Shemesh from the top and tried to lock Shemesh. But Shemesh took the 2-2 criteria lead by putting Frechowicz on the mat.

Shemesh was called for passivity and Frechowicz got the one point. But his lead was short lived as Shemesh went on top again and kept Frechowicz’s back on the mat with control. The referee did not award two points but Shemesh challenged and got the three points on review to lead 5-3 with 2:51 left on the clock.

Frechowicz did not give up and scored two points for control on top and took the 5-5 criteria lead and remained on top for the rest of the bout. Shemesh challenged the criteria as he had a three-point technique. Shemesh was declared the winner which left Frechowicz in complete disarray.

At 62kg, Temerlin AZIZOV (FRA), a freestyle wrestler till two years ago, won the gold medal over Gavin TEASDALE (USA), beating the U.S. grappler via submission. Azizov won three out of his four bouts before the final via criteria decisions but was a completely different force in the final against Teasdale.

Azizov used his wrestling traits in the final by putting collar ties and trying single-leg attacks. But Teasdale locked him from behind and looked to put him down. However, Azizov got a trip with headlock to control Teasdale before a headchoke got him the submission with 2:37 left in the match.

Kazakhstan crowned a world champion last year’s bronze medalist at 77kg  Adlan MADAYEV (KAZ) stepped up on the podium after beating Brady WICKLUND (USA) via submission in the final.

Wicklund remained on top for majority of the final scoring two points and Madayev got two points for Wicklund’s stalling. But Madayev got Wicklund’s arm and rolled over with his legs across Wicklund’s head, forcing the American to tap out instantly.

Bekzat KAPASHOV (KAZ), however, could not repeat his compatriot’s exploits and ended up with a silver medal at 66kg after Giorgi RAZMADZE (GEO) defeated him in the final.

Razmadze began the gold medal bout with a stepout and got another as Kapashov tried to evade one of his attacks. Kazakhstan challenged the second stepout call but lost, giving Razmadze two more points.

Kapashov got Razmadze in control quite a few times but was never able to control him on the mat. Razmadze reversed one of Kapashov’s attack with a toss and got the control to lead 6-0. Kapashov tried a head lock submission but failed to get it as Razmadze ran out the clock.

In one of the most entertaining weight classes, European Championships silver medalist Iker CAMARA (ESP) won gold over Euro bronze medalist Dzhimsher RAZMADZE (GEO) in the 71kg final 7-2 decision.

Razmadze, who defeated returning champion Nurbek TALBUDIN (KAZ) in the semifinals, opened the scoring with an ankle pick but was called for stalling, giving Camara his first point. As the two remained in the same position, Camara tried different locks but Razmadze was happy blocking which cost him another point.

The bout had to be restarted in neutral with Razmadze on top but failed to show activity and the referees score another point for Camara who now led 3-2. Propelled by the lead, Camara reversed the positions and scored two points in the final 20 seconds to lead 5-2 as the clock expired. Razmadze challenged only to see two more points added to Camara’s score.

The grapplers will return on Thursday, the final day of the World Championships, for the Grappling Gi competition.

RESULTS

62kg
GOLD: Temirlan AZIZOV (FRA) df. Gavin TEASDALE (USA), via submission (2-0)

BRONZE: Arulan KURMANALIYEV (KAZ) df. Mayis NERSESYAN (ARM), 8-3
BRONZE: Loris ZANOLINI (ITA) df. Farhad BAGIROV (AZE), 13-2

66kg
GOLD: Giorgi RAZMADZE (GEO) df. Bekzat KAPASHOV (KAZ), 6-1

BRONZE: Omri HAVIV (ISR) df. Wojciech PAJAK (POL), via disqualification
BRONZE; Anthony DE OLIVEIRA (FRA) df. Yeldos UALI (KAZ), via submission

71kg
GOLD:  Iker CAMARA (ESP) df. Dzhimsher RAZMADZE (GEO), 7-2

BRONZE: Nico PULVERMUELLER (GER) df. Donat DEMETER (HUN), 2-2
BRONZE: Nurbek TALBUDIN (KAZ) df. Hamid HAMIDLI (AZE), 8-3

77kg
GOLD: Adlan MADAYEV (KAZ) df. Brady WICKLUND (USA), via submission (2-2)

BRONZE: Evyatar PAPERNI (ISR) df. Sergio IBARRA (USA), via submission (4-4)
BRONZE: Nahman BITON (ISR) df. Djabrail DJABRAILOV (FRA), via forfeit

84kg
GOLD:  Kevin CRANE (USA) df. Mateusz MAZUR (POL), 5-4

BRONZE: Pawel JAWORSKI (POL) df. Dmitrii TKACHENKO (UKR), via cautions (4-2)
BRONZE: Aurel PIRTEA (ROU) df. Manuel PILATO (ITA), via submission (5-2)

92kg
GOLD:  Saar SHEMESH (ISR) df. Piotr FRECHOWICZ (POL), 5-5

BRONZE: Pawel NEDZI (POL) df. Roman KIZIUK (UKR), 4-4
BRONZE: Paul ARDILA (USA) df. Levente LAKY (HUN), via submission (0-3)

100kg
GOLD:  Andrzej IWAT (POL) df. Eliot KELLY (USA), via submission (0-2)

BRONZE: Aleksandre TEVZADZE (GEO) df. Mourad BENGHOUNE (FRA), via submission (2-0)
BRONZE: Kamil WOJCIECHOWSKI (POL) df. Ramazan ABDRAKHIMOV (KAZ), 5-3

130kg
GOLD: Mario GONZALEZ (USA) df. Lukasz OLECH (POL), 12-1

BRONZE: John HANSEN (USA) df. Ioannis KARGIOTAKIS (GRE), via submission (6-0)
BRONZE: Talgat ZHIYENTAYEV (KAZ) df. Wojciech WILK (POL), 8-1