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United World Wrestling (UWW) is the international
governing body A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ge ...
for the
sport Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...
of
amateur wrestling Amateur wrestling is a variant of wrestling practiced in collegiate, school, or other amateur level competitions. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games: freestyle and Greco-Roman. Both styles are under the ...
; its duties include overseeing wrestling at the Olympics. It presides over international competitions for various forms of wrestling, including
Greco-Roman wrestling Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), classic wrestling (Euro English) or French wrestling (in Russia until 1948) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first mod ...
,
Freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and men's college wrestling ...
,
Grappling Grappling, in hand-to-hand combat, describes sports that consist of gripping or seizing the opponent. Grappling is used at close range to gain a physical advantage over an opponent, either by imposing a position or causing injury. Grappling i ...
, for men and women, as well as others. The flagship event of UWW is the
Wrestling World Championships The World Wrestling Championships are the Amateur Wrestling World Championships organized by United World Wrestling. The Men's Greco-Roman Wrestling tournament began in 1904, and the Men's Freestyle Wrestling tournament began in 1951. The Women's ...
. It was formerly known as the FILA (french: Fédération Internationale des Luttes Associées, lit=International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles), having assumed its current name in September 2014.


Disciplines

As of 2016, UWW sets rules and regulations and holds international competitions in the following wrestling styles: ;Olympic styles *
Greco-Roman wrestling Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), classic wrestling (Euro English) or French wrestling (in Russia until 1948) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first mod ...
*
Freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and men's college wrestling ...
(Men's & Women's) ;Associated styles *
Grappling Grappling, in hand-to-hand combat, describes sports that consist of gripping or seizing the opponent. Grappling is used at close range to gain a physical advantage over an opponent, either by imposing a position or causing injury. Grappling i ...
( Gi and no-Gi) *
Beach wrestling Beach wrestling is a type of wrestling that has been officially held since 2005. History First time in 2004, during the International United Wrestling Federation (FILA), beach wrestling was registered as a type of wrestling. Beach wrestling is ...
(recognized by the FILA Congress in 2004) * Amateur pankration (recognized by the FILA Congress in 2010) * Traditional wrestling ** African wrestling **
Alysh Alysh () is a Turkic term for Central Asian folk wrestling or "belt wrestling" regulated by United World Wrestling. Alysh is an upright wrestling style. Competitors wear trousers, jackets and belts, and must hold on to their opponents' belts at ...
belt wrestling Belt wrestling is a form of wrestling that is one of the oldest historically recorded sports. It involves two belted contestants aiming to take each other over by grappling with a belt. There are hundreds of national belt wrestling styles, but con ...
(recognized by the FILA Congress in 2008) ** Pahlavani wrestling Adaptations to the international regulations set by UWW are usually made by each national federation for all national and regional competitions.


Events

Wrestling Championships held:


Presidents

* Einar Råberg (1921–1924) * Alfréd Brüll (1924–1930) *
Viktor Smeds Viktor Reinhold Smeds (18 September 1885 – 22 February 1957) was a Finnish sportsleader and a boxer, who also won an Olympic bronze in gymnastics. Sport He was one of the most significant and internationally best-known sports leaders of his ...
(1930–1952) * Roger Coulon (1952–1971) *
Milan Ercegan Milan Ercegan (April 18, 1916 – January 11, 2011) was a Yugoslav sports manager, president of International wrestling federation (FILA) for 30 years (from 1972 to 2002) and Honorary President for life of FILA. He was replaced by Raphaël Martin ...
(1971–2002) *
Raphaël Martinetti Raphaël Martinetti is a Swiss businessman and was the president of the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA) from 2002 to 2013. He was elected to this position in 2002, succeeding Milan Ercegan from Yugoslavia. Previous ...
(2002–2013) *
Nenad Lalović Nenad Lalović (born on 21 August 1958, in Belgrade) is a Serbian businessman. He has been a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) since 2015. Education He attended schools in Tunisia, Yugoslavia and Belgium and received his high s ...
(2013–present)


Events, activities, and honors

UWW is the body responsible for supervising Olympic wrestling, and so competitions for freestyle and
Greco-Roman wrestling Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), classic wrestling (Euro English) or French wrestling (in Russia until 1948) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first mod ...
take place every Summer
Olympiad An olympiad ( el, Ὀλυμπιάς, ''Olympiás'') is a period of four years, particularly those associated with the ancient and modern Olympic Games. Although the ancient Olympics were established during Greece's Archaic Era, it was not until ...
. Besides the
Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...
, there are also various international competition such as the
Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...
, the
Pan-American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...
, etc. that have wrestling as an official sport. Also, the Continental Championships and Continental Cups usually take place annual and are regulated by each Continental Committee. Then, there are
World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
that usually take place among the various nations every year (for the senior age category, every year except the year the
Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...
are held), and many international tournaments that take place between countries and among wrestlers of the same country (such as the United States Nationals in freestyle and Greco-Roman). These tournaments encompass a wide variety of age categories and also both genders, but can also take place separately for each gender or for each age category (schoolboys or schoolgirls, cadets, juniors, and seniors). UWW also sponsors training for athletes in the various wrestling styles at training centers, currently located in Finland, France, Italy, Japan, Spain, Turkey, and the United States. The
International Wrestling Hall of Fame The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum and hall of fame for amateur wrestling, headquartered in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In 2010, it began operating the Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa. History The museum was awarded to Stillw ...
, located in
Stillwater, Oklahoma Stillwater ( iow, Ñápinⁿje, ''meaning: "Water quiet"'') is a city in, and the county seat of, Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. It is located in north-central Oklahoma at the intersection of U.S. Route 177 and State Highway 51. As of th ...
awards individuals with honors in Greco-Roman wrestling, freestyle wrestling, women's wrestling, and officiating. The UWW also sponsors the ''Cerro Pelado International'' in Cuba.


Organization and governance

UWW is now based in
Corsier-sur-Vevey Corsier-sur-Vevey is a municipality in the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. History Corsier-sur-Vevey is first mentioned in 1079 as ''Corise''. Until 1953 it was known as ''Corsier''. Geography Corsier- ...
, outside of
Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...
, Switzerland. The official languages are English and French. UWW is governed by a congress made up of representatives from each of the 176 national wrestling federations (the nation's governing body for wrestling). National federations that at least govern the two Olympic wrestling styles are admitted as affiliate members. Those national federations that exclusively govern traditional wrestling and other styles can be admitted as associated members. Up to three representatives from each federation may attend the conference, and only one may vote. The congress meets at least every two years, usually during the
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
or during the World Championships that meet between Olympic Games. The UWW Congress in turn elects members of the UWW Bureau and the UWW President. The bureau serves as the directing and administrating body of UWW. The UWW Bureau is composed of the president, four vice presidents, the Secretary General, 12 other elected members (with two seats reserved for women), the presidents of the five Continental Committees, and an Honorary President who advises but has no vote (currently, Milan Ercegan). Honorary members are also in turn elected to the bureau but do not vote. The President, the Vice presidents, and the Secretary General make up the Executive Committee. Each of the members represents himself or herself personally and has an individual vote in the Congress. No two members represent the same nationality (exceptions may be made for the president, the two female members, the Continental Committee presidents, and the Honorary President). The UWW President manages the day-to-day affairs of the organization. The president represents UWW at international meetings, before the
International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
, and before the general public. The current interim President of UWW is Nenad Lalovic from Serbia who has served in that role since 2013. Bureau members and the President serve for six-year terms and can be reelected. Usually one third of the Bureau members are up for reelection every two years. A Secretary General is chosen by the bureau for six years and is the secondary director of UWW behind the President, serves as secretary of both the Bureau and the Congress, and maintains healthy communication between the national federations, the Continental Committees, the Commissions, and all the departments of UWW. The current Secretary General is Michel Dusson from France. There are also auxiliary bodies of UWW. One group of auxiliary bodies is the Continental Committee, made up of each of the national federations on each continent (currently Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe, and Oceania). The Continental Committees are directed by an executive bureau composed of a president, vice president, and three other members who all serve for a term of four years. Continental Committees meet at least every two years in the year following the
Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...
, in which there is usually the Continental Championship. Other auxiliary bodies include commissions, which are made of a president, vice president, secretary, and four other members who all serve for four years. Commissions include those dealing with Technical issues; Officiating; Medical Safety and Anti Doping; Promotion; and for Athletes. The members of the commissions are nominated and financially supported by the national federations that they originate from and are generally specialists in the field that the commission supervises.


Controversies


Biased refereeing

Pelle Svensson Per Oskar "Pelle" Svensson (6 February 1943 – 17 December 2020) was a Swedish Greco-Roman wrestler and lawyer. His achievements included a silver medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics in the light heavyweight class and two gold medals at the Worl ...
, a former two-time world champion (Greco-Roman 100 kg class) and member of board of FILA from 1990 to 2007, has described FILA as an inherently corrupt organization. During the
2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
in
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, Svensson served as chairman of the disciplinary committee of FILA. As he was watching the final in the men's Greco-Roman wrestling 84 kg class between Alexei Michine from Russia and
Ara Abrahamian Ara Abrahamian ( hy , Արա Աբրահամյան; born 27 July 1975) is an Armenian-Swedish wrestler in Greco-Roman wrestling. He has won two World Championships in the 76 kg and 84 kg weight classes and a silver medal at the 2004 S ...
from Sweden, Svensson witnessed how the Russian team leader
Mikhail Mamiashvili Mikhail Mamiashvili (born 1963 in Konotop, Ukrainian SSR) is a Russian Wrestling, wrestler of Georgians, Georgian origin. He won an Olympic gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling in 1988 in Seoul, South Korea, competing for the Soviet Union. Career ...
was giving signs to the referee. When Svensson approached him and informed him that this was not allowed according to the rules, Mamiashvili responded by saying: "you should know that this may lead to your death". Svensson later found proof that the Romanian referee was
bribed Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Corr ...
(according to Svensson the referee had received over one million
Swedish krona The krona (; plural: ''kronor''; sign: kr; code: SEK) is the official currency of the Kingdom of Sweden. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use; the former precedes or follows the value, the latter usually follows it ...
). Svensson also spoke out in support of the allegations of corruption during the semifinals in the men's Greco-Roman wrestling 84 kg at the
2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
in
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, when (again) Ara Abrahamian lost against
Andrea Minguzzi Andrea Minguzzi (born 1 February 1982) is an Italian Greco-Roman wrestler. He won a gold medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics. Biography Minguzzi was born on 1 February 1982 in Castel San Pietro Terme. His father was also a wrestler in the 1970s. ...
from Italy after a controversial ruling by the referee. It was later reported that the referee of the match, Jean-Marc Petoud from Switzerland, is a first cousin of the current President of FILA
Raphaël Martinetti Raphaël Martinetti is a Swiss businessman and was the president of the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA) from 2002 to 2013. He was elected to this position in 2002, succeeding Milan Ercegan from Yugoslavia. Previous ...
. Abrahamian, who was stripped of his bronze medal in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics after dropping the medal in protest, has received a level of vindication through the
Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; french: Tribunal arbitral du sport, ''TAS'') is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland and its co ...
(CAS). His protest revolved around a second round bout with Italian Andrea Minguzzi, where a penalty wasn't assessed until after the round had concluded. Abrahamian's coach was denied a chance to review the call via video, and FILA also refused an official protest from the coach. Minguzzi later took gold in the event. CAS ruled in favor of Abrahamian that in future Olympic matches FILA must have an appeals process that affirms the Olympic Charter in addition to FILA's own rules concerning fair play: ''"FILA is required by the Olympic Charter and its own internal rules, to provide a procedure in its rules for an appeal jury (or some equivalent) to hear promptly claims by athletes or others affected that in a competition the relevant officials have not complied with FILA rules and procedures. Article 22 of its Wrestling Rules may provide such a procedure. ''If so, FILA should clarify that mechanism. In any event, FILA did not follow Article 22 properly, if at all, or provide any other appropriate appeal mechanism in this case. The Athlete is also entitled to invoke the disciplinary process contemplated by Article 36 of the Constitution."' In their ruling, the CAS judges specifically noted the absence of FILA officials at the Abrahamian hearing: ''"On 21 August 2008, FILA corresponded with the CAS and indicated it was unavailable to attend the hearing at the proposed time and date. In order to allow the attendance of FILA’s officials at the hearing, the Panel offered a different time that would be suitable to all parties. FILA repeated that it would not attend the hearing."''


Inclusion in the Olympics

Because of growing costs, the
International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
(IOC) has been under pressure to reduce the number of events and the number of athletes in each summer game. The IOC has adopted a system where "core sports" would continue indefinitely in future Olympics, but "non-core" sports would be selected for inclusion on an Olympic game-by-game basis. Wrestling was one of the 26 core sports. However, following the 2012 London Olympics, the IOC's Executive Committee conducted a study of the 26 core sports in terms of their success at the London Olympics as well as worldwide grassroots support. The study sought to trim one core sport so that starting with the 2020 Olympics, only 25 core sports would continue. On 12 February 2013, the IOC Executive Board voted to recommend that wrestling be dropped as a core sport. FILA responded with a statement the same day:
FILA was greatly astonished by today's recommendation of the IOC Executive Board not to maintain wrestling among the 25 core sports for the 2020 Olympic Games. FILA will take all necessary measures to convince the IOC Executive Board and IOC members of the aberration of such decision against one of the founding sports of the ancient and modern Olympic Games.
On 15 February, FILA held an emergency meeting and its President, Raphaël Martinetti, asked for a vote of confidence. When only 50% of his Board voted to support him, he resigned as FILA President. Although wrestlers would be able to continue to compete in the
World Games The World Games are an international multi-sport event comprising sports and sporting disciplines that are not contested in the Olympic Games. They are usually held every four years, one year after a Summer Olympic Games, over the course of 11 d ...
, United States wrestlers expressed grave disappointment at the possibility that they could be excluded from future Olympics. Subsequently, wrestling had to compete with seven other non-core sports –
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
/
softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...
,
squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...
,
karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...
,
sport climbing Sport climbing (or Bolted climbing) is a form of rock climbing that relies on permanent anchors (or bolts), permanently fixed into the rock for climber protection, in which a rope that is attached to the climber is clipped into the anchors to ...
,
wakeboarding Wakeboarding is a water sport in which the rider, standing on a wakeboard (a board with foot bindings), is towed behind a motorboat across its wake and especially up off the crest in order to perform aerial maneuvers. A hallmark of wakeboardin ...
, wushu and
roller sports Roller sports are sports that use human powered vehicles which use rolling either by gravity or various pushing techniques. Typically ball bearings and polyurethane wheels are used for momentum and traction respectively, and attached to devices or ...
– for a place in the 2020 Games. On 8 September 2013 the IOC voted to restore wrestling as an Olympic sport for 2020.


Biased Visa Enforcement

In March 2019, the UWW recommended that its national federations end discussions or relations with the Wrestling Federation of India in the wake of visa denials to Pakistani Shooting sportspersons. In October 2022, the Spanish Embassy in New Delhi arbitrarily denied visas to 21 female and male Indian wrestlers, preventing them from participating in the U23 World Championships in Pontevedra, Spain. Denials included the U20 Gold Medallist Antim Panghal. As of October 17, 2022, the UWW has not made any statements or recommendations about the situation.


Hall of fame

The UWW International Wrestling Hall of Fame is located in the
National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum and hall of fame for amateur wrestling, headquartered in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In 2010, it began operating the Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa. History The museum was awarded to Stillw ...
. It contains a Hall of Honors and the Hall of Fame.


See also

* List of World Champions in Men's Freestyle Wrestling *
FILA Wrestling World Cup Wrestling World Cup is an international wrestling competition among teams representing member nations of the United World Wrestling (UWW) the sport's global governing body. The cups have been conducted by FILA (the UWW predecessor) every year sinc ...
*
FILA Wrestling World Championships The World Wrestling Championships are the Amateur Wrestling World Championships organized by United World Wrestling. The Men's Greco-Roman Wrestling tournament began in 1904, and the Men's Freestyle Wrestling tournament began in 1951. The Women's ...
*
World Wrestling Clubs Cup World Wrestling Clubs Cup is an international wrestling clubs competition among teams representing member nations of the United World Wrestling, United World Wrestling (UWW) the sport's global governing body. The tournament was held on the proposal ...
* World Beach Wrestling Championships *
List of World Championships medalists in wrestling (freestyle) This is a List of World Championships medalists in men's freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling c ...
* List of World Championships medalists in wrestling (Greco-Roman) *
List of World Championships medalists in wrestling (women) This is a List of World Championships medalists in women's Freestyle Wrestling. Light flyweight * 44 kg: 1987–1996 Flyweight * 47 kg: 1987–1996 * 46 kg: 1997–2001 * 48 kg: 2002–2017 * 50 kg: 2018– Bantamweight * 50 kg: 1987–1996 ...
* List of World and Olympic Champions in Greco-Roman wrestling *
List of World and Olympic Champions in men's freestyle wrestling Men's freestyle wrestling competition began in the Olympics in 1904. United World Wrestling (formerly known as FILA until 2014), began holding the World Wrestling Championships in men's freestyle in 1951. The World Wrestling Championships takes pl ...


References


External links

*
International Wrestling Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:United World Wrestling Amateur wrestling
Wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...
Sports organizations established in 1912