BUDAPEST (October 19) – The United World Wresting Bureau and Congress held meetings and elections this week ahead of the 2018 Wrestling World Championships in Budapest, covering a range of important topics, including the allocation of host cities through 2021.
The Congress, who met Friday, began with a minute of silence in remembrance for the victims of last month’s Maiwand Wrestling Club in Kabul. Lalovic also announced the organization would dedicate significant resources to the club’s rebuilding effort.
“We must never accept these cowardly acts,” said Lalovic “We must stand together in support of our family members.”
The Congress gathers bi-annually to discuss a range of topics. The 2018 Congress focused on a complete financial review, new initiatives in women’s wrestling, media outreach, and the promotion of associated styles. Congressional representatives also voted for new bureau members, with a total of seven positions available. Six seats were up for election based on it being the end of their six-year term. The seventh had been vacated earlier in the year with the departure of Rasoul KHADEM (IRI).
Zamel Sayyaf Al SHAHRANI (QAT), Daulet TURLAKANOV (KAZ), and vice presidents Stan DZIEDIC (USA) and Natalia YARYGIN (RUS) were each re-elected and to serve six-year terms. Newly elected bureau members Pedro SILVA (POR) and Peter BACSA (HUN) will also serve until 2024.
Ms. ZHANG Xia of China was elected to replace Khadem and will serve until 2022.
Mr. Lalovic, As part of an ongoing dialogue supported by the Olympic movement, also oversaw a friendly handshake between representatives for the Republic of Korea and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, with the sides trading kind words and wishing each other good luck during the world championships.
The United World Wrestling bureau met Thursday and approved a series of guidelines aimed to improve the sportsmanship of coaches and athletes.
Coaches and athletes who receive two yellow cards in a match will now be given a red card and face immediate disqualification from the tournament. They are also encouraged to celebrate gold medal victories but are asked to refrain from bronze medal celebrations and elaborate religious gestures while on the field of play.
It was also announced that plans were being constructed so that in the future coaches would be required to attain a United World Wrestling license to coach athletes at events.
In an effort to stabilize the calendar and allow national federations and host cities the proper time to prepare for championships, the Bureau also announced the allocation of several continental and world championships for 2019-2021.
2019 World C’Ships
Senior: Astana, KAZ
U23: Budapest, HUN
Junior: Tallinn, EST
Cadet: Sofia, BUL
Veterans: Tblisi, Geo
2020 World Championships
U23: Tampere, FIN
Junior: Belgrade, SRB
Cadet: Tatabanya, HUN
Veteran: Athens, GRE
2021 World C’Ships
Senior: Oslo, NOR
Cadet: Budapest, HUN
2019 European C’Ships
Senior: Bucharest, ROM
U23: Novi Sad, SRB
Junior: Pontevedra, ESP
Cadet: Faenza, ITA
2020 European C’Ships
U23: Salzburg, AUT
Junior: Skopje, MKD
Cadet: Chisinau, MDA
2021 African C’Ships
All: Marrakech, MAR
2019 Pan-American C’Ships
Senior: Buenos Aires, ARG
Junior: Guatemala City, GUA
Cadet: Morelia, MEX
2020 African C’Ships
All: Alger, ALG
2021 Asian C’Ships
Senior: Almaty, KAZ
2019 Asian C'Ships
Senior: Xi’an, CHN
Junior: Beirut, LBN
Cadet: Taichung, TPE
2020 Africa/Oceania Olympic
All: El Jadida, MAR
2019 African C’Ships
All: Tunis, TUN
