STRATEGY 2022-2026

QUARTERLY UPDATE #5

APRIL 4, 2023

President message:

STARTING 2023 WITH A

STRONG SPIRIT

I am feeling a sense of renewed energy around me. Perhaps it is because spring is in the air here in Switzerland. But to be honest, I have felt it since the start of 2023. Whether it is in conversations with my fellow Bureau members, in meetings with the UWW administration, or in any visit with you, our member associations – I can feel fresh energy and renewed motivation.

I believe it is because we have come through a very hard time – in the world and in Wrestling. The last years were full of uncertainty and challenges due to the global pandemic and the impacts it had on every aspect of our lives, not the least on our sport.

Now that we are moving beyond this extraordinary period, I think we all feel a sense of accomplishment – we not only survived, but perhaps we came out stronger. The world continues to be full of great challenges and difficulties of course – but we all have a sense that we can overcome obstacles in new ways and face challenges with a stronger approach.

I see this within our entire Wrestling family, our athletes are as ambitious as ever, our programmes are thriving, our events are engaging fans in new ways and each one of you is working with renewed ambition.

This quarterly update showcases just a selection of the great things the United World Wrestling Strategic Plan 2022-2026 has accomplished so far in 2023. I have no doubt that the year will continue with this same positive energy as we develop, grow and overcome new challenges with a strong spirit that is unique to our wrestling family.

Don’t forget to share an update with us on your own initiatives and successes so we can share and celebrate them. Let’s continue to inspire one another with our hard work as we move through this second year of the United World Wrestling Strategic Plan 2022-2026.

Nenad Lalovic

United World Wrestling President

1. ELEVATE & INSPIRE

YOUTH ENGAGEMENT

Wrestle4fun provides new youth engagement tool for national federations

A new programme has been launched by United World Wrestling to help meet the needs of children and youth worldwide. Wrestle4Fun is a 5-stage comprehensive resource for physical education teachers, coaches, and recreation and after-school facilitators to incorporate wrestling into their programmes. It is full of games and activities that are fun and non-exclusive that maximise participation, development and appreciation in the sport of wrestling as well as other forms of physical activity.

The programme is designed equally for facilitators who have little to no background in wrestling to those that are experts in the sport. Within the 75 lessons, there are over 200 instructional videos to help assist with the games and teaching of wrestling skills.

Wrestle4fun will be launched in early April by United World Wrestling, so keep an eye out for its release. It is a new tool for national federations to engage with educators, teachers, coaches and youth in their own countries.

2. ENHANCE & EMPOWER

WOMEN'S WRESTLING

Remembering the key moments that shaped women's wrestling

This International Women’s Day, we took the opportunity to look back at some of the most important moments that shaped women’s wrestling. As we continue our commitment to create an optimal inclusive environment in which women’s wrestling will be taken to the next level, it is good to remember all that has been achieved so far.

As part of the United World Wrestling Strategic Plan 2022-2026, we are reinforcing our attention to women’s wrestling and are striving for full gender inclusivity within all levels of our organization and sport. However, we should not forget that throughout the history of our sport, continued efforts have been made in this area and United World Wrestling has taken various steps to uplift and improve the standard of women’s wrestling to where it is today. Check out the article that was published to celebrate this year’s International Women’s Day with ten moments that changed women’s wrestling.

3. SUPPORT & CONNECT

ASSOCIATED STYLES

A new partnership to support and promote Indian Kushti

As a major step towards United World Wrestling’s aim to embrace both Olympic and Associated wrestling styles, a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed with the World Federation of Indian Style Wrestling to promote and grow the traditional Indian style wrestling – Kushti. The MoU is targeted solely at supporting and promoting the Indian style.

The work to review United World Wrestling’s way of working with the numerous associated styles of wrestling worldwide continues as part of the Strategic Plan 2022-2026. The aim remains to support the growth of all associated styles and the connection between them. This new partnership with Indian Kushti is a strong step in better understanding the shared goals United World Wrestling has with such associated styles. Check out the article to find out more about the new MoU that was signed early this year.

4. REVAMP & REINFORCE

IMAGE OF WRESTLING

Strengthening our image as a clean sport

The image of wrestling as a clean sport is so very important in attracting young wrestlers and making our sport and events appealing to all audiences. Our aim in the Strategic Plan 2022-2026 is to showcase our unique and attractive image to a worldwide audience, and as such, the renewed partnership with the International Testing Agency (ITA) does just that.

In early March, the complete delegation of all areas of the United World Wrestling clean sport program was extended with the independent expert anti-doping body headquartered in Switzerland. United World Wrestling has been working with the ITA since 2019, and this year this partnership was further extended. Read the article to find out more on how ITA will increase the impact and deterrence factor of wrestling’s global anti-doping program.

5. EMBRACE & FOSTER

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

New partners and social media success

The digital transformation of United World Wrestling continues and is seeing great achievements. The first quarter of 2023 saw a new partnership with Horizm, a company that connects sports brands with their digital audiences.

Gordon Templeman, United World Wrestling Commercial Operations & Communications Director, said of the new partnership: “We are looking forward to working with Horizm to better understand and valuate our digital activity. Our continued digital focus is an important part of our commercial strategy and Horizm’s insights will enable us to deliver more value to our current and future partners.”

In addition, the first quarter of 2023 saw United World Wrestling recognised in two industry wide social media rankings – ranking among the top international sports federations in its overall social media activity. The BCW 2022 International Federation Social Media Ranking and the RedTorch #SportOnSocial League Table 2023.

You can follow such updates on the United World Wrestling LinkedIn page – are you connected with us on Linkedin? Why not connect with us right now using the link below.

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strategy@uww.org

Strategic Plan 2022-2026