which we are doing through the efforts of CPOW and USA Wrestling.
USA Wrestler: Do you believe that the new leadership in FILA, and the leadership within the nations which support wrestling, have the ability to make a strong case for our sport? Scherr: Yes, I believe they understand the challenges facing our sport, and we have complete confidence in the new leader- ship of FILA, to make the necessary changes and to do the work required to demonstrate to the IOC that we belong in the Olympic program.
USA Wrestler: When a person who cares about wrestling from the United States asks you what he or she can do to help the cause, what do you tell them? Scherr: Go wrestle. That is certainly part of the answer. The stronger we make the sport in the United States, the stronger we make the sport internationally and the more desirable the sport becomes to the IOC. In the long term, continue to con- tribute to wrestling in your community, contribute to wrestling in your school and contribute to USA Wrestling the same way you have done in the past. In the short run, you can do the same things for CPOW and the effort in the United States. You can go to the website
KeepWrestlingInTheOlympics.com, where you can sign up, acknowledge your support, send contributions for financial help which we need and you can volunteer to get involved in local events to create awareness. You can talk to people inside and out of our sport about why wrestling should be a part of the Olympic Games.
USA Wrestler: What do you believe are among its biggest successes from CPOW so far? Scherr: The biggest success we had was working with our
FILA representative Stan Dziedzic and with a coalition of others to get a vote of no confidence in the existing leadership, and Raphael Martinetti resigning after that vote of no confidence. The number one thing we have done is insert new leadership with FILA. That signals a change, which was necessary for wrestling to compete for the Olympic program. We have been able to convince FILA on the direction and strategy they should take and convince them to hire the best international relations and strategy consulting firm to lead them in the efforts with the IOC, which is Teneo Consulting. We have funded part of the hir- ing of Teneo to assist FILA. Also, through the CPOW International Relations chair Jim Scherr and Stan Dziedzic, we have been able to represent the voice of the U.S. wrestling community to FILA and give a significant amount of strategy direction and advice in terms of change ahead.
USA Wrestler: One of the topics most discussed is the need for wrestling rules to be more dynamic and television-friendly. How can wrestling adjust its rules to achieve this objective? Scherr: Simplify the rules. Make them easier to understand and more straightforward. Continue to create rules that promote action and activity, which show the dynamic sport that wrestling is. Change the way wrestling is presented on television and at the international tournaments to showcase the sport. Use sports presentation techniques that other sports are doing, including the use of video screens, different staging, to different uniforms, different lighting, to different presentation of the athletes with pomp and circumstance. Make wrestling more exciting for televi- sion and for the spectators in the arena. Make it more simple and more fair for the athletes on the mat.
USA Wrestler: What kind of changes must FILA to show that
it has listened to the IOC and has improved the governance of the sport? Scherr: FILA should overhaul its governance structure and make sure it is more democratic, with increased representation of athletes and women on the FILA Bureau, and listen to the athletes and women in the sport. It should establish a commis- sion to better incorporate sport development in economically disadvantaged countries and in countries where they are not wrestling. It should form a commission involving women and women’s wrestling globally. It is already developing a commis- sion on the rule changes to make wrestling more exciting and fair. It should create better development in terms of sponsorship and marketing revenue. They should develop other sources of revenue outside of IOC monies they receive. They should change their location, get rid of their castle and move into Lausanne to be closer to the IOC. They should continue to develop experimental forms of the sport which may be more attractive on the global basis. They should consider some form of Beach Wrestling where one touch on the ground determines a match. They should continue to experiment with other forms of wrestling which may be outside the box of where they are now.
USA Wrestler: Explain the importance of the IOC Executive Board meeting in late May in Russia, and what is the goal for the wrestling community from that important meeting? Scherr: It is very difficult to overturn the recommendation of the Executive Board that there be 25 core sports that excludes wrestling in the September General Assembly meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We need to understand that if we don’t get placed on the short list in May, this whole thing may be over before we begin the fight. We are not giving up on the battle that the IOC General Assembly not to ratify the 25 core sport recommendation, but we must acknowledge the difficulty of that process. We must place ourselves in the best possible position to be placed on the short list of provisional sports. In May, the Executive Board meets in St. Petersburg, Russia, at Sport Accord, where they lower the number of sports competing for the one provisional sport position from eight to either three or four, to continue to compete against each other at the General Assembly. May is a do-or-die month for us. We need to be named on that short list.
USA Wrestler: The IOC General Assembly meeting in September in Argentina is where the final decision will be made on the program for the 2020 Olympic Games. Do you believe that wrestling can make its case well and remain on the Olympic program? Scherr: I believe wrestling will do its part. We will understand
and take the challenge of changing and improving the sport, and we will tell our story to the International Olympic Committee members to be sure we are in the best possible position to remain on the Olympic program. There are many procedural and process issues. We have a chance, but it will not be easy.
USA Wrestler: Let’s talk about your wrestling career. What initially motivated you and your twin brother Jim to get involved in wrestling, and what about the sport kept you involved? Scherr: We grew up in a family of six boys. We were a rough-and-tumble family, and some of our older brothers wres- tled and they encouraged us to participate in the sport. We had just started to wrestle and we watched the 1972 Olympics on TV, and we saw Dan Gable, Wayne Wells and the Peterson brothers competing and winning medals. We said that we want-
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