fund the first phase of this without a sightline of specific costs and actions that go in a plan. We had to act and couldn’t waste time to outline that before we had to raise money. Led by USA Wrestling President Jim Ravannack, a group of us came togeth- er. Andy Barth, Mike Novogratz, Jeff Levitetz and others said that no matter what, we are in, and we will sort out the pieces about what investments are necessary to get us going.
USA Wrestler: What do you tell people about where money will be deployed and why they should financially contribute? Bardis: We explain what the big items are that remain. A big item is the St. Petersburg meeting with the IOC Executive Board and that the dollars have to go into creating a presentation and communication. We have to use that half hour presentation in the most effective way possible and coordinating that effort with FILA. We are fortunate that Jim Scherr is a part of that presen- tation group. There is a very narrow group representing wrestling in that presentation. When we explain to people what we are focused on today, there is a narrow focus on investment for actions in the very near term that are designed to get us successfully approved to go to the IOC Congress in September to have a final vote on wrestling’s status in the 2020 Games. Without being successful in May in St. Peterburg, there is no September meeting, no future meeting that will matter. There also remains face-to-face interactions with IOC Executive Board members and communications with our sister national federa- tions from nations like Iran and Russia. We are dealing with a time crunch that is well documented.
USA Wrestler: What role do you see the United States play- ing in wrestling after the final decision on 2020 is made in September? Bardis: We have had a leadership role in the past, but that leadership role has been muted and not necessarily reflective of the status of the United States, not just as the leader of the free world economically, militarily and socially, but frankly the most successful Olympic movement in history. There is not a reason why we should not be in a chief leadership role going forward, and it is a mistake not to be. In hindsight, we would never have tolerated further Raphy Martinetti and would have moved much more quickly to make a difference in leadership of FILA. I felt for a long time that Martinetti lacked the integrity and capability at every level to lead the international wrestling movement. That has been well proven at this point. American leadership in the future has to play a role in establishing accountability.
USA Wrestler: What would you tell the IOC about what wrestling brings to the Olympic family and to society? Bardis: Wrestling is quite possibly the oldest sport on the planet. It is a cultural icon in at least 130 nations and competed in 177 nations. It is a channel of sport that is of primary national interest in the Olympic movement among a number of economi- cally underprivileged and developing nations, particularly in the Middle East and in the former Soviet republics. Take into account what Pierre de Coubertin identified as the value of the Olympic movement, a requirement to provide the middle class and the poor in the whole world an opportunity to be part of this extraordinary movement. We are not being wise to disenfran- chise the most important sports channel for many of these nations to include Iran, Turkey, India and many others, not to mention the spread of wrestling in Africa. It is a sport that does not require meaningful amounts of capital to be successful. I shudder to think of the unthinkable, that wrestling would be out of the Games and the resulting tragic disenfranchisement of the developing nations of the world. It isn’t right.
USA Wrestler: What do you mean when you say all wrestlers must have their fingerprints on this fight for Olympic wrestling? Bardis: Wrestlers know what that is instinctively, that to be in the fight is about a lot more than money. It is about communica- tion, the standards and integrity of the sport that must continue to be promoted. Being in the fight does not mean you have to be at the forefront of the global movement, but you will continue to live a life of the values of wrestling and continue to teach those values to the next generation. And also to help the next generation continue to dream and not allow the dream to go away. No matter what happens in May and September, the dream to battle, to improve the sport, to stay in the Olympic movement means everybody who wrestles or has wrestled needs to be on that page, and that everybody who will wrestle deserves to be on that page.
USA Wrestler: What will be at the end of this journey? Bardis: We are not just stronger, we are clearly forever changed. This sport will never be the same as it was, leadership will never be as complacent as it had been. I fully expect as it relates to gender equity, to better rules, to a more fan-friendly environment for competition that this sport will not only change but get better. It doesn’t mean it will happen in a straight line. We will have meaningful steps forward, we will have setbacks, we will adjust, and like everything we have been taught through the sport, we will get knocked down and get back up and make our progress. We will wrestle with these things until we achieve our perfection.
USA Wrestler: How did you get involved in wrestling and why did it have meaning in your life? Bardis: I was in fifth grade, and one of my classmates had a brother on the high school wrestling team. He said he would kick my butt because his brother had been teaching him wrestling. Two weeks later, the head coach of the high school offered the kids of our elementary school in Illinois a wrestling clinic. I was able to go and it started there. As it turned out, there was a tournament at the end of the clinic, and I drew my friend in the first round. I won the match and I won the tourna- ment. I felt good about myself and felt maybe I could be a good wrestler. That started me on a complete commitment to it.
USA Wrestler: Talk about your high school years and how they impacted you as an athlete? Bardis: I matured late. I was lucky to make my way to the varsity as a freshman and reached the semifinals of the districts and finished third. I grew from 98 to 112 as a sophomore to 132 as a junior and 138 as a senior. I had a great high school coach. Our wrestling room was very tough and very committed. We were dedicated. My senior year, we won the state high school title. It was the first time any sports team had won a state title for our school. I won the districts three times, the confer- ence three times and made the states twice. My senior year, I lost 3-2 in overtime in the championship match to a kid I beat earlier. That loss was the best loss I ever had, because it has motivated me my whole life. It taught me to grind. I won the state in freestyle and Greco as a senior. I was fortunate enough to win Junior Nationals and get an OW award.
USA Wrestler: Talk about your college wrestling journey. Bardis: I got recruited out of high school by a number of schools, and signed a letter of intent to Arizona State with Bobby Douglas. At the last minute, I was fortunate enough to get a scholarship to Wisconsin. There, I was roommate with the
Continued on page 36 25 USA Wrestler
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44