Andy Barth GARY ABBOTT’S MATSIDE CHAT WITH...
Andy Barth is a major leader in wrestling at a critical time in
the sport’s history. A New York City high school wrestler, captain of the Columbia University team and an athlete for the New York AC, Barth pursued the sport with passion. He became a leader in the financial investment business, and
is currently Chairman of Capital Guardian Trust Company, and Capital International Limited. He gives back and takes action within wrestling in many
ways. He has helped his alma mater at Columbia and has sup- ported the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. He is the Men’s Freestyle Team Leader for the 2013-16 Olympic cycle, and has founded the Titan Mercury Wrestling Club. He is the driving force behind Beat the Streets in Los Angeles. Barth is a member of the Committee for the Preservation of Olympic Wrestling (CPOW).
USA Wrestler: As a leader in CPOW, how would you assess
the situation for Olympic wrestling heading into the important IOC vote in Argentina in September? Barth: I think we have made a lot of progress. We are in a
good position. We can’t be overconfident or complacent. If we keep up the efforts we have put in place, we have a very good shot at restoring the sport at the non-core level, which would keep us in the 2020 and 2024 Olympics. What that also means is we can’t stop any of the efforts we have underway, that relate to making it more exciting and interesting to watch. We can’t stop working to bring ourselves up to date technologically in terms of presenting the sport. We have to make sure our gover- nance is at an industry standard as it relates for inclusiveness on a gender basis and with athlete participation.
USA Wrestler: Looking back at Phase I of the Keep Olympic
Wrestling effort, what do you think helped convince IOC Executive Board to name wrestling as a finalist for the last spot as a provisional Olympic sport? Barth: I think the changes we implemented in our gover-
nance structure and leadership demonstrated to the IOC that we got the message, we understand, we are serious about making changes the IOC feels are appropriate. Also, what helped was the uproar from around the world that was heard and felt from the fans of wrestling, from all the countries that support and have an active participation in wrestling. That might have been underestimated, and it came through loud and clear and quickly and strongly that this has to be reviewed and changed. Wrestlers around the world said help us understand what we need to do. When we got a sense of what needed to be done, we responded quickly and decisively.
USA Wrestler: What are your impressions of your peers who
serve on CPOW, and the level of work done by the committee with this tremendous challenge? Barth: It’s an amazing group. I feel like I signed up to join the
Avengers. It’s just amazing from a wrestling perspective, work- ing with people like Dan Gable, Bruce Baumgartner, Rulon Gardner, Clarissa Chun. Amazing from a business perspective, with Mike Novogratz and John Bardis. And people who have
24 USA Wrestler
Andy Barth has made major contributions to the sport in wrestling in a variety of ways. Larry Slater photo.
done so much for wrestling like Jim Ravannack and Rich Bender. I apologize because I won’t go through all 25 names, but it’s a great group of people who bring a tremendous passion for the sport and tremendous resources and abilities to the table. I do have to point out that the contributions of the Scherr brothers has been tremendous.
USA Wrestler: What are your thoughts about the impact of
the United 4 Wrestling dual you helped host in Los Angeles on the Olympic wrestling effort? Barth: Both events, the Rumble On The Rails and United 4
Wrestling, demonstrated the popularity of the sport, the aware- ness and appreciation of it, and that we can have very success- ful events in media centers. It brings out many successful and well-known celebrities. It demonstrated how exciting the sport can be, as we showcased the new rules at United 4 Wrestling. With very manageable rule changes, the matches and the sport became significantly more exciting. We also showed the inclu- siveness of the sport. I love the slogan FILA has adopted now. All Nations. All People. For All Times. That encapsulates our sport. I love the fact that one of the pictures on the FILA poster is of two of our young girl wrestlers who had a tremendous match at the United 4 Wrestling event.
USA Wrestler: If there is one thing you could tell IOC mem-
bers about why they should vote to keep wrestling on the Olympic program, what would that be? Barth: That FILA slogan captures it all. This is a sport prac-
ticed in all nations by all people. Anybody can wrestle. From the largest to the smallest, men, women, boys and girls. People who are physically challenged in a number of ways, by eye- sight, lack of hearing, or do not have a full set of limbs. All of these people can wrestle. This is a sport that has been going on for all time. What other sport can say that? Practiced in all nations, open to all people and practiced for all time.
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