EXECUTIVE NOTES By Rich Bender, USA Wrestling Executive Director
A summer of important USA Wrestling activities leads into an exciting 2015 year of opportunities Summer remains a busy time for USA Wrestling. Many major
events of our national schedule are hosted, including the world’s largest tournament, the ASICS/Vaughan Junior and Cadet Nationals in Fargo, N.D. Our top athletes at many age levels are testing themselves at World Championship events, with FILA Cadet, FILA Junior and University teams seeking medals for our nation. Our Senior World Teams are busy preparing for the World Wrestling Championships in Uzbekistan in September, and competing in overseas tuneup events. It is also a time for making decisions about the programs and activities of the organization, for next year and the future. On the grassroots level, numerous meetings are held in Fargo between our state leaders, covering a wide variety of wrestling activities. That work is continued during USA Wrestling’s State Leaders Conference, scheduled for August in Colorado Springs this year. In addition, USA Wrestling’s Board of Directors will hold its
annual meeting in Colorado Springs, alongside our State Leaders Conference in August. Many important issues will be on the table, with input from representatives from many constituent groups within the sport. USA Wrestling could not function without the dedicated serv-
ice of our volunteers, who bring passion and expertise to their duties. Their efforts allow us to provide wrestling opportunities at all levels, and continue to build and grow our sport. I would like to thank them for the difference that they are making in the lives of hundreds of thousands of people within wrestling. On the National Teams side, USA Wrestling had some major changes in the leadership of its elite programs this spring, with the hiring of Matt Lindland as the National Greco-Roman Coach and Bruce Burnett as the National Freestyle Coach. Both bring tremendous experience and skill to our National Teams pro- grams, and have set high goals for our teams at the internation- al level. This summer, Lindland and Burnett are working directly with the athletes, coaches and leaders within their programs,
and preparing our teams for success. Burnett led our program for two Olympic quadrenniums from 1992-2000, arguably our most successful ever for our men’s freestyle team. Matt Lindland competed on a number of the most successful U.S. Greco-Roman World and Olympic teams, and has developed tremendous coaching skills which will serve him well. We are proud of our national coaching
staff, and look forward to supporting our athletes on the road to the 2016 Olympic Games. Although we are focused on all of the important events and activities during the 2014 season, now is also a time for serious planning for exciting opportunities during 2015. USA Wrestling has been awarded the 2015 Freestyle World
Cup, which will return to Los Angeles next year. FILA has approved moving the event later in the spring to April 11-12, which we believe will be a much better time for the American wrestling community. The goal is to build upon the success from the World Cup in 2014, and attract more fans and media atten- tion to this amazing event. USA Wrestling will also host the 2015 World Wrestling Championships at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on Sept. 6- 13. It is our first chance to host a Senior World Championships since 2003, when we held the Freestyle World Championships at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The competition will feature all 24 World Championships
weight classes, eight in each style. However, in the 18 Olympic weight classes, this will be the first and most important qualify- ing event for the 2016 Olympic Games. Add in the U.S. Open and the World Team Trials events and wrestling fans in our nation will have an amazing opportunity to see the best wrestlers in action on U.S. soil next year. Working together, the plan is to showcase Olympic wrestling
at its best and give our sport a big boost heading into the Olympic year. We invite you to be part of this effort by support- ing these events and attending in person if you can. Your partici- pation is appreciated and encouraged.
4 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