Wrestling looks to continue progress

LAS VEGAS, Nev. - The sport of wrestling has made progress since it was placed on the chopping block for the Olympic Games.

Changes to leadership, competition and even technology followed the punch in the face by the event that it seemed so naturally suited.

Wrestling rallied from being cut as a core sport on the Olympic programme and earned a spot as a provisional for the 2020 Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan.

United World Wrestling President Nenad Lalovic addressed the changes and the direction of wrestling Thursday between sessions of freestyle competition at the World Championships at Orleans Arena.

'We have the best rules, better presentation, better governance, I believe, a new constitution and a fresh feel about our sport,” Lalovic said. 'You can see this from these World Championships.”

The 56-year-old Lalovic stepped in as president in 2013, replacing Raphael Martinetti, who resigned as the head of FILA, which was the former name of the international federation. He was re-elected to a six-year term in 2014.

The sport looks different from when he stepped in. The look on and off the mat has improved, including the new name, match format and scoring rules. Officials are not complacent with the current conditions.

'We have made progress,” said Lalovic, who mentioned that wrestling uniforms are old-fashioned and will look to update them. 'We will continue to make progress.”

Cornell Coach Mike Duroe sits on USA Wrestling's freestyle committee. He has seen some positive changes.

'I think the international federation has done some things to make the sport more exciting,” Duroe said. 'There is more scoring.”

The question of whether wrestling is in a stronger position now than when it had to fight for its Olympic lives remains. Wrestling needs to continue to evolve to avoid another battle to remain on the programme.

'I believe we have a strong position,” Lalovic said. 'According to the agenda of 2020, and you all know athletes are limited to 10,500 for the Olympics, and with the influence of other sports trying to enter the Olympic programme it will be more and more difficult, not just for wrestling but for every sport, to keep the same number of athletes.”

Olympic sports are divided into five groups based on popularity. Most popular in Group A and least popular and new sports in Group E. Classification is based on television, Internet popularity, public surveys, press coverage, ticket requests and number of international federations. Wrestling is listed in the D category.

'I think the core sport discussion is over,” USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender said. 'The vision for 2020 spells out that there is not going to be core sports and noncore sports, which are categorized now in certain categories.

'Wrestling sits in the second-to-last category and not the last category, so my understanding is continued discussions with international federations to determine members.

'That is the thing that is on everybody's mind. Obviously, staying on the Olympic programme is vital to our long-term success. I think it's also important for us to take the position that we need to grow opportunities. We need to figure out how to get more weight classes.”

Lalovic was recently elected to the International Olympic Committee. He dismissed his inclusion to the committee would have a major impact on wrestling directly. It could have benefits on the periphery.

'I was elected for the IOC membership not to protect wrestling only,” Lalovic said. 'This is not the idea. The idea of an IOC member is to protect all the sports (and) upgrade all the sports. My experience with wrestling proposed me to the IOC to be elected. Being in the IOC, the French have a way to say that a very well-informed man is valuable like two men. It is very good for the sport to have an absolute understanding of what is the future of the IOC and the sports taking part in the Olympic program.”

Wrestling does have a representative at the table.

'That puts him in a position to have even more influence in the Olympic movement,” Duroe said. 'There have been some improvements in our international federation under his leadership.”

As the sport has focused to become more modern, they have embraced Internet and social media. The UWW website experienced increased traffic this week. The site had 3 million visitors all of last year. It drew more than that over a two-day period, including 2.5 million one day.

'The website crashed,” said Lalovic, noting the organization made improvements to accommodate the greater traffic. 'I'm happy with it.”

Gender equity has been a hot-button topic around wrestling for years. Wrestling switched from seven weights in Greco-Roman and men's freestyle and four women's freestyle to six in each discipline. A possibility exists to expand women's wrestling, including the addition of Greco-Roman or beach wrestling for women.

'We are far from that point,” Lalovic said. 'Nothing will change before the Tokyo Games.”

Currently, brackets are determined by a blind draw. Even though seeding all the ranked wrestlers seems unlikely, UWW is considering a way to separate the top two at each weight. it won't be done before the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

'It is a very difficult question and I will tell you why,” Lalovic said. 'If we change the system and have a ranking of athletes for the draws, then many small countries will not have a single chance to go to the Olympics. This is very dangerous for the sport. Geography of the sport is very important and is very important to the IOC.

'Maybe we should have, and we have already spoken of this on our board, to have only the two be wrestlers divided.”

The current World Championships could be a barometer for how far wrestling has come with 90 nations and more than 800 wrestlers participating this week. Bender said that the event has set a record for ticket sales revenue, bringing in more than $1 million.

'Hosting this championship is a good example of how we can raise the bar for our sport,” Bender said. 'I don't think it's being boastful to say we've made some improvements this year from last year that will hopefully be carried over.”

USA Wrestling wanted to make this the best World Championships experience for all involved. Bender said the organization accepts the role to help lead the sport.

'We have the responsibility to take that position whenever we can,” Bender said. 'We have resources and abilities that not a lot of federations have and I think a strong support system within our country to give us the opportunity to step out of the box a little more.”

Wrestling will continue to try to improve rules, participation, officiating and communication. The goal is to be a fan-friendly sport.

'The circus will come to their town,” Lalovic said. 'They have to know everything about that circus.”

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