Wrestling

I have been feeling really anxious while writing this article because of its being my first one done for eNews and in my new position of TD for wrestling. This is why I would like to start with thanking ICSD executive board and all ICSD that had entrusted me with my mission, and ICSD staff in general for giving me such a warm welcome and support.

I am going to need any support because there is so much to do! My first objective is to help ICSD board to impartially and fairly choose the country to host the World Wrestling Championship of 2012. We have received convincing applications from Turkey and Bulgaria. We are also aware that Russia is really interested in the event. Other countries might still want to fight for a right to host the Championship, too.

Anyway, the deadline for applying is the 31 July 2010, and after this I will have to go on several inspection trips. That will most probably happen in September (this is the month of the Championship), and afterwards I will present ICSD board with a detailed report on every candidate, along with my own recommendations. I am sure that together we will choose the best place possible for the Championship of 2012. Making the wrong choice is actually going to be impossible because Turkey, and Bulgaria, and Russia are all countries with wrestling traditions and a well-developed infrastructure, they have all the necessary experience in organizing tournaments at the highest level.

The pace of wrestling development in these and several other countries is perfectly fine but on the whole the situation in our sport is depressing. Being the technical director for wrestling, I would like to know how things are going in your countries, how many deaf athletes are involved in the sport, how many schools or classes are functioning and how you think ICSD could help popularization of wrestling among the deaf. Gathering and analyzing data is the most important preparation part of any work, so I have to ask every one of you to send me a short note talking of the state of affairs in your country. Please, email me at wrestlingtd@ciss.org. I promise that no letter will go unread and unanswered.

There is one more important issue I would like to talk about in my first article: female wrestling. As you probably know the leaders of ICSD are concerned about the low quantity of women in the Deaflympic movement. At the last Deaflympic Games in Taipei female athletes were barely one-third of the general number of participants. Those are sad statistics.

Wrestling, of course, is mostly seen as a traditionally male sport. Still, I know that there are female deaf wrestlers in some countries and they might not be so few, actually. Please, tell me if there are women that wrestle or would like to try it in your country. We could hold several international competitions for them if the numbers allow us and then maybe include female wrestling in the Deaflympics program! Women have been doing judo, karate and taekwondo for quite a while now, why should wrestling be an exception?

In conclusion I will repeat that whenever you come up with any ideas, suggestions or issues concerning development and popularization of deaf wrestling in your country feel free to write me at any time. I am sure that together we will find a solution to every problem and take wrestling to a new level.

Good luck in sports and in life,

Grigor GRIGORYAN
ICSD Technical Director - Wrestling