Takedown Report

Team USA Will Not Send A Team To The Senior World Championships

PRESS RELEASE FROM USA WRESTLING – USA Wrestling, the national governing body for wrestling in the United States, will not send a team to compete at the 2020 Senior World Wrestling Championships, set for Belgrade, Serbia, Dec. 12-20.

USA Wrestling’s Executive Committee, which acts on behalf of the Board of Directors between Board meetings, in an October 20 meeting, unanimously approved a proposal not to participate in the Senior World Championships due to health and safety issues caused by the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.

“The health and safety of U.S. athletes, coaches and staff is always the No. 1 concern for USA Wrestling. After reviewing updated medical, scientific and government data, and providing an opportunity for athlete and stakeholder input, the Executive Committee concluded that it would not be in the best interest of all involved to organize a delegation to travel to and participate in the Senior World Championships in Serbia,” said Bruce Baumgartner, USA Wrestling President.

On Monday, October 12, United World Wrestling (UWW), the international federation for wrestling, announced that its Executive Committee voted to approve existing plans to host the event. In the same announcement, UWW cancelled the 2020 Junior World Championships, which had been set for early December in Belgrade. The Senior World Championships is the only World Championships event left on the 2020 UWW calendar, after having cancelled all other World events at the age-group levels.

In a letter to all national wrestling federations including USA Wrestling, UWW explained that international federations would be able to enter athletes in the World Championships only through November 5. According to the UWW letter, on the 6th of November, the UWW Executive Committee “would meet to check the registrations and discuss the current situation of the pandemic around the World. During this meeting, it will be decided to keep the event or cancel it.”

USA Wrestling held a series of meetings with stakeholders and subject experts to fully discuss the issue of sending a U.S. team to the Senior Worlds and allow for input. Included were two meetings of the Executive Committee, as well as a USA Wrestling’s Athlete Advisory Committee meeting. In addition, a survey was sent to 117 Senior athletes, including current National Team athletes and athletes who placed in the top eight at the 2020 Senior Nationals. The athlete survey collected data … rest of the story at _{https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/6801396-team-usa-will-not-send-a-team-to-the-senior-world-championships}

October 21, 2020 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized