http://themat.com/index.php?page=sho...rticleID=16443
USA Wrestling Grappling World Team Trials to be held in Las Vegas, Nev., June 8-10
Gary Abbott USA Wrestling
03/21/2007
USA Wrestling has announced that it will host its first U.S. Grappling World Team Trials at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nev., June 8-10. Competition will feature Senior-level men and women.
This new event will serve as the qualifier for the U.S. team to compete in the Grappling competition at the World Wrestling Games in Antalya, Turkey on Sept. 7-9. Grappling will be included in the competition, along with Beach Wrestling and Sombo. FILA, the international wrestling federation, recently recognized Grappling as a form of international wrestling.
The U.S. Grappling World Team Trials will be held alongside the U.S. World Team Trials, which is the qualifying event for the U.S. World Teams in men’s freestyle, men’s Greco-Roman and women’s freestyle wrestling. The winners of the U.S. World Team Trials in the three Olympic styles will represent the United States at the World Wrestling Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 17-23.
The USA Wrestling Grappling World Team Trials will feature Senior-level athletes competing under the FILA Grappling Rules. This is for athletes 18 years-old and above. (Those who are 18 and 19 may compete in the Senior level upon presentation of medical consent). This is not an open tournament. Only athletes who qualify to compete will be entered.
The FILA international Grappling weight classes are:
Men (5 weight classes): 62 kg/136.5 lbs., 70 kg/154 lbs., 80 kg/176 lbs., 92 kg/202.5 lbs., 125 kg/275 lbs.
Women (4 weight classes): 48 kg/105.5 lbs., 55 kg/121 lbs., 63 kg/138.75 lbs., 72 kg/158.5 lbs.
The FILA Grappling Rules can be downloaded from the FILA website at:
http://www.fila-wrestling.com/images...egulations.pdf
Major Grappling organizations within the United States have agreed to name some of their most competitive existing Grappling events as qualifiers for the USA Wrestling Grappling World Team Trials. These events will be contested under the rules and procedures of the organizations which host them.
The qualifying events from other organizations are:
April 14 – Grapplers Quest U.S. Nationals of Grappling, and U.S. Pro Trials, Las Vegas, Nev.
Qualifiers for men (32): Top two in each of the 10 men’s advanced weight classes at the U.S. Nationals of Grappling, and the top three place finishers in each of the four weight classes in the U.S. Pro Trials
Qualifiers for women (14): Top two in each of the 4 No-Gi advanced weight classes at the U.S. Nationals of Grappling, and the top three in the two weight classes in the U.S. Pro Trials
http://www.grapplersquest.com
April 21 – North American Grappling Association (NAGA) Worlds, Jersey City, N.J.
Qualifiers for men (33): Top three U.S. medalists in each of the 11 expert No-Gi weight classes.
Qualifiers for women (12): Top three U.S. medalists in each of the four expert No-Gi weight classes
http://www.nagafighter.com
April 29 – World Grappling Games Best of the West, Long Beach, Calif.
Qualifiers for men (20): Top two place finishers in each of the 10 weight classes
Qualifiers for women (8): Top two place finishers in each of the four weight classes
http://www.grapplingtournaments.com
May 26 – North American Grappling Association (NAGA) Midwest Championships, Milwaukee, Wis.
Qualifiers for men (22): Top two place finishers in each of the 11 advanced No-Gi weight classes
Qualifiers for women (4): Top two U.S. medalists in each of the two advanced No-Gi weight classes
http://www.nagafighter.com
June 4 – World Grappling Games Pan American Submission Championships. Los Angeles, Calif.
Qualifiers for men (20): Top two U.S. medalists in each of the 10 weight classes
Qualifiers for women (8): Top two U.S. medalists in each of the four weight classes
http://www.grapplingtournaments.com
Three USA Wrestling-sanctioned events, using the FILA Grappling rules and weight divisions, will also serve as qualifying events. Those participating in these events will be required to have a USA Wrestling membership.
May 12 – Mid-Atlantic Grappling Championships, Virginia Beach, Va.
Held at Green Run High School in Virginia Beach
Qualifiers for men (15): Top three place finishers in each of the five FILA weight classes
Qualifiers for women (12): Top three place finishers in each of the four FILA weight classes
May 12 – No Limits West Coast World Team Grappling Qualifier Trials, Irvine, Calif.
Held at No Limits Mixed Martial Arts & Fitness, 1962 Barranca Parkway, Irvine, CA 92606
949-251-8822 phone, 949-251-8833 FAX
Qualifiers for men (15): Top three place finishers in each of the five FILA weight classes
Qualifiers for women (12): Top three place finishers in each of the four FILA weight classes
http://www.nolimitsmma.com
May 26 – No Limits East Coast World Team Grappling Qualifier Trials, Alpharetta, Ga.
“Last Chance”
Held at The Cooler, 10800 Davis Drive, Alpharetta, GA 30004
Qualifiers for men (15): Top three place finishers in each of the five FILA weight classes
Qualifiers for women (12): Top three place finishers in each of the four FILA weight classes
Complete schedules and event information will be available shortly. Visit TheMat.com (
www.themat.com) regularly for updates on these qualifying events.
Those who have qualified through any of these events will have an opportunity to compete in the USA Wrestling Grappling World Team Trials in Las Vegas. A complete schedule of this competition will be available shortly.
For questions, contact Gary Abbott of USA Wrestling at 719-598-8181 or via e-mail at
gabbott@usawrestling.org.
