Virginia USAW Grappling Newsletter No. 1 December 2007
Introduction
2008 is here and I am looking to make Virginia a leader in Grappling for USA Wrestling and set the path for other state organizations to follow!
Welcome to the first edition of the Virginia USA Wrestling Grappling Newsletter! My name is Will Townsend and I have been elected to be the Grappling Director for Virginia USA Wrestling. For those of you that knew me while I was working with the International Submission Wrestling Association (ISWA), let me talk about some of the changes that have occurred over the last year.
I assisted my brother, Jason Townsend, in developing the ISWA which was finally put into operation in 2006. I organized several events in the Mid Atlantic area as we tested these new rules and made adjustments as needed. After only 1 year in operation FILA (the international governing body for Olympic wrestling) approached Jason about using his rule format to sanction grappling events internationally. In 2007 FILA announced their intentions and soon after USA Wrestling (FILA recognized governing body in the United States) began planning to add Grappling as one of its recognized styles. USA Wrestling had their first events in 2007 which were qualifiers for the Grappling World Team Trials in Las Vegas, NV. The trials formed a team that was taken to the FILA World Championships in Antalya, Turkey where they swept all 9 gold medals.
Pictured from left to right (bottom row): Bob Anderson (coach), Lisa Ward,
Tara LaRosa, Felicia Oh, Val Worthington, Jason Townsend (coach). (top row)
Jeff Monson, Ricky Lundell, Darren Uyenoyama, Dan Ortega and Malcom Havens.
USA Wrestling
For those of you not familiar with USA Wrestling I wanted to give a brief explanation of the organization and what exactly do you get by being a member.
USA Wrestling is the National Governing Body for the Sport of Wrestling in the United States and, as such, is its representative to the United States Olympic Committee. Simply, USA Wrestling is the central organization that coordinates amateur wrestling programs in the nation and works to create interest and participation in these programs. USA Wrestling has more than 159,000 members. These members include athletes of all ages, coaches, officials, parents and fans striving together to strengthen the sport. Part of USA Wrestling's mission is to foster grassroots development for the sport. Each year, USA Wrestling charters over 2900 wrestling clubs and sanctions over 1600 local, state, regional and national competitions.
To enter an USA Wrestling sanctioned event as a competitor you must have a current competitor’s card. Membership benefits include secondary, non-duplicating sports accident insurance provided by an outside carrier. This insurance coverage includes a deductible, co-payment provisions and other conditions of the policy; a one-year subscription to USA Wrestler; the privilege to compete and take advantage of events, camps, clinics, international exchanges, and club programs; discounts on wrestling gear, equipment and apparel; and other national discount programs as they become available. You also have access to our Streaming Video website. For more detailed information about USA Wrestling and membership go to
www.themat.com.
Events
Our first event of 2008 will be in Richmond, VA on Jan 5th. New Year’s Submissions will be held at the Richmond Raceway Complex during the daytime before amateur MMA events by Total Cage Combat (
www.totalcagecombat.com) start at 7 pm. Kenny Florian, one of the top ranked UFC 155 lbs fighters will be in attendance as a special guest!
On Jan 26th our second event will be the Manassas Grappling Tournament held at the Prince William County Fairgrounds in Manassas, VA. The event is also in conjunction with an amateur event Operation Octagon (
www.operationoctagon.com) which starts at 7:30 pm. Brian Stann, an undefeated fighter in the WEC 205 lbs division and active duty Marine will be in attendance as a special guest!
More events will be added to the schedule very soon not only in Virginia but also in Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey and North Carolina. If you are interested in having a USAW event contact me so we can work out the details and get your event added to the schedule. For detailed information on events email me at
vausagrappling@yahoo.com.
News
Gary Abbott USA Wrestling
12/05/2007
Jason Townsend of Las Vegas, Nev. has been hired as the Manager of Developing Wrestling Styles for USA Wrestling, the national governing body for wrestling in the United States.
Townsend assumes a new position at USA Wrestling, which will manage the organization’s programs in the developing styles of international wrestling, which includes Grappling, Beach Wrestling and Sombo.
There will be responsibilities in events operations, grassroots development, promotion and international team organization, along with other duties. He will report to the Director of Communications and Special Projects. Townsend is expected to begin work at USA Wrestling in January 2008.
“Jason Townsend will bring a unique skill set to our team at USA Wrestling,” said USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender. “He is an accomplished wrestler and coach in his own right. Jason has developed an expertise and passion in Grappling, which will serve him well as he leads USA Wrestling’s effort in developing the new styles of our sport.”
Townsend served as a World Team Coach for the historic 2007 U.S. Grappling World Team, which competed in the first Grappling World Championships in Antalya, Turkey in September. Working with World Team Coach Bob Anderson, Townsend helped lead the USA to a sweep of all nine World gold medals at the event, and a total of 21 medals in a dominant team performance.
He serves as a member of the FILA World Grappling Committee, the group within international wrestling which manages grappling worldwide. Within the committee, Townsend serves as Technical Director for coaches and officials education, as well as rules oversight. He is one of the authors of the FILA Grappling Rulebook.
Townsend was the founder and President of the International Submission Wrestling Association, a Grappling organization that hosted competitions, as well as trained officials, coaches and athletes. With the ISWA, Townsend developed the rules of grappling which have been adopted by FILA. The ISWA ceased operation after FILA and USA Wrestling adopted Grappling as a style of wrestling.
He was a key volunteer in putting together USA Wrestling’s existing Grappling program. He attended the historic Grappling Summit, held at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in March 2007, and assisted in the organization of the first Grappling World Team Trials in Las Vegas in June 2007.
Townsend is currently a Wrestling/Grappling Coach at Xtreme Couture MMA in Las Vegas, Nev. working with Mixed Martial Arts legend Randy Couture, who was also a U.S. Greco-Roman wrestling World Team member.
He also serves as Head Wrestling Coach at Marc Laimon’s Cobra Kai jiu-jitsu in Las Vegas, Nev. Cobra Kai jiu-jitsu placed two athletes in the finals of USA Wrestling Grappling World TeamTrials.
Townsend served as an assistant wrestling coach at Cal-State Fullerton from 2000-2005. He was a varsity wrestler for Syracuse Univ. and Hofstra Univ. Townsend was a two-time Maryland state high school champion, and was an All-American in freestyle at the Junior Nationals and Espoir Nationals.
“This is a dream come true for me, to work with USA Wrestling,” said Townsend. “I look forward to the challenge of developing these styles to the best of my abilities and helping improve USA Wrestling in these areas. Grappling, as the newest wrestling style, has shown great potential. All of these styles have a chance to grow into successful programs within USA Wrestling.”
