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This is pretty big news. Committee to Preserve Olympic Wrestling (CPOW) to Partner with UFC and Mixed Martial Arts Related Links Keep Olympic Wrestling Website By USA Wrestling 04/10/2013 NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Committee to Preserve Olympic Wrestling (CPOW) and USA Wrestling has aligned with top organizations in mixed martial arts -- including UFC and its president, Dana White. “I’ve met with a lot of top guys in wrestling. I met with them last Tuesday, and the UFC’s joining the fight to help save Olympic Wrestling,” UFC President, Dana White, told Yahoo Sports MMA Weekly on Tuesday. With one sweeping statement of support, Dana White and UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta have endeared themselves to wrestling fans across the globe and opened the door for a historic opportunity for the Keep Olympic Wrestling movement and the 2020 Vision campaign. “We met with Dana and were very encouraged and touched by his genuine support for our sport and our effort to remain in the Olympics,” said CPOW Chairman Bill Scherr. “Many don’t know this but he has done a great deal behind the scenes for wrestling for years and we owe him our allegiance and gratitude.” With mainstream media and television coverage, the UFC has exploded in popularity and expanded into over 130 international markets. Wrestling has long been a significant thread of the fabric of mixed martial arts and the UFC, with fighters like Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell, Matt Hughes, Dan Henderson and Sara McMann achieving success in MMA after beginnings in wrestling. “We are not sure of the exact form and scope ultimately of our relationship with the UFC”, relayed CPOW member and NCAA Champion wrestler Tommy Rowlands, who had developed a spirited relationship with Dana White over Twitter. “We know that we will accept whatever assistance is offered and will work with Dana and the UFC to develop a working partnership going forward. For now, we are thrilled that he is involved and on our side.” On February 12, the International Olympic Committee Executive Board made a recommendation that wrestling not be a core sport at the 2020 Olympic Games. A final decision on the program of the 2020 Olympics will be made by the entire IOC in September. A worldwide effort has been launched by FILA, the international wrestling federation, and all of the 177 nations which participate in wrestling, to retain wrestling as an Olympic sport. Another CPOW member, John Bardis, has experience with both wrestling and the UFC. He was an accomplished wrestler and also a board member of USA Wrestling and team leader of the Greco-Roman Olympic team in Beijing in 2008. He has mentored, sponsored and coached several UFC fighters. “This budding relationship between wrestling and the UFC holds tremendous promise to assist us not only with our efforts with the IOC to remain in the Olympics, but also to increase the popularity of wrestling in the United States and around the World. We look upon them in many ways as a ‘big brother’ to our sport and we are thrilled with potential of the partnership that might develop between our groups.” ABOUT CPOW The Committee for the Preservation of Olympic Wrestling (CPOW) was developed by USA Wrestling, whose mission is to insure that wrestling remains as a core sport of the Olympic Games. CPOW features many highly-respected leaders within the American wrestling, chaired by Bill Scherr of Glenview, Ill., a World champion and Olympic medalist in freestyle wrestling and a leader in the Olympic family. The official website is keepolympicwrestling.com. You can find the official Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/officialkeepwrestlingintheolympics. The official Twitter location is @wrestlingvision.
Last edited by smokeycabin; 04/11/13 08:36 AM.
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Several states have passed resolutions in support of keeping wrestling in the Olympics.
•A resolution opposing the elimination of wrestling from the summer Olympic games beginning in 2020 has been presented to the Kansas legislature. Representative Lance Kinzer has suggested that polite emails encouraging Rep. Siegreid to hold a hearing on this resolution would be helpful.
Rep. Kinzer said that Rep. Siegreid has been very helpful so far, so he’s not suggesting that he is in any way an impediment to our efforts, but we are simply getting short on time so a little extra notice would be helpful.
Here is Rep. Siegreid's contact information:
Capitol Office Room: 185-N Seat: 81 Phone: 785 368-7166 Email: arlen.siegfreid@house.ks.gov
Home Information 1403 West Prairie Terrace Olathe, KS 66061 Phone: 913-764-3643 Fax: 913-764-5083 Email: asiegfreid@gmail.com
Minnnesota House passes resolution supporting Olympic wrestling
By Meagan Templeton-Lynch USA Wrestling 04/10/2013
Majority Leader Erin Murphy, Speaker Paul Thissen, Minority Leader Kurt Daudt and Rep. Bob Dettmer at the signing of the Minnesota House resolution supporting Olympic wrestling.
The Minnesota House recently passed a resolution expressing its opposition to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board recommendation to remove wrestling as a core sport of the Olympics beginning in 2020.
The Minnesota resolution, introduced by State Representative Bob Dettmer, opposes the IOC ruling to remove freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling from the 25 core sports of Olympics, expressing the importance the sport of wrestling has to the state of Minnesota, the United States and the Olympic Games. After approval, the resolution was signed by Dettmer,
Wrestling is a very popular sport in Minnesota high schools, with a total of 8,137 high school boys and girls wrestling in the 2011-12 year.
Minnesota USA Wrestling had over 5,200 members last year and offers a complete program of events and opportunities for wrestlers of all levels in the state. It is one of the most effective and respected state associations.
Minnesota has produced Olympic wrestling medalists, including two-time Olympic medalist Dennis Koslowski, Olympic silver medalist Brandon Paulson, Olympic bronze medalists Jim Martinez and Garrett Lowney, three-time Olympian Dan Chandler, two-time Olympians Ali Bernard, Michial Foy, Jim Hazewinkel and Dave Hazewinkel, Olympians Chas Betts, Jake Deitchler, David Zuniga, Gordy Morgan, John Morgan, Duane Koslowski, Brian Gust, Alan Rice and others, along with numerous World medalists and Team members.
Among the U.S. states, Minnesota has a long tradition in the Olympic style of Greco-Roman wrestling, producing top athletes and coaches for generations.
Minnesota has a strong tradition in college wrestling, with 13 programs including NCAA Div. I program University of Minnesota, NCAA Div. II programs Minnesota State University-Mankato, Minnesota State University-Moorhead Southwest Minnesota State University, St. Cloud State University, Div. III college programs Augsburg College, Concordia College, St. John’s University and St. Olaf College and NJCAA programs Itasca Community College, Minnesota West Community College, Ridgewater College and Rochester Community and Tech College.
Wrestlers in Minnesota are from very diverse backgrounds, as the sport provides opportunities for all.
Minnesota joins other states around the U.S., including California and Kentucky that have stepped up to support wrestling as an Olympic sport through their state governments.
A House resolution expressing opposition to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decision to remove freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling from the Olympic Games beginning in 2020
WHEREAS, the State of Minnesota is home to thousands of collegiate and professional wrestling athletes and many that advance to national and international competition; and
WHEREAS, the United States is a key competitor in international wrestling competition, especially the Olympic Games, with 124 medals having been awarded to the United States throughout history; and
WHEREAS, the sport of wrestling is fundamentally important to the success of the United States in overall Olympic Games competition; and
WHEREAS, Greco-Roman wrestling has been part of Olympic competition since 1896, including participation by a Minnesotan on the United State team in every summer Olympic Games since 1968; and
WHEREAS, wrestling is a foundational activity for Minnesota’s youth and overall economic activity, which is made more robust by the ultimate potential for Olympic success; and
WHEREAS, wrestling is a foundational sport for the University of Minnesota, and Minnesota has a unique asset in Head Coach J Robinson; and
WHEREAS, the city of Minneapolis hopes to contend for consideration as a future site of the Olympic Games; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Committee on Rules and Legislative Administration of the House of Representatives of the State of Minnesota that it opposes the IOC ruling that freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling not be included in the 25 athletic competitions of the Olympics Games given the immense local and global impact that ruling will have.
Dated: March 20, 2013
Paul Thissen, Speaker Minnesota House of Representatives
Erin Murphy, Chair Rules and Legislative Administration
Bob Dettmer State Representative
Last edited by smokeycabin; 04/11/13 08:56 AM.
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