Try Beach Wrestling this year, with many great events in the USA and around the world
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
If you haven’t already tried Beach Wrestling, you will have many great opportunities to participate in this growing and popular style of wrestling in 2019. It is a perfect time to check it out and test your skills.
USA Wrestling and the international federation United World Wrestling have a full schedule of Beach Wrestling events, with some outstanding competitions in the USA and overseas. Beach wrestling is challenging and fun, with simple rules anybody can understand.
Beach Wrestling consists of one three-minute period. All action begins in the standing position. An athlete scores one point for bringing an opponent to the ground for a takedown, or by forcing the opponent out of ring. A wrestler gets three points for exposing an opponent’s back during a takedown or throw. The first athlete to three points wins the match. If there is a tie, the winner is determined by criteria. The action takes place in a seven-meter circle.
Click for FloWrestling video on Beach Wrestling rules
ANOC WORLD BEACH GAMES, San Diego, Calif., October 12-13
U.S. Senior wrestlers have an opportunity to compete in a new multi-sport international event, the ANOC World Beach Games, set for Mission Beach in San Diego, Calif., October 12-13.
Beach Wrestling is one of only 15 sports which will be included in this historic first-ever Beach World Games. The competition is endorsed by the International Olympic Committee, with the Beach Wrestling competition being organized by United World Wrestling. The U.S. team in all of the participating sports will be managed by the U.S. Olympic Committee.
As the host nation, the USA is guaranteed one athlete in each of the eight weight classes, four men’s weights and four women’s weights. There will be nine other athletes from around the world who compete in each weight class against the American entry.
To earn a spot on the World Beach Games Team, U.S. Senior athletes must attend a USA Wrestling Trials event. The Trials process is explained below.
SENIOR WOMEN’S BEACH WORLD GAMES TRIALS, Las Vegas, Nev., April 28
The Women’s Beach World Games Trials are set for Sunday, April 28 at the South Point Hotel in Las Vegas, Nev.
The event is part of the U.S. Marine Corps 2019 Open Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas. USA Wrestling’s Associated Styles Committee decided to bring the Women’s World Beach Games Trials to the location where the most Senior-eligible women athletes are expected, which is at the U.S. Open.
The event is scheduled for the morning on Sunday, with weigh-ins at 7:30 a.m. and wrestling beginning at 9:30 a.m. It will be held at the South Point Arena. The idea is to hold the event in the morning, which would allow athletes to fly out late Sunday afternoon or evening without having to stay an extra night.
The women’s weight classes for the World Beach Games are:
50 kg, 60 kg, 70 kg and Over 70 kg
Women athletes are able to register online for this event through April 24, or at the onsite/late registration the day before on Saturday, April 27 at 6:00 p.m. All participants must register by Saturday, April 27 at 6:00 p.m. There will be no registration available on Sunday. The finals will be a best-of-three series to determine the team member.
Click below to register for Women’s Beach World Games Trials
Senior-eligible women who plan to compete in the U.S. Open and/or Western Junior Regionals and also enter the Women’s World Beach Games Trials can register for those events at the same time.
Click below for Women’s World Beach Games Trials website
This event will be broadcast live by FloWrestling.
U.S BEACH AND BELT NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS/MEN’S BEACH WORLD GAMES TRIALS, Carolina Beach, N.C., May 18
Carolina Beach will again host the annual U.S. Beach National Championships, its seventh straight year at this popular Atlantic Ocean beach. This growing event offers national competition in eight age levels (8U, 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, Junior, Senior (men and women) and Masters.
The men’s senior division at the U.S. Beach Nationals will serve as the Men’s Beach World Games Trials, with the winner in each of the four weight classes earning the spot on the U.S. team for the ANOC World Beach Games in San Diego. In the men’s division, weigh-ins will only be held on Saturday morning, May 18. The finals of the event will be a best-of-three series.
The men’s weight classes for the Beach World Games, as well as the U.S. Beach Nationals are:
70kg, 80kg, 90kg, Over 90kg
If there was a weight class that did not get an entry at the Women’s Beach World Games Trials in Las Vegas, the U.S. Beach Nationals will serve as the “Last Chance Qualifier” for Senior women for the ANOC World Beach Games.
Any Senior champion at the U.S. Beach Nationals, man or woman, gets first opportunity to compete on the USA team at the Zagreb Beach Wrestling World Series Final in Zagreb, Croatia, September 6-7.
The Senior-level U.S. Beach Nationals will be broadcast by FloWrestling.
Held alongside the U.S. Beach Nationals will be the third annual U.S. Belt National Championships. Belt wrestling is popular all over the world, and competing in the U.S. Belt Nationals will open opportunities for competing at international belt wrestling events.
Click here for information on the U.S. Beach and Belt Nationals
UNITED WORLD WRESTLING BEACH WORLD SERIES EVENTS
United World Wrestling has created a new Beach World Series, a four-event schedule of major Beach Wrestling events located throughout the world.
U.S. Senior athletes are eligible and encouraged to compete in any and all Beach World Series events. Up to three U.S. athletes can enter in each weight class at a Beach World Series event, meaning that in most cases, anybody from the USA who wants to enter has a good chance to be able to attend.
The Beach World Series (BWS) is used to determine the Beach Wrestling World Titles for both men and women. The World Champion will be the athlete who scores the most points in his/her weight class from the four-event series.
In addition to sun-drenched beaches and high-flying competition, the series will feature equally attractive cash prizes totaling 15,000 Swiss Francs (CHF) per event. Each weight category will be awarded a total of 1750 CHF; (1000 CHF for gold, 500 CHF for silver, and 250 CHF for bronze). To incentivize crowd-pleasing techniques, fans in attendance will vote on the “Big Move from the Beach,” – an award that comes with an additional 1000 CHF for the winner.
The BWS will follow a pool format with each wrestler competing against every wrestler in the pool to determine who will compete for the gold and bronze. The weight classes are:
Women: 50kg | 60kg | 70kg | +70kg
Men: 70kg | 80kg | 90kg | +90kg
Points scored in the first two Beach World Series events (Chaves and Rio de Janeiro) will determine the nations which qualify athletes for the ANOC World Beach Games in San Diego. Since the USA already has an entry in each weight class, U.S. wrestlers must qualify through the domestic trials events listed above. (Note: if a U.S. wrestler is in the top eight of the BWS standings after Rio de Janeiro, they qualify for a wrestle-off in June for the U.S. team for the ANOC Beach World Games).
To enter, you must have a 2018-19 USA Wrestling athlete membership and a current 2019 UWW athlete license. If you wish to compete in a Beach World Series event, please contact Gary Abbott well in advance at gabbott@usawrestling.org or via cell phone at 719-659-9637.
All of the UWW Beach World Series will be broadcast in the USA by FloWrestling.
Chaves Beach Wrestling World Series – Chaves, Portugal, March 29-30 – already completed
Rio de Janeiro Beach Wrestling World Series – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May 10-11
This Beach World Series event is in a Pan American nation, and will be held not far from where the 2016 Olympic Games were hosted. U.S. citizens will need a visa to travel to Brazil, but a new e-visa system is in place to make this process happen much quicker.
Athletes must purchase their airfare to Rio de Janiero, to the GIG airport (Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport). The cost for room, board and transportation for each athlete is 160 Swiss Francs a day, with accommodation at the Hotel Venit. The competition days are Friday, May 10 and Saturday, May 11.
USA athletes who compete in Brazil and reach the top eight in the Beach World Series standings after two events will qualify for a wrestle-off in June for the U.S. team for the ANOC Beach World Games.
If you want to go, you must contact Gary Abbott immediately, because the Brazilian federation requests the USA lineup by April 10. As with all Beach World Series events, you must have a 2018-19 USA Wrestling athlete membership and a current 2019 UWW athlete license. If you wish to compete in Brazil, please immediately contact Gary Abbott well in advance at gabbott@usawrestling.org or via cell phone at 719-659-9637.
Odessa Beach Wrestling World Series – Odessa, Ukraine, August 11
This is the third of the Beach World Series events, and U.S. Senior athletes who wish to compete can do so. Currently, there is no information on this event concerning schedule and costs, but that will be shared with all interested as soon as it becomes available.
Zagreb Beach Wrestling World Series Final – Zagreb, Croatia, September 6-7
This is the final Beach World Series event, and USA Wrestling will be organizing its annual U.S. Beach World Team to enter this competition.
To fill the U.S. lineup, athletes who win at the Women’s Beach World Games Trials and the U.S. Beach National Championships will have the first opportunity to be on the U.S. Beach World Team. Any U.S. athlete who is ranked in the top eight of the Beach World Series rankings after the Odessa event will also have first opportunity to compete in Zagreb. Team USA will be permitted to enter three athletes in each weight class.
Currently, there is no information on this event concerning schedule and costs, but that will be shared with all interested as soon as it becomes available.
USA Wrestling and the international federation United World Wrestling have a full schedule of Beach Wrestling events, with some outstanding competitions in the USA and overseas. Beach wrestling is challenging and fun, with simple rules anybody can understand.
Beach Wrestling consists of one three-minute period. All action begins in the standing position. An athlete scores one point for bringing an opponent to the ground for a takedown, or by forcing the opponent out of ring. A wrestler gets three points for exposing an opponent’s back during a takedown or throw. The first athlete to three points wins the match. If there is a tie, the winner is determined by criteria. The action takes place in a seven-meter circle.
Click for FloWrestling video on Beach Wrestling rules
ANOC WORLD BEACH GAMES, San Diego, Calif., October 12-13
U.S. Senior wrestlers have an opportunity to compete in a new multi-sport international event, the ANOC World Beach Games, set for Mission Beach in San Diego, Calif., October 12-13.
Beach Wrestling is one of only 15 sports which will be included in this historic first-ever Beach World Games. The competition is endorsed by the International Olympic Committee, with the Beach Wrestling competition being organized by United World Wrestling. The U.S. team in all of the participating sports will be managed by the U.S. Olympic Committee.
As the host nation, the USA is guaranteed one athlete in each of the eight weight classes, four men’s weights and four women’s weights. There will be nine other athletes from around the world who compete in each weight class against the American entry.
To earn a spot on the World Beach Games Team, U.S. Senior athletes must attend a USA Wrestling Trials event. The Trials process is explained below.
SENIOR WOMEN’S BEACH WORLD GAMES TRIALS, Las Vegas, Nev., April 28
The Women’s Beach World Games Trials are set for Sunday, April 28 at the South Point Hotel in Las Vegas, Nev.
The event is part of the U.S. Marine Corps 2019 Open Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas. USA Wrestling’s Associated Styles Committee decided to bring the Women’s World Beach Games Trials to the location where the most Senior-eligible women athletes are expected, which is at the U.S. Open.
The event is scheduled for the morning on Sunday, with weigh-ins at 7:30 a.m. and wrestling beginning at 9:30 a.m. It will be held at the South Point Arena. The idea is to hold the event in the morning, which would allow athletes to fly out late Sunday afternoon or evening without having to stay an extra night.
The women’s weight classes for the World Beach Games are:
50 kg, 60 kg, 70 kg and Over 70 kg
Women athletes are able to register online for this event through April 24, or at the onsite/late registration the day before on Saturday, April 27 at 6:00 p.m. All participants must register by Saturday, April 27 at 6:00 p.m. There will be no registration available on Sunday. The finals will be a best-of-three series to determine the team member.
Click below to register for Women’s Beach World Games Trials
Senior-eligible women who plan to compete in the U.S. Open and/or Western Junior Regionals and also enter the Women’s World Beach Games Trials can register for those events at the same time.
Click below for Women’s World Beach Games Trials website
This event will be broadcast live by FloWrestling.
U.S BEACH AND BELT NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS/MEN’S BEACH WORLD GAMES TRIALS, Carolina Beach, N.C., May 18
Carolina Beach will again host the annual U.S. Beach National Championships, its seventh straight year at this popular Atlantic Ocean beach. This growing event offers national competition in eight age levels (8U, 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, Junior, Senior (men and women) and Masters.
The men’s senior division at the U.S. Beach Nationals will serve as the Men’s Beach World Games Trials, with the winner in each of the four weight classes earning the spot on the U.S. team for the ANOC World Beach Games in San Diego. In the men’s division, weigh-ins will only be held on Saturday morning, May 18. The finals of the event will be a best-of-three series.
The men’s weight classes for the Beach World Games, as well as the U.S. Beach Nationals are:
70kg, 80kg, 90kg, Over 90kg
If there was a weight class that did not get an entry at the Women’s Beach World Games Trials in Las Vegas, the U.S. Beach Nationals will serve as the “Last Chance Qualifier” for Senior women for the ANOC World Beach Games.
Any Senior champion at the U.S. Beach Nationals, man or woman, gets first opportunity to compete on the USA team at the Zagreb Beach Wrestling World Series Final in Zagreb, Croatia, September 6-7.
The Senior-level U.S. Beach Nationals will be broadcast by FloWrestling.
Held alongside the U.S. Beach Nationals will be the third annual U.S. Belt National Championships. Belt wrestling is popular all over the world, and competing in the U.S. Belt Nationals will open opportunities for competing at international belt wrestling events.
Click here for information on the U.S. Beach and Belt Nationals
UNITED WORLD WRESTLING BEACH WORLD SERIES EVENTS
United World Wrestling has created a new Beach World Series, a four-event schedule of major Beach Wrestling events located throughout the world.
U.S. Senior athletes are eligible and encouraged to compete in any and all Beach World Series events. Up to three U.S. athletes can enter in each weight class at a Beach World Series event, meaning that in most cases, anybody from the USA who wants to enter has a good chance to be able to attend.
The Beach World Series (BWS) is used to determine the Beach Wrestling World Titles for both men and women. The World Champion will be the athlete who scores the most points in his/her weight class from the four-event series.
In addition to sun-drenched beaches and high-flying competition, the series will feature equally attractive cash prizes totaling 15,000 Swiss Francs (CHF) per event. Each weight category will be awarded a total of 1750 CHF; (1000 CHF for gold, 500 CHF for silver, and 250 CHF for bronze). To incentivize crowd-pleasing techniques, fans in attendance will vote on the “Big Move from the Beach,” – an award that comes with an additional 1000 CHF for the winner.
The BWS will follow a pool format with each wrestler competing against every wrestler in the pool to determine who will compete for the gold and bronze. The weight classes are:
Women: 50kg | 60kg | 70kg | +70kg
Men: 70kg | 80kg | 90kg | +90kg
Points scored in the first two Beach World Series events (Chaves and Rio de Janeiro) will determine the nations which qualify athletes for the ANOC World Beach Games in San Diego. Since the USA already has an entry in each weight class, U.S. wrestlers must qualify through the domestic trials events listed above. (Note: if a U.S. wrestler is in the top eight of the BWS standings after Rio de Janeiro, they qualify for a wrestle-off in June for the U.S. team for the ANOC Beach World Games).
To enter, you must have a 2018-19 USA Wrestling athlete membership and a current 2019 UWW athlete license. If you wish to compete in a Beach World Series event, please contact Gary Abbott well in advance at gabbott@usawrestling.org or via cell phone at 719-659-9637.
All of the UWW Beach World Series will be broadcast in the USA by FloWrestling.
Chaves Beach Wrestling World Series – Chaves, Portugal, March 29-30 – already completed
Rio de Janeiro Beach Wrestling World Series – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May 10-11
This Beach World Series event is in a Pan American nation, and will be held not far from where the 2016 Olympic Games were hosted. U.S. citizens will need a visa to travel to Brazil, but a new e-visa system is in place to make this process happen much quicker.
Athletes must purchase their airfare to Rio de Janiero, to the GIG airport (Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport). The cost for room, board and transportation for each athlete is 160 Swiss Francs a day, with accommodation at the Hotel Venit. The competition days are Friday, May 10 and Saturday, May 11.
USA athletes who compete in Brazil and reach the top eight in the Beach World Series standings after two events will qualify for a wrestle-off in June for the U.S. team for the ANOC Beach World Games.
If you want to go, you must contact Gary Abbott immediately, because the Brazilian federation requests the USA lineup by April 10. As with all Beach World Series events, you must have a 2018-19 USA Wrestling athlete membership and a current 2019 UWW athlete license. If you wish to compete in Brazil, please immediately contact Gary Abbott well in advance at gabbott@usawrestling.org or via cell phone at 719-659-9637.
Odessa Beach Wrestling World Series – Odessa, Ukraine, August 11
This is the third of the Beach World Series events, and U.S. Senior athletes who wish to compete can do so. Currently, there is no information on this event concerning schedule and costs, but that will be shared with all interested as soon as it becomes available.
Zagreb Beach Wrestling World Series Final – Zagreb, Croatia, September 6-7
This is the final Beach World Series event, and USA Wrestling will be organizing its annual U.S. Beach World Team to enter this competition.
To fill the U.S. lineup, athletes who win at the Women’s Beach World Games Trials and the U.S. Beach National Championships will have the first opportunity to be on the U.S. Beach World Team. Any U.S. athlete who is ranked in the top eight of the Beach World Series rankings after the Odessa event will also have first opportunity to compete in Zagreb. Team USA will be permitted to enter three athletes in each weight class.
Currently, there is no information on this event concerning schedule and costs, but that will be shared with all interested as soon as it becomes available.
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