The local organizing committee will be structured, benefitting from the talent and membership of Beat the Streets Los Angeles, California USA Wrestling, the Titan Mercury Wrestling Club, the Semnani Family Foundation and other strong Los Angeles-based sports organizations.
The venue for the competition is currently being finalized and will be announced when available.
"This is exciting because we have a tremendous fan base in our area for the international teams that will be coming here to compete, as well as for the USA team. Our fans are knowledgeable and very passionate. We are looking forward to hosting a dynamic, exciting and successful event," said USA Wrestling leader Andy Barth who is helping lead the local organizing committee.
"We are excited to help bring the Freestyle World Cup back to the United States and to California," said Duane Morgan, state chairperson of California USA Wrestling. "This is another example that USA Wrestling is the national governing body for our sport and can bring major international events here which expose California youth to Olympic-level wrestling. We are pleased the event is in our back yard and we will help as much as we can to make sure it is a success."
The 10 nations which have qualified for the World Cup, based upon team standings at the 2013 World Championships are: 1) Iran; 2) Russia; 3) Georgia; 4) Ukraine; 5) United States; 6) India; 7 tie) Cuba and Mongolia; 9 tie) Armenia and Turkey.
The most recent Freestyle World Cup was held in Tehran, Iran in February 2013, with Iran winning the team title, Russia placing second and the United States placing third.
The World Cup field will be split into two pools of five nations, with each team competing against the other four teams in its pool. The winning teams of each pool will compete for first place; second place in each pool will compete for third place; third place in each pool will compete for fifth place; fourth place in each pool will compete for seventh place and fifth place in each pool will compete for ninth place.
The Freestyle World Cup was developed in the United States, which has hosted the event 26 times since its inception. The most recent time that the United States hosted the event was in 2003 in Boise, Idaho.
The U.S. cities which have hosted the World Cup include Toledo, Ohio (17 times); Chattanooga, Tenn. (twice); Spokane, Wash.(twice); Stillwater, Okla. (twice); Baltimore, Md.; Fairfax, Va. and Boise, Idaho.
This will be the second major international wrestling event held in Los Angeles within a year. United4Wrestling, which featured the United States, Russia and Canada competing in men’s and women’s freestyle wrestling, was hosted at LA Coliseum on May 19, 2013. This successful event was an important competition in helping wrestling display its worldwide appeal and retain its status as an Olympic sport.
"USA Wrestling is pleased to host the Freestyle World Cup again, and look forward to a fantastic competition in Los Angeles. It is our intention to provide an exciting event presentation which will help showcase the best freestyle wrestling teams in the world. We invite all wrestling fans to join us at the Freestyle World Cup this year," said USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender.
ABOUT USA WRESTLING
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 and the International Wrestling Federation FILA. 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. Its president is James Ravannack, and its Executive Director is Rich Bender.
ABOUT FILA
FILA, the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles, is the global governing body of the sport of wrestling. It works to promote the sport and facilitate the activities of its 177 national federations from around the world. It is based in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland.
To learn more about FILA visit its official website, http://www.fila-official.com/; Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/fila.official, or Twitter handle, @FILA_Official.
(For more information please contact FILA at 41.21 312 84 26 or Bob Condron, Press Officer, condron@fila-wrestling.com or rscondron@yahoo.com
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now