New rules endorsed by United World Wrestling (UWW), the international governing body for the sport of amateur wrestling will be applied at the forthcoming Governor Wike National Wrestling Challenge Cup which holds in Port Harcourt, Rivers State from November 23 to 30, 2017.
President of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation, Daniel Igali informed SportingLife that this becomes necessary as the competition sponsored by the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, is a prelude to the 2018 Cadet, Junior and Senior African Wrestling Championships that will hold in Port Harcourt, next year.
“The Gov. Wike National Wrestling Championships will also act as a test run of the new Diete Spiff Civic Centre for the 2018 African Wrestling Championships. We will also be slightly ahead of the curve, because the new rules that are expected to come to effect from Jan. 1, 2018 will be utilized at this tournament. New athletes will be discovered. New wrestling specific equipment will be installed in Port Harcourt. Several wrestling mats will be procured and lots of coaches and referees will be upgraded to the benefit of the sport of wrestling. Truly, this tournament affords us immense opportunities and legacies that we would otherwise not have been had.
“To that end, we will ensure that most of the equipment we will require for the African Championship will be put in use at this tournament. We will also need to see how transportation routes will be used; the time it will take to transport athletes from their hotels to the venue, security challenges and feeding arrangements will all be tested at this tournament,” Igali told SportingLife.