The Wrestling Federation of Belarus reported on Wednesday that a 2020 Senior World Championships will be held this coming December in Belgrade, Serbia. Belarus’ release does not include a direct quote from a UWW (United World Wrestling) representative, nor does it offer an official target date.
If confirmed, it will mean that UWW has signed off on World events for three age/competition divisions: Junior, U23, and now, Senior. Two weeks ago, the global sanctioning body released a statement outlining general plans to hold Continental Championships for Cadet, Junior, and U23 within a hopeful window residing between September 1 and October 30 — but that World events would be skipped in 2020 for the U15, Cadet, and Veteran age groups. UWW also noted that these Continental Championships were contingent upon “the pandemic status of each region”.
A December Senior World tournament in Belgrade could immediately follow the Junior tournament, as well, since Serbia’s capital is expected to host the Junior World Championships in either late-November or early-December.
A Senior World Championships in ’20 would also not affect qualification for the ’21 Tokyo Olympics. UWW announced in April that the licensing process would remain with the three still-to-be-decided Continental Qualifiers for Africa/Oceania, Europe, and Asia and their respective host cities, noting that the trio of qualifiers are to mirror the date ranges that were originally put in place for this past winter. In addition, the “Last Chance” Olympic Games World Qualifier will stay put in Sofia, Bulgaria scheduled for the end of April.
As for bracket placement, the ’20 Senior Worlds cannot influence seeding for Tokyo 2020ne via “Ranking Series” points since all associated ranking points along with Continental Championships had been previously exhausted in conjunction with the IOC (International Olympic Committee) having already confirmed qualifying procedures.
The next step, presuming a 2020 Senior World Championships for wrestling officially arrives on the schedule, will fall on national governing bodies with regard to team selection. Several Asian and European nations have begun to slowly resume organized training sessions under various health and safety guidelines, with the same holding true in the United States. Last month, a group of US Seniors participated in a camp held at the Oklahoma Regional Training Center; this past weekend, Rumble on the Rooftop — the first live wrestling competition for Seniors since March — was broadcast from Chicago. Coming up this week, a Senior Greco-Roman camp will begin in Boise, Idaho with two others set to follow closely behind.
2020 World Championships (Tentative)
U23 World Championships | Tampere, FIN — November 23-29
Junior World Championships | Belgrade, SRB — late-November-early-December
Senior World Championships | Belgrade, SRB — December
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