A tournament of this size is not about one person (me or you), but it is a closing out of the international season and that should prompt a moment of pre-hangover consideration. The wrestling community rejoices in our service to the sport, but what does that mean in real terms? We are certainly working hard, but for what ends?
For some the motivation and the desired outcomes seem clear. For Sally Roberts it's creating more opportunities for women to wrestle. For Jordan Burroughs it's winning an Olympic gold medal. For the rest of us? It can often be unclear.
What is my motivation for the media work I do within the sport? To be sincere, I've felt a disconnect between the amount of work I put into these projects (200 days a year on the road, 115,000 air miles already in 2017) and how it eventually converts to what I want to see in the wrestling community. The growth of United World Wrestling's media operation can be measured by a variety of metrics and analytics, but am I then only caring about the numbers? Do numbers mean a better sport or a more informed fan base?
On its face, today's media ecosystem is as much about the analytics as it is the content. A GIF of naked Mongolian wrestling coaches would certainly gather a lot of traction or potential "virility," but it doesn't do much to advance the sport, or grow it in the minds of young wrestlers. So then what is the purpose of that post? What motivations allow us to eschew these types of headline-grabbing moments in favor of more complex, but certainly more fulfilling content?
Inform and inspire. That is my goal for the rest of 2017 and the 2018 season. The analytics will always matter, but unless the content aims to inform or inspire it won't have met the criteria to share.
Value-driven content and educational tools can make a difference and I think that the World Championships are the right place to start a journey. Fewer of the quick, unfulfilling bits and more focus on the stories, people, and ideas that can improve our sport for future generations.
To your questions …
Q: What are reasonable expectations for the U.S. Greco-Roman team in Paris?
-- Mike C.
Foley: Though it's tough to measure in the year after the Olympics, I think that the United States' Greco-Roman team has improved in recent years and will also benefit from the recent rules changes.
No, they can't yet compete for the team title, but it's a reasonable expectation for the team to bring home two medals. I'm hopeful for more, but the reality remains that the number of wrestlers in the United States and the youth-level commitment to the style has yet to catch up to what this team and coaching staff can achieve.
Victoria Anthony after winning the U.S. Open title (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Q: I'm a fan of Victoria Anthony and hope she does well in Paris. I have heard so much about Yui Susaki of Japan, so I'm thinking a silver for Anthony might be best-case scenario. Thoughts?
-- Mike C.
Foley: First of all, she's the best-ever follow on Instagram. Charming, witty and joyful she is exactly what you want to see in an athlete dedicated to their craft.
Anthony is incredible on the mat and has about a 75 percent chance to medal should she get in the groove early in the tournament. One issue that has dogged Anthony in the past is giving up position or points late in a match that you'd think she has hemmed up. Maybe that comes from a momentary lack of focus of self-belief, but if corrected she could beat anyone on the planet.
Head-to-head she matches up well against Susaki, who is still young and doesn't have the strength of Anthony. That said, Susaki is a total killer and the heavy favorite to win the world title.
I like Anthony's chances better than most of the field, but would have to give an edge to Susaki.
Q: Is there a reason UWW can't release World draws ahead of time to promote story lines?
-- Eric C.
Foley: The main difficulty in creating matchups too far in advance of major tournaments is the shuffling of athletes often done by nations looking to wrestle. A national federation can change their athlete for any reason up to two weeks before the start of a competition. However, after that point they can replace their athletes for medical reasons up until the weigh-in.
With more information available to NF's there has been a considerable decline in the number of last-second switches made by nations at these tournaments, but it does still happen. I think that the methodology has been to see who shows up and then draw the brackets once they've weighed-in because it means less chance for corruption of the bracket or having to reassign athletes anyway because of no-shows or roster changes.
The two-day format will actually draw the names the night before the first weigh-in for exactly the reason you state. The athletes will need to check-in first, but from there we should have brackets the night before the first day weigh-ins and then be able to promote for almost three days.
Missed weights will be treated as a scratch and brackets will not be redrawn.
Q: Why did the Junior World Championships in Finland start with freestyle, while the World Championships in Paris conclude with freestyle? How is this determined?
-- Mike C.
Foley: The local organizer decided the flow of matches and suits it to where they think they can sell the highest number of tickets. I might be mistaken but I'm pretty sure that you aren't allowed to start with women. They have to be the middle portion, or the last portion.
Though the recent Olympic and World champions from France are in Greco-Roman, there is a lot of attention being paid to the country's freestyle team, which might have prompted the French Federation to have them wrap up the event.
Finland is crazy for Greco-Roman, hence the scheduling for Junior Worlds.
Q: If Kyle Snyder and Abdulrashid Sadulaev meet in the first round, will the Internet explode?
-- Mike C.
Foley: Yes! I would NOT be happy. I want this to be primetime for all the fans around the world to enjoy. However, if they wrestle first and we know the night before wouldn't that be advantageous to fans who want to be sure to see it live?!
As bad as an early round matchup might seem it would at least guarantee the matchup goes down. Also, remember that the World Championships aren't only a live event on a limited broadcast. Fans can get the archive on Trackwrestling within moments of the match ending.
A proper point-based ranking will take a year to build and utilize. It will also require athletes to be in a single weight class for the whole season, but the system -- along with the two-day weigh-in -- should help with promotion of tournaments, athletes and storylines.
MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME
Teaser for the 2017 Wrestling World Championships
These highlight videos will be available every day right after the end of the first session!
Q: Any thoughts on Bennett Omalu adding wrestling to the "Big 6" sports that kids shouldn't play for concussion related reasons?
-- Brantley H.
Foley: Omalu's groundbreaking research in the area has likely undoubtedly saved the brains of many youth football players in America. He's been an advocate for safe play and for nudging those with doubts into sports where head-to-head contact is limited.
I don't know the way Omalu conducted his study, but likely any concussion numbers used were aggregated from previous studies. I've contended before that there is a bias in those numbers since wrestlers are always in close visual proximity to coaches, referees and doctors while other sports have helmets and distance to shield observation.
As for wrestling, any observation of wrestling conducted by Omalu would almost certainly be limited to the United States. So "wrestling" isn't the conclusively "no-go" sport as much as the specific American folkstyle wrestling.
This is an important distinction to create since freestyle and women's wrestling tends to allow much less head slapping of opponents and in general rewards technique over aggression and control.
As a brief aside, remember that the differences in the styles is meaningful and packed with history. In an earlier mailbag I outlined in detail the growth of wrestling in America from a barnstorming Vermont-based sport more recognizable today as Catch-as-Catch-Can into a submission-free, but control and pain-based style. That history is seen today in such simple things as a collar and elbow tie which derives its name and techniques from the classical style that was brought to Vermont from Ireland, Collar and Elbow.
American wrestling inherited brutality along with favorite tie-ups, and that brutality has been mythologized and promoted for more than a century as a means of winning in the sport. Think of the sport's most famous images and personas -- hell, even the nomenclature -- and you see a style of wrestling that has been much less about technique and more about legal pain and immobilization.
With that, you can't expect that many parents presented with knowledge about concussions will be anxious to get their child into the wrestling. The smart parent may put their child into jiu-jitsu where the head-to-head contact is nil and their child learns movements and athleticism which would help them wrestle once they hit puberty.
In Mongolia, Vietnam, India, South Sudan and the other nations I've visited there is youth wrestling, but their styles aren't demanding of the youth. They're fun, limited and purely for enjoyment of the kids. The adult styles also require very limited head-to-head contact, which is why they might be better suited as a youth sport in those countries.
The new thinking around wrestling is all the same: less is more. We can teach the kids athleticism, grit and technique without the aggression and they will almost certainly come out just fine as wrestlers and people. The concussions don't need to be part of our sport if we eliminate the idea of brutality and point-scoring aggression.
There is hope! The next generation of coaches like Andy Hrovat and Reece Humphrey are promoting a type of training in wrestling that is likely to limit these types of head-to-head instances. If I'm fortunate enough to have children and if they want to wrestle at a young age, I'd only allow them if the coaching style was play-based and building athleticism and discipline and NOT learning how to open up a single leg with a head snap.
Q: Seems like there is traction on women's wrestling becoming an NCAA sport. If this happens, what kind of impact will this have on wrestling in America?
-- Mike C.
Foley: Women's wrestling will absolutely explode at the high school level. The numbers of female wrestlers in America are growing now, but with the promise of scholarships and a chance to win an NCAA Division I title as inspiration the women of America will attack these opportunities with the same gusto they did soccer, basketball and hockey. Look at what Olympic status did for women's wrestling worldwide. A total and complete success story, which is helping to prompt this push for emerging status.
Love this first step and can't overstate my excitement at these girls and women being given the opportunity to enjoy our wonderful sport.
One step further: What about a split NCAA Division I Championships finals? Half women, half men.
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