ASICS 2005 East Coast National Beach Wrestling Championships to be held on Long Island, N.Y. on Satu

Gary Abbott USA Wrestling
06/15/2005

A first for the world’s newest sport!!!! ASICS America Corporation of Irvine, CA is proud to announce its support and sponsorship of the world´s newest sport: Beach Wrestling. During last summer´s Olympic Games in Athens Greece, FILA, the international wrestling federation, announced that Beach Wrestling would be added as a new international wrestling style. The first truly national-level event in the United States, the ASICS 2005 East Coast National Beach Wrestling Championships, will be held in the city of Long Beach, N.Y., which is on Long Island, on Saturday, August 13. The competition will be sanctioned by USA Wrestling, the national governing body for wrestling. When announcing the new sport, FILA expressed its intention to create an opportunity for economically disadvantaged countries to compete in the World´s Oldest Sport. Many countries have hosted ethnic forms of this style for thousands of years. Athletes around the world will now be able to compete for World medals in both men´s and women´s divisions, as the sport develops as planned. It is also a recreational sport that will interest new people about wrestling. The ASICS 2005 East Coast National Beach Wrestling Championships will be held where thousands of people go to relax, exercise and enjoy a beautiful environment. It is hoped that this venue will enhance the general public’s interest, understanding and appreciation of amateur wrestling. All excess revenues generated from this competition will be donated to the Metropolitan Wrestling Association´s [MWA] Beat The Streets program. The MWA´s long term goal is to establish folkstyle wrestling in all 150 NYC high schools, while creating a model to introduce and develop the sport in the nation´s urban areas. There are currently 25 high schools with wrestling in New York City. With train access to and from New York City, an elevated two mile Coney Island-style boardwalk, dozens of local eateries, and miles of surf and sand, Long Beach is an ideal site to introduce the general public to wrestling. Long Beach HS has won numerous state and Nassau County honors in folkstyle wrestling, and the local community is very supportive of the sport. “The City of Long Beach is proud to be hosting the ASICS 2005 East Coast National Beach Wrestling Championships,” said City Council President James P. Hennessy. “Long Beach has a storied wrestling tradition, having produced many county and state champions and six NCAA Div. I All-Americans. Our community is very familiar with wrestling and has a great appreciation for the sport. We welcome everyone to visit our City by the Sea, and discover for themselves why Long Beach is such a popular destination of visit or to live.” The event will have four divisions: High School, College, Open and Women. The high school athletes will compete is four weight classes, each of which will be determined after registration based on the size of the contestants. The other divisions will have two weight classes each. The rules for Beach Wrestling are simple. Men wear athletic swimming trunks and women wear a one or two piece bathing suit. Athletes wrestle on a sand surface, with a 20-foot diameter circle marked in the sand. Matches start in the standing position and last three minutes. Athletes may not kick or punch or attack the face or hair. To win a Beach Wrestling match, an athlete must do one of the following: * Score a fall by forcing the opponents shoulders to the sand * Score two takedowns * Score two throws * When the opponent is penalized twice for fleeing the competition area * Scoring one takedown and having one fleeing call against the opponent * After the three-minute period ends, the match is determined by these criteria: 1. First takedown or throw; 2. First wrestler penalized for fleeing; 3. penalties; 4. Officials decision ASICS America Corporation has been the offical equipment supplier of USA Wrestling since 1984. ASICS is internationally recognized for consistently creating some of the world´s most technologically advanced athletic footwear and apparel. Specific information on registration, entry fees and schedule will be announced shortly. Additional information on the ASICS East Coast Beach Wrestling Nationals can be obtained by calling Sally Schmitt of TW Promotions, Inc. at 631-588-4343 x104, or by e-mailing Sallytwp@aol.com Media inquiries concerning the event should be made to Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling at 719-598-8181 or via e-mail at gabbott@usawrestling.org Additional coverage of the Beach Wrestling event will be on the Metropolitan Wrestling Association web page at www.mwausa.org For more information on the City of Long Beach, visit their website at www.LongBeachNY.org