WORLD SPORT CHICAGO WRESTLING FESTIVAL
RETURNS TO CHICAGO’S NAVY PIER
Second Annual Event takes place Saturday, June 4th
CHICAGO (March 23, 2011) - World Sport Chicago (WSC), in alliance with USA Wrestling (USAW), Illinois Kids Wrestling Federation (IKWF), Chicago Wrestling Coaches Association (CWCA), Chicago Wrestling Club (CWC) and Beat the Streets - Chicago (BTS – Chicago) are proud to announce the second annual World Sport Chicago Wrestling Festival to be held on Saturday, June 4th, 2011 at Chicago’s historic Navy Pier. Debuting in 2010 as Mayor Daley’s Wrestling Festival, last year’s event hosted over 350 wrestlers from Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Colorado. Participants competed in age brackets from as young as 10 years old to a 35+ age division. This year organizers hope to attract over 600 wrestlers and their families to the event.
Reminiscent of the Wrestling Club of the late Mayor Richard J. Daley’s Youth Foundation, the annual event hopes to bring back the competitive wrestling spirit to the city of Chicago. Last year’s Wrestling Festival featured eight tournament mats with constant action throughout the day, as well as a demonstration mat featuring collegiate athletes, University coaches and Olympians Bill Scherr, Ben Peterson and Jim Gruenwald. The day was full of energy and there was never a dull moment. This year’s event is gearing up to be even bigger with more mats, action and competition.
Dan Willis, tournament director for the 2010 and 2011 events, says about the tournament, “The glory days of Chicago wrestling are rooted at Navy Pier. Over 40 years ago, kids from the streets rubbed shoulders with national, world and Olympic contenders and joined their ranks. The World Sport Chicago Wrestling Festival is bringing back that opportunity by bringing wrestlers of various ages, styles and experience to showcase their skills, once again, at the Pier.”
No pre-qualification is necessary to participate in the round-robin style tournament grouped based on age, weight and experience level. The open tournament allows for a fun and challenging experience for everyone from first year wrestlers to seasoned veterans. Divisions include: grade school folk style (5th-8th grades), high school folk style (9th-12thgrades), high school free style (9th-12th grades) and senior free style (ages 18+).
In addition to competing, wrestlers and their families will have the chance to see and interact with Olympic wrestlers and collegiate athletes giving demonstrations on different styles and techniques throughout the day on the demonstration mat. Additionally, they will have the chance to sample products from Chicago area merchants and vendors and learn more information about how their wrestling experience can connect them to college and career opportunities. New to this year, featured exhibition match-ups and special card match-ups will take center stage and are sure not to be missed.
For more information about the 2011 World Sport Chicago Wrestling Festival, please visit the event website or contact WSC at (312) 861-4850 or wrestling@worldsportchicago.org.
The 2011 World Sport Chicago Wrestling Festival is a USAW sanctioned event and valid USA Wrestling athlete cards will be required to participate. Online pre-registration will open on April 1st, 2011 and will run through May 30th, 2011. On-site registration will only be available while spots remain. Registration discounts available to pre-registrants and to Chicago residents, please visit the event website for full pricing details.