This is a topic that has generated heated debate and considerable angst for as long as I’ve been involved in the sport, and I’m certain that it didn’t start then. USA Wrestling is the national governing body for wrestling in the United States, which makes it an imperative that USAW puts significant efforts into the training, promotion and development of the Olympic styles of wrestling. However, USAW has also declared that they want to be The organization for wrestling in the U.S., regardless of style.

In the years that I have represented Kansas as state chairman, this has been the source of many lengthy conversations between myself and the other state chairs and USAW staff. From my perspective, I acknowledge the need to focus on the international styles of wrestling, but as the state chair for Kansas, one of the largest membership states built primarily from our folkstyle membership, I felt that my principal role at the national level has been as an advocate of folkstyle/collegiate wrestling.

The staff at USA Wrestling is similarly conflicted, albeit from the other side of the fence. Working daily with our national and world teams, they see first-hand the needs that exist for our freestyle and Greco Roman teams, particularly in developing strong grass roots programs. They recognize that there is a strong base for folkstyle wrestling in the U.S., and would like to see that fervor bleed over into the international styles. While I truly believe that they are fans and supporters of folkstyle wrestling, I also have found that they find it difficult to avoid being biased towards the styles in which we will be competing against other nations...