2010 and 2011 U.S. Senior Nationals and FILA Junior Nationals moving to Cleveland, Ohio, April 21-25
November 24, 2009
USA Wrestling is pleased to announce that the 2010 and 2011 U.S. Senior
National Wrestling Championships and the Men’s FILA Junior National
Championships have been awarded to Cleveland, Ohio.
This year’s event will be held at the Wolstein Center at Cleveland
State University, April 21-25, 2010. The local host for the event is
the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission.
“Northeast Ohio has such a strong, vibrant wrestling community and we
are thrilled to welcome the nation’s best to Cleveland this April and
again in 2011,” stated David Gilbert, President and CEO of the Greater
Cleveland Sports Commission. “The U.S. Senior Nationals is one of the
premier wrestling events in the nation. It will truly be an exciting
weekend with great competition.”
The U.S. Senior National Wrestling Championships feature the nation’s
top wrestlers in the three Olympic styles: men’s freestyle, women’s
freestyle and Greco-Roman.
The Men’s FILA Junior National Championships include the nation’s top
athletes who are 17-20 years old, competing in freestyle and
Greco-Roman wrestling.
Up to 850 athletes are expected to participate in the two competitions
that weekend, with more than $850,000 expected to be infused into the
local economy.
“USA Wrestling is excited to partner with the Greater Cleveland Sports
Commission to bring our U.S. Senior National Championships to
Cleveland,” said Pete Isais, USA Wrestling National Events Director.
“Cleveland is a great wrestling community, and we have great working
relationship with the Sports Commission there. We are looking forward
to showcasing our most talented athletes for fans to enjoy. We fully
expect the event to be a huge success.”
The U.S. Senior Nationals move to Cleveland from Las Vegas, Nev., where
the event has been located for 20 of the last 22 years. The FILA Junior
Nationals had been held in Las Vegas alongside the Senior Nationals for
the last five years.
The Cleveland Local Organizing Committee will include the following organizations:
USA Wrestling - Ohio
Greater Cleveland Wrestling Coaches & Officials Association
Cleveland State University
Mid-American Conference
City of Cleveland
Greater Cleveland Sports Commission
Convention & Visitors Bureau of Greater Cleveland
The competition schedule and ticket price structure has not been finalized. More information will be announced shortly.
The Greater Cleveland Sports Commission has rich history of hosting
premier wrestling events, including the 1998 NCAA Division I Wrestling
Championships in Cleveland and the 2007-2009 USA Wrestling University
and FILA Cadet Nationals in Akron.
Other Olympic sports events hosted by the Greater Cleveland Sports
Commission included: 2000 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, 2002 USA
Gymnastics National Championships, 2002 USA Judo Senior Nationals, 2004
U.S. Speedskating Short Track National Championships, 2004 USA Boxing
Olympic Trials Box-Off and the 2005 USA Weightlifting National
Championship.
Wrestling is a tremendously popular sport in Ohio and is considered one
of the nation’s hotbeds. There are 618 high school wrestling
teams in Ohio, with 13,804 high school wrestlers, and a tradition of
competitive excellence. Ohio also has a rich tradition of college
wrestling programs. With its central location, wrestling fans from
across the nation will be able to easily travel to Cleveland to enjoy
the action.
The top seven athletes in each weight class at the U.S. Senior National
Championships qualify to compete at the 2010 U.S. Senior World Team
Trials in Council Bluffs, Iowa, June 10-12. The Men’s FILA Junior
National Championships is a qualifying event for the FILA Junior World
Team Trials in Colorado Springs, Colo., May 21-22.
