Beach Wrestling is one of the fastest growing styles in the sport, and there are many opportunities to get involved this summer during the first ever Beach Wrestling Tour of America. This tour will hit several locations across the U.S. with sanctioned USA Wrestling beach events, including the epicenter of summer wrestling competition, Fargo, North Dakota.
Throughout the tour, points are awarded to winners, placers and participants at each tournament, and the wrestler with the highest cumulative score is crowned the Tour Champion. The winner also will be given opportunities to compete internationally.
Tour champions will be crowned in the following age groups: 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, 6U, 8U, Senior Men Beach, Senior Women Beach, U20 (JR) Freestyle, U23 Freestyle, USA Junior Beach.
The Administrative Director at North Carolina USA Wrestling, Ed Duncan, is one of Beach Wrestling’s biggest advocates and has been working to grow the sport.
“Who doesn’t want to go to the beach? If you can put wrestling and the beach together, it is the perfect combination,” Duncan said.
Beach Wrestling provides the perfect environment for fun and intense competition over the summer months. It allows parents and wrestlers to escape the walls of wrestling rooms and head outside to enjoy the sport under the sun. It is also a great way to grow a young wrestler’s love for the sport while giving them a competitive edge.
Beach Wrestling improves skills for all styles, and it opens the door for overseas opportunities. On Saturday, May 21 at the 2022 U.S. Beach Nationals tournament, the U.S. qualified four men and four women for the 2022 World Beach Wrestling series, set for five different scenic beaches in Europe. The international wrestling federation, United World Wrestling (UWW), is working to add Beach Wrestling for women at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. This would allow wrestling to reach gender equity in the Olympics while continuing its commitment to the Greco-Roman style.
The 2022 U.S. Beach Nationals tournament was the first stop on the Beach Tour of America. Next up is the Music City Beach Bash in Spring Hill, Tennessee (June 4), followed by stops in Huntsville, Alabama (June 30), Fargo, North Dakota (July 15-20), Mystic, Iowa (July 23) and Biloxi, Mississippi (Sept. 17). More locations will be announced soon. On June 12, the NorCal Beach Wrestling tournament will take place in Pacifica, California. This event is not part of the 2022 Beach Tour of America but is another great opportunity to try out the style.
2022 Beach Tour of America Schedule
June 4 – Music City Beach Bash | Spring Hill, Tennessee
June 30 – Rocket City Rumble Beach Blowout | Huntsville, Alabama
July 15-20 – 16U/JR National Beach Championships/Fargo Summer Showcase | Fargo, North Dakota
July 23 – The KRAKEN Beach Wrestling Championships | Mystic, Iowa
Tentative Tour Dates
July 30 – Kentucky Beach Open | Louisville, Kentucky
August 7 – Midwest Beach Nationals | Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri
August 14 – Tri-State Throwdown | Cincinnati, Ohio
November 5 – California Beach National Finals
Source: www.teamusa.org
