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Who will be on historic World Beach Games men’s team? The trials are Saturday in Carolina Beach, N.C.

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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling

2017 Beach Nationals champion Gabe Beauperthuy is registered for the 2019 event. Photo by Patricia Fox.


Who will make history on Saturday in Carolina Beach?


The men’s Senior division at the U.S. Beach Nationals will serve as the Men’s Beach World Games Trials, with the winner in each of the four weight classes earning the spot on the U.S. team for the ANOC World Beach Games in San Diego. This is the first time that a World Beach Games has ever been held, so this will be the historic first U.S. team.


In the men’s division, weigh-ins will only be held on Saturday morning, May 18. The finals of the event will be a best-of-three series.


The men’s weight classes for the Beach World Games, as well as the U.S. Beach Nationals are:

70kg, 80kg, 90kg, Over 90kg


In 2018, the winners of the Beach Nationals for Senior men was the strongest group ever, all Div. I wrestling stars at one point in their careers: Jamel Hudson (70 kg), Mitch Finesilver (80 kg), Austin Trotman (90 kg) and Daniel Chaid (Over 90 kg).


Of this group of returning champions, Trotman, who was a star at Appalachian State and had numerous Senior-level men’s freestyle achievements, has already registered to compete and defend his title.


Among the men who have also registered are past U.S. Senior Beach World Team members Michael Peters (70 kg) and Gabe Beauperthuy (Over 90 kg).


Peters, who wrestles for Maryville in college, has competed in the last two Beach World events, and placed as high as fifth at the Beach Worlds. Beauperthuy has been the USA Wrestling Associated Styles Athlete of the Year for the last two years, and also excels in Grappling, Veterans Wrestling and Belt Wrestling.


Some of the other prominent names on the registration list for men’s Senior Beach Nationals are Marco Lara (70 kg), who made multiple Senior National Teams in Greco-Roman, and Timmy Box (70 kg), a Div. I star at Northern Colorado and Cal-State Bakersfield.


Athletes will be able to register on site, so many more are expected to join in on Saturday. On-site registration and weighins are at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday morning at the Carolina Beach Boardwalk Stage, right at the beach.


Currently, the World Team Trials Challenge Tournament is going on in Raleigh, N.C. There could be some athletes who competed in today’s Greco-Roman division in Raleigh who could decide to drive the 140 miles to the coast and enter the tournament, for a chance at another U.S. World-level team.


There could be a wrestle-off between the Beach Nationals champion at 70 kg. Reece Humphrey of the USA won a bronze medal at the Beach World Series in Rio de Janiero, Brazil last week. If he places in the top eight of the UWW Beach World Series standings after the Rio event, he earns a best-of-three wrestle-off, which will be held in late June in Colorado Springs.


The U.S. Women’s World Beach Games Team was set in Las Vegas, Nev. in April. Competing in San Diego will be:

50 kg – Kristal Betanzo, Hillsborough, Calif. (Leviathon WC)

60 kg – Shauna Isbell-Kemp, Jamestown, N.D. (Titan Mercury WC)

70 kg – Ashley Sword, Decatur Ga. (Valkyrie WC)

Over 70 kg – Donell Bradley, Hephizibah, Ga. (Morris Fitness)


Betanzo has also registered for the U.S. Beach National Championships in Carolina Beach, to get more competition in Beach Wrestling and help prepare for the World Beach Games in San Diego.


Beach Wrestling is one of only 15 sports which will be included in this historic first-ever Beach World Games. The competition is endorsed by the International Olympic Committee, with the Beach Wrestling competition being organized by United World Wrestling. The U.S. team in all of the participating sports will be managed by the U.S. Olympic Committee.


Any Senior champion at the U.S. Beach Nationals, man or woman, gets first opportunity to compete on the USA team at the Zagreb Beach Wrestling World Series Final in Zagreb, Croatia, September 6-7.


The city of Carolina Beach, N.C. is hosting the annual U.S. Beach National Championships, its seventh straight year at this popular Atlantic Ocean beach. This growing event offers national competition in eight age levels (8U, 10U, 12U, 14U, 16U, Junior, Senior (men and women) and Masters.


Click here for information on the U.S. Beach and Belt Nationals

https://www.ncwrestling.org/page/show/986183-nc-beach-wrestling-state-championships-


National titles and All-American honors are available in all of the other age divisions contested at the Beach Nationals. There is a UWW Beach World Championships for Cadets and Juniors set for August 11 in Odessa, Ukraine, and participants in the appropriate Beach Nationals age groups will have an opportunity to form a U.S. team for that event.


Beach Wrestling consists of one three-minute period. All action begins in the standing position. An athlete scores one point for bringing an opponent to the ground for a takedown, or by forcing the opponent out of ring. A wrestler gets three points for exposing an opponent’s back during a takedown or throw. The first athlete to three points wins the match. If there is a tie, the winner is determined by criteria. The action takes place in a seven-meter circle.

Click for FloWrestling video on Beach Wrestling rules


Held alongside the U.S. Beach Nationals will be the third annual U.S. Belt National Championships. Belt wrestling is popular all over the world, and competing in the U.S. Belt Nationals will open opportunities for competing at international belt wrestling events.


Among the UWW Belt competitions in 2019 are the World Martial Arts Mastership Games in Chungju, Korea, September 2-3 and the 2019 Belt World Championships in Alysh and Kazak Kuresh in Istanbul, Turkey, October 10-13.

U.S. BEACH AND BELT NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

At Carolina Beach, N.C., May 17-18


Event Schedule

Friday, May 17


6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. - Early Beach & Belt Wrestling National Championship Registration AND WEIGH-INS: Optional for ALL DIVISIONS (Early Registration will be held at the WORLD FAMOUS Lazy Pirate Sports Bar & Grille in conjunction with the informal NC Dual Team Championships. Wrestlers wishing to participate in practice/exhibition bouts are welcome to do so.) Senior men can register but can not weigh in on Friday.


8:00 p.m. - 10 p.m. - Coach and Competitor's Social at Lazy Pirate Sports Bar . Enjoy the Beach & Belt Wrestling Championships or BRING YOUR OWN TEAM and enjoy a great warm up for Saturday's event!

Saturday, May 18


9:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. - Beach & Belt Wrestling National Championships Registration, Medical Check and Weigh-ins (Carolina Beach Boardwalk Stage). Senior Men must weigh in on Saturday morning.


10:30a.m. All Participants report to the Venue. Rules Clinic and final competition instructions at 10:45am


11:00 a.m. to conclusion - Beach & Belt Wrestling National Championships


6:00 PM: Officials/Event Sponsors VIP Social AND......


7:00 PM - BEACH NATIONALS AFTERPARTY!! Join us at the Lazy Pirate for great food, music, and FUN!

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