Iowa City & University of Iowa Women’s Wrestling to Host Team USA & Ukraine next month; USA vs. UKR “Friendly” at Xtream Arena

IOWA CITY, Iowa (November 18, 2025) – The Iowa City Area Sports Commission, in partnership with the Iowa Women’s Wrestling Club (IWWC), is proud to welcome back the Ukrainian Women’s Wrestling Federation to Wrestle Town, USA. Team Ukraine will join Team USA next month for a two-week training camp with the Iowa Hawkeye Women’s Wrestling program. The camp will conclude with a USA vs. Ukraine “friendly” hosted by the Iowa Women’s Wrestling Club.

The USA vs. Ukraine Friendly will take place Thursday, December 18, at 7:00 p.m. at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa. Immediately prior, a few girls high school duals will take place with Iowa City High battling Cedar Rapids Washington at 5pm. City High will then battle cross town rival Iowa City West beginning at 6:00pm. The event is presented by the IWWC, the Iowa City Area Sports Commission, and the City of Coralville. In lieu of tickets, fans are encouraged to bring nonperishable food items to support the Coralville Community Food Pantry.

“Our community looks forward to welcoming back the Ukrainian Women’s Wrestling Federation to Coralville and Iowa City,” said Kylee Stock, Director of Sports Marketing at the Iowa City Area Sports Commission. “This December marks the third time that Ukraine has trained here, and we couldn’t be more excited to host this special group of athletes once again.”

Ukraine’s connection to Iowa City began in December 2022, when the team won the United World Wrestling Women’s World Cup at Coralville’s Xtream Arena—defeating the world’s best from China, Japan, the United States, Mongolia, and an all-star international squad. They returned in 2023 for a two-week camp with the Hawkeye Women before traveling to a few other universities and Colorado Springs for joint training with Team USA.

“We’ve developed a truly special relationship with this group over the past several years,” said Josh Schamberger, Board President of the IWWC and President/CEO of Think Iowa City and the Iowa City Area Sports Commission. “We’re borrowing a term from the soccer world and calling the head-to-head dual at Xtream Arena a ‘friendly’—but make no mistake, the competition will be fierce when Team Ukraine’s best takes on Team USA.”

Ukraine is bringing an exceptionally strong lineup featuring continental, world, and Olympic medalists, including 2025 European Champion Oksana Livach, 2024 Olympic Silver Medalist Iryna Koliadenko, and 2025 World Champion Alla Belinska.