Curby Cup to feature USA, Hungary, Lithuania and Serbia in Greco-Roman action in LaGrange

The United States will take on the national teams of Hungary, Lithuania and Serbia in a world-class international Greco-Roman wrestling event at the 2013 Curby Cup at Lyons Township High School in LaGrange, Ill. on Saturday, May 11.

The event is held in honour of the late Jacob Curby, a Greco-Roman Team USA member who unexpectedly passed away at the age of 25 in January 2010. It will be a showcase competition as part of World Wrestling Month, which was declared by the international wrestling federation FILA.

The U.S. team will feature the 2013 U.S. Open Greco-Roman champions which will be determined in Las Vegas, Nev., April 18-20. Lineups for the three international teams will be announced shortly, but will feature a number of Olympic and World Championship athletes with impressive international achievements.

“Besides the great competition and honouring the memory of a fine young man, this will be a time to rally the entire wrestling family in our struggle to preserve our great sport in the Olympics,” said Dave Curby, founder of the Curby Cup and Jacob Curby’s father.

The event is another major opportunity for the Keep Olympic Wrestling movement. On February 12, the International Olympic Committee Executive Board made a recommendation that wrestling not be a core sport at the 2020 Olympic Games. A final decision on the program of the 2020 Olympics will be made by the entire IOC in September. A worldwide effort has been launched by FILA, the international wrestling federation, and all of the 177 nations which participate in wrestling, to retain wrestling as an Olympic sport.

Wrestling legend Dan Gable, an Olympic and World champion wrestler and one of the greatest coaches in history, is the honorary chair of the 2013 Curby Cup. Coach Gable has invited the wrestling community to take part in this exciting competition in the video linked below.

Tickets for the Curby Cup are just $10 and can be purchased at www.CurbyCup.com.

This is the fourth annual Curby Cup competition. The first Curby Cup was held in 2010, and featured challenge matches between U.S. Greco-Roman wrestling stars on the Senior, Junior and Cadet level. In 2011, it became an international event, when Team USA battled an International All-Star Team in Greco-Roman. In 2012, the Curby Cup featured a USA vs Georgia international dual meet, featuring numerous world-class competitors.

All three of the previous Curby Cup events have drawn large crowds and have raised funds for the Jacob Curby Foundation, whose mission is “teaching strong values through wrestling participation, growing youth participation in wrestling as a path to success and personal growth, and the advancement of Olympic-style international wrestling competition in the United States.”

As part of the event, there will be free wrestling clinics provided for young athletes. A special girls freestyle wrestling clinic will be hosted by 2012 World silver medallist and Team USA member Helen Maroulis starting at 10:00 am at the Vaughan Gym at Lyons Township High School. Participants receive a t-shirt, clinic and lunch and a pass to watch the Curby Cup. There will also be a chance for the participants to ask questions of Helen Maroulis following the lunch.

Also at 10:00 am is a free youth and high school Greco-Roman clinic, conducted by athletes from the U.S. Olympic Education Center Greco-Roman program at Northern Michigan University.

World Sport Chicago is a sponsor of the 2013 Curby Cup, providing funds for transportation so that Chicago-based youth can participate in the clinic portion of the Curby Cup.

On Sunday, May 12, a Fellowship of Christian Athletes Champions Breakfast will be held at the host hotel, the Holiday Inn & WilliamTell Banquets & Conference Center in Countryside, Ill. starting at 9:00 am. The master of ceremonies is two-time Greco-Roman Olympian and Wheaton College coach Jim Gruenwald. The special guest is freestyle Olympian and World medallist Tervel Dlagnev. The breakfast is open to wrestlers and fans with a $10 donation.

The Curby Cup is the second major international wrestling competition announced by USA Wrestling as part of World Wrestling Month in May. Another major event is the Rumble on the Rails, an international competition between the USA, Iran and Russia in historic Grand Central Terminal in New York City on May 15. USA Wrestling expects to announce other major events and activities as part of World Wrestling Month, and the effort to Keep Olympic Wrestling.

CURBY CUP

At LaGrange, Ill, May 11-12

Event Schedule

Saturday, May 11 at Lyons Township High School

10:00 am – Girls youth freestyle clinic with Helen Maroulis

10:00 am – Youth and high school Greco-Roman clinic with U.S. Olympic Education Center athlete

1:30 pm – Curby Cup, preliminary rounds

4:00 pm – MAIN EVENT – Opening Ceremonies and finals round

Sunday, May 12

9:00 am – FCA Champions Breakfast featuring Olympians Jim Gruenwald and Tervel Dlagnev at Holiday Inn & William Tell Banquets & Conference Center in Countryside, Ill.