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Regular Session, 2013 ENROLLED
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON NO. 11
BY SENATOR CLAITOR AND REPRESENTATIVE LORUSSO
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON
To urge and request the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to reconsider its position
on Olympic Wrestling.
WHEREAS, wrestling has been popular throughout recorded history; and
WHEREAS, the modern sportive form of wrestling, an individual weaponless
combat activity, was developed in prehistoric times from survival fighting when it became
convenient to replace death or serious injury with a more symbolic form of victory; and
WHEREAS, origins of the sport can be traced back 15,000 years to cave drawings
in France; and
WHEREAS, early Egyptian and Babylonian reliefs depict wrestlers using most of
the holds known to the present-day sport; and
WHEREAS, in ancient Greece, wrestling occupied a prominent place in legend and
literature; wrestling competition was the supreme contest of the Olympic Games; and
WHEREAS, although there is considerable evidence that wrestling existed in all
early civilizations, it was in ancient Greece that it really developed into a sport and was
included in the Olympic Games in 708 BC; and
WHEREAS, when the modern Olympic Games resumed in Athens, Greece, in 1886,
wrestling reestablished its position as one of the core sports of the games; and
WHEREAS, during the Middle Ages, wrestling remained popular and enjoyed the
patronage of many royal houses, including those of France, Japan, and England; and
WHEREAS, early American settlers brought a strong wrestling tradition with them
from England, and the colonists also found wrestling to be quite popular among the Native
Americans; and
WHEREAS, amateur wrestling flourished throughout the early years of America and
served as a popular activity at country fairs, holiday celebrations, and in military exercises;
and SCR NO. 11 ENROLLED
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WHEREAS, due to what the IOC has classified as "growing cost", the IOC has been
faced with the difficult choice of reducing the number of athletes in the summer games; and
WHEREAS, core sports would continue indefinitely in future Olympics, but non-
core sports would be selected on a game-by-game basis; and
WHEREAS, on February 12, 2012, the IOC Executive Board made the ill-advised
and ill-fated vote to recommend that wrestling be dropped as a core sport; and
WHEREAS, if approved by the full IOC, wrestling, the oldest of core Olympic
sports, will have to compete with seven non-core sports, consisting of baseball/softball,
squash, karate, sport climbing, wakeboarding, wushu and roller sports for a place in the 2020
Olympics; and
WHEREAS, wrestling federations exist in approximately 180 countries and the
recent London Olympic Games had wrestlers from over 70 countries; and
WHEREAS, the Olympics are supposed to be a display of sports from around the
world; and
WHEREAS, there is not a sport that is more historically global than wrestling; and
WHEREAS, every culture and nation throughout history have created their own form
of wrestling; and
WHEREAS, wrestling has a distinct economic advantage in comparison with other
sports; and
WHEREAS, wrestling is a sport that costs nothing in which to participate and
requires no fancy equipment nor specially designed sports complexes; and
WHEREAS, wrestling is a sport where even the poorest of countries and individuals
can participate and have success; and
WHEREAS, wrestlers learn that long-term success has much more to do with the
investment made than the natural gifts one is given; and
WHEREAS, wrestlers learn the value of preparation and hard work and the role they
play in achieving one's goals; and
WHEREAS, wrestling provides real-life experiences that build and strengthen
participants, including: self-reliance, mental fortitude, work ethic, competitive spirit,
responsibility, self-discipline, goal orientation, and confidence; and SCR NO. 11 ENROLLED
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WHEREAS, Dan Gable, an Olympic gold medalist and former U.S. Olympic
wrestling coach, succinctly summarized wrestling's character building characteristics when
he stated, "Once you've wrestled, everything else in life is easy"; and
WHEREAS, many CEOs, high-level business people, and other successful
individuals have stated that they owe their work ethic to the rigorous training and
maintenance schedule that they learned in wrestling; and
WHEREAS, wrestling is also one of the most popular youth sports in the United
States, with nearly 275,000 competitors from 2010 to 2011; and
WHEREAS, the personal nature of the sport as well as the rigorous training required
have been attributed to building the confidence of its participants; and
WHEREAS, involvement in wrestling is a great way to develop the ability to defend
one's self, without resorting to the violent tactics inherent in most other forms of self-
defense; and
WHEREAS, the decision to phase out wrestling will have a detrimental impact on
many teams around the world, including the United States, whose wrestling medals are only
outnumbered by swimming and track and field; and
WHEREAS, the Olympics are the ultimate goal for every young wrestler; and
WHEREAS, Olympic Wrestling competition is the final stage for most wrestlers, and
removing it from the Olympics would destroy the dreams of young wrestlers across the
world who toil day after day chasing this dream; and
WHEREAS, not having wrestling at the Olympics will cripple the sport at the lower
level and ruin the dreams and ambitions of thousands of devoted athletes; and
WHEREAS, wrestling is, at its core, one of the most fundamental sports in which
man has ever engaged and is the most primal and purest form of one-on-one competition
known to mankind; and
WHEREAS, removing wrestling from the Olympics would be a huge travesty in light
of its contribution to the history of not only sports, but to the history of mankind as well; and
WHEREAS, the governors of thirty-three states with rich wrestling traditions,
including Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, expressed their concerns regarding the recent
decision by the IOC to remove wrestling as an Olympic sport in the 2020 Olympic Games SCR NO. 11 ENROLLED
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and strongly urge the IOC to reconsider its position and vote to extend wrestling's long
legacy within the Olympic Games.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
urge and request the International Olympic Committee to reconsider its position on Olympic
Wrestling.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
International Olympic Committee, the Association of National Olympic Committees and the
Pan American Sports Organization.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES