Cory Clark of Iowa tosses Joel Shump of Illinois in the 2012 ASICS/Vaughan Junior National Greco-Roman finals at 126 pounds. John Sachs photo.

FILA Junior level wrestlers are invited to participate in an international tour for training and to compete in the Austrian Junior Greco-Roman Open in Gotzis, Austria from March 6-16, 2013. 

The tournament will take place March 8-10, followed by an international training camp until March 15.  FILA Juniors are 17-20 year old wrestlers. The United States has participated in this tour in recent years, which has been an outstanding learning experience for those involved.

“The intent of this trip is to give our FILA Junior age level kids another opportunity for development,” said Cody Bickley from USA Wrestling. “This is a great opportunity that provides a training camp immediately following the tournament. Competing in an international competition is without question a positive tool for an athlete’s development, but if you can throw a high-quality training camp opportunity alongside it – that raises the bar even more.”

To be eligible for this tournament, wrestlers must be:
•	Born between 1993-1998
•	Current USA Wrestling members
•	Past ASICS/Vaughan Cadet and Junior Greco-Roman All-Americans or Greco-Roman State Champions

Space is limited. The deadline to register is February 8, 2013. 
Last year, the USA won the team title at the Austrian Junior Open and boasted three individual gold medalists, Jake Bellis (Bloomington, Ill.) at 50 kg/110 lbs., Jesse Thielke (Germantown, Wis./New York AC) at 60 kg/132 lbs. and Parker Betts (St. Michael, Minn./USOEC) at 120 kg/264.5 lbs. 

Countries currently expected to compete in the tournament are the United States, France, Italy, the Czech Republic, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Austria and Switzerland. 

The total cost for the tour will be $1,595 per wrestler, which includes airfare from Chicago, room and board for nine days, a FILA license, the entry fee, and bus fare from the airport. 

For more information or to register, please contact Rob Hermann at rhermann@nmu.edu or (906) 227-2869 or Cody Bickley at cbickley@usawrestling.org or (719) 265-3647.