LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The Committee for the Preservation of Olympic Wrestling (CPOW) and actor Billy Baldwin today announced an auction to benefit the Keep Olympic Wrestling movement.  The auction, hosted online by eBay, will feature various items from Hollywood celebrities, wrestling and MMA legends, and one-of-a-kind experiences. 

On February 12, the executive board of the Olympic Committee recommended that wrestling not be a core sport of the Olympic Games beginning in 2020.  In June, wrestling was named one of three finalists for the final provisional spot in the 2020 and 2024 Games.  The final decision will be made by vote of the IOC General Assembly in September. 

Baldwin, a former high school and college wrestler and 2003 inductee into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame has worked with CPOW since the IOC announcement in February and has been instrumental in getting Hollywood behind the Keep Olympic Wrestling movement. The proceeds will go CPOW’s efforts to Keep Olympic Wrestling and to promote the value of wrestling to young men and women worldwide.

"The values of work ethic, discipline and mental toughness that are instilled through training and competition transcend the sport of wrestling,” said Baldwin. “Later in life, when you are fighting your way through adversity, dealing with the challenges of being a husband and father, or in the pursuit of your career, they will come back to serve you well."

The first of three auctions will launch this Friday, July 12th at www.ebay.com/savewrestling.  Sign up now for an email reminder when it goes live!

Some of the items you will be able to bid on include: 
•	Rio 2016 Summer Games packages, including event tickets and VIP access
•	Walk-on role on “Boardwalk Empire” and a meet and greet with Steve Buscemi
•	Attend the premier of “Foxcatcher” starring Mark Ruffalo, Channing Tatum, and Sienna Miller
•	One-hour training session with “The Natural” Randy Couture; includes 3 days/2 nights at the D Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas
•	Meet Jay Leno at “The Tonight Show” and go backstage to the legendary green room. 
•	Spend the afternoon with Mario Lopez on the set of “Extra”
•	Lunch with Tom Arnold
•	Watch the Mike& Mike Show live at ESPN and have lunch with Mike Golic
•	Ultimate VIP UFC package including tickets and gear
•	Pre-fight experience with IMPACT star and former Olympian Kurt Angle

ABOUT CPOW
The Committee for the Preservation of Olympic Wrestling (CPOW) was developed by USA Wrestling, whose mission is to insure that wrestling remains as a core sport of the Olympic Games. CPOW features many highly-respected leaders within the American wrestling, chaired by Bill Scherr of Glenview, Ill., a World champion and Olympic medalist in freestyle wrestling and a leader in the Olympic family.

About Kompolt
Since 2002, Kompolt has executed over 500 high-profile Cause Marketing campaigns. These campaigns, launched globally to large and diverse communities on eBay and social networks like Facebook and Twitter, have built brand awareness and goodwill for over 400 of the world’s best-known brands, celebrities, agencies and charities.  Kompolt campaigns have raised over $40 million for causes worldwide, attracted billions of impressions and engaged millions of consumers in cause-driven transactions. Kompolt is a Causemedia Group company. Read more about current and campaigns at kompolt.com.

About eBay Inc.
Founded in 1995 in San Jose, Calif., eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) is a global commerce platform and payments leader connecting millions of buyers and sellers. As we we help to drive the next generation of commerce, we believe in the power of our employees, technologies and global networks to also enable positive social and environmental change in the world. Our Social Innovation strategy focuses on three core areas of impact: creating economic opportunity, powering charitable giving, and enabling greener commerce. In 2012, in addition to the work our core businesses drove to enable and empower individuals and communities all over the world, we announced and began construction on the first-ever data center to use renewable energy as its primary power source, enabled more than $10 million for Super storm Sandy relief, and began work to develop a mobile marketplace for female entrepreneurs in rural Indonesia. Since 2003, the eBay community has donated over $350 million dollars for more than 22,000 nonprofits by shopping and selling through the eBay marketplace. Learn more at ebayinc.com.